St. Catharines committees losing members due to upcoming show (InSauga)

https://www.insauga.com/st-catharines-committees-losing-members-due-to-upcoming-show/ 

By Don Redmond

Published September 15, 2022 at 1:20 pm

Liam Coward, who sits on the St. Catharines LGBTQ2S+ Advisory Committee has resigned from all of his city committees as a show of solidarity with Vicki-Lynn Smith and Erica Williams. (Photo: Facebook)

A member of the St. Catharines LGBTQ2S+ Advisory Committee has joined the two members of the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee who resigned over their belief that City Council shrugs off their concerns.

Liam Coward, who sits on the St. Catharines LGBTQ2S+ Advisory Committee, resigned yesterday (September 14) to show support for both Vicki-Lynn Smith and Erica Williams, who had earlier quit the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee.

At the heart of the matter was council’s decision to allow puppeteer Jeff Dunham’s comedy act to the Meridian Centre on November 20.

Initially, the Anti-Racism Advisory Committee has asked city council to shut down the performance that has faced criticism in the past for portraying characters that rely on racial stereotypes, including a dead terrorist named Achmed and a talking jalapeño on a stick named José, complete with sombrero.

In the end, Merritton Councillor Greg Miller, who also serves on the committee, brought a motion to cancel the show to the table but in the end, he only got support from St. Patricks councillor Karrie Porter.

Chair Anti-Racism Advisory Committee Saleh Waziruddin told local radio station 610-CKTB that Smith and Williams stepped down from the group but it wasn’t so much council’s decision on the Dunham show but rather how council handled it.

Waziruddin told the radio station, “It’s the not the actual decision not allowing the Dunham show that led to the resignations, but the way the issue was discussed and handled was the last straw for issues that had been building up for a while about whether the advisory committee was being listened to or believed.”

Coward was far more scathing in his letter of resignation, insinuating the committees were simply created to give council and the city the appearance of caring for all members of the community.

“I have often felt that the way these committees are treated by some staff and councillors amounts to tokenism and hollow allyship,” he said.

He added he felt the initiatives the committees put forth only made the city and council look good “rather than enact real systemic changes. Pursuing equity for the sake of appearances is not enough. Substantive change will only happen if council sets aside its own biases and out perspective and genuinely listens and acts upon what the members of these committees are telling them to do.”

When council initially decided to let the Dunham show go on, Waziruddin, said any comedy that relies on racism isn’t funny. “What people need to understand is there’s a lot of harm caused by these kinds of so called ‘comedy’,” he said.

“Other people will hear it and think it’s okay to be racist and misogynist and homophobic.”

Waziruddin added that recent acts of hate vandalism within St. Catharines, including the vandalism at Harriet Tubman Public School, show that the issue of racism is one not to be ignored in the city.

For his part, Miller, who brought the Dunham motion to council, noted, “Unfortunately, this was a predictable result of Council’s attitudes and words about some of the Anti-Racism Committee’s requests and I raised this possibility last month during a Council meeting.”

Puppeteer-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham’s comedy show first became popular in the 2000s but recently, people have been criticizing it for relying on racial stereotypes.

MEMBERS OF ST. CATHARINES ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE RESIGN SAYING THEY ARE NOT BEING HEARD (Newstalk 610 CKTB)

https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/news/members-of-st-catharines-anti-racism-committee-resign-saying-they-are-not-being-heard-1.18496897

BONNIE HESLOP

Wednesday, September 14th 2022 - 4:13 pm

Two members of the St. Catharines Anti-Racism Advisory Committee have resigned saying city council is not listening to their concerns.

Chair of the Committee Saleh Waziruddin tells CKTB Vicki-Lynn Smith and Erica Williams have stepped down from the group due to the way council decided to allow Jeff Dunham to go ahead with a performance in the city.

"It's the not the actual decision not allowing the Dunham show that led to the resignations, but the way the issue was discussed and handled was the last straw for issues that had been building up for a while about whether the advisory committee was being listened to or believed."

Dunham, who has faced criticism for his characters that rely on racial stereotypes, has a show planned for the Meridian Centre in November.

Waziruddin says he is very disappointed in council's actions, and has even thought of resigning himself.

The Committee is a group of volunteers working to improve access and inclusion for diverse cultural communities in St. Catharines and the surrounding area.

The goal of the group is to promote and enhance the city as a welcoming place and to remove barriers for members of racialized communities that exist in City programs, services and spaces.

The Committee has one more meeting with this term of council prior to the October municipal election.

Meantime, Liam Coward, who sits on the LGBTQ2S+ advisory committee has resigned from all of his city committees as a show of solidarity with Smith and Williams.

• 
  

SALEH WAZIRUDDIN, CHAIR, ST. CATHARINES ANTI-RACISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE (interview with Tom McConnell, CKTB 610AM radio)

https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/audio/saleh-waziruddin-chair-st-catharines-anti-racism-advisory-committee-1.18497150?mode=Article 

THE TOM MCCONNELL SHOW

Wednesday, September 14th 2022 

2 St. Catharines anti-racism committee members resign after 'lack of support' from council (CBC)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/anti-racism-committee-resign-jeff-dunham-st-catharines-1.6582668

Anti-racism committee resignations prompted member from LGBTQ committee to resign in solidarity

Bobby Hristova · CBC News · Posted: Sep 14, 2022 2:31 PM ET | Last Updated: September 14

Vicki-Lynn Smith (left), the vice chair of St. Catharines' anti-racism advisory committee, and member Erica Williams, have resigned from the committee. (Submitted by Vicki-Lynn Smith and Erica Williams)

Two members of St. Catharines' anti-racism advisory committee have resigned, citing city council's "consistent lack of support."

Vicki-Lynn Smith, vice chair, and Erica Williams each sent a resignation letter to city council on Wednesday.

"This is not the compassionate city they like to portray it as," Smith told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday. "You talk the talk, but you don't walk it."

The letter dated Sept. 13 says council "displayed an unwillingness to respect our positions and our knowledge" and continuing to stay on the committee would "only lend legitimacy to your pretense and therefore we resign."

"Whether the issue was the need for police to wear body cameras or the need for council to take a stand against racist 'entertainers' being allowed to use city facilities to propagate their messages, council has demonstrated the lip-service lens through which they view this committee," reads the letter.

The letter said the committee has done hard work to try to fight racism in the city, but said the circumstances don't allow the committee to reach its full potential.

Smith is a fifth generation descendant of freedom seekers who settled in St. Catharines in the mid-1800s. She's also an executive member of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association (NRARA).

Williams, meanwhile, runs Erica's Embrace — a non-profit which offers Black advocacy to people in Niagara, as well as providing local shelters with Black hair care and beauty products.

Jeff Dunham show was breaking point

Their resignation also prompted Liam Coward to resign from the city's LGBTQ2S+ advisory committee and its Equity and Inclusion advisory committee.

He posted on Twitter saying his resignation was in solidarity with Smith and Williams.

"I have often felt that the way these committees are treated by some staff and councillors amounts to tokenization and hollow allyship," he wrote in a letter.

This all comes after the city declined to ask the managers of the Meridian Centre to cancel Jeff Dunham's comedy show in November despite concerns from the city's anti-racism advisory committee.

Jeff Dunham is an American comedian best known for his ventriloquism, which has faced criticism for portraying characters that rely on racial stereotypes.

Smith told CBC Hamilton the conversation council had about the Dunham show was her breaking point.

The mayor and others said asking to cancel the Dunham show could lead to a slippery slope that could see books removed from libraries.

Jeff Dunham is an American comedian and ventriloquist who rose to global stardom in the 2000s. (www.jeffdunham.com)

Coun. Bill Phillips said cancelling the "virtually sold out" show could upset a lot of people who bought tickets.

In the end, only Coun. Greg Miller and Coun. Karrie Porter supported trying to get the show stopped.

However, all of council support a motion that asks city staff to create guiding principles for future performances at all city facilities with input from equity seeking groups and or advisory committees.

• St. Catharines won't ask arena to cancel Jeff Dunham comedy show despite racism concerns

Smith said it seems city council is more concerned about the people who can afford the shows, many of whom may not be people of colour.

She added she hopes people will protest the Dunham show set to take place on Nov. 20.

Resignations may impact quorum

Saleh Waziruddin, chair of the anti-racism advisory committee, said in an interview on Wednesday said he tried to convince Smith and Williams not to resign because he's hopeful city council may be more eager to listen after the fall election.

"It has a serious impact on the committee," he said, adding Smith was also the representative on the city's equity and inclusion committee.

• St. Catharines anti-racism committee wants Jeff Dunham comedy show cancelled

Waziruddin said Smith and Williams were some of the most consistent members at committee meetings.

With their resignation, the committee now has eight members and must have five members to meet quorum.

"I'm hopeful we will keep getting quorum," Waziruddin said.

'Unfortunate but unsurprising'

Mayor Walter Sendzik didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Coun. Miller told CBC Hamilton in a statement the resignations are "unfortunate but unsurprising," saying the members of the committee are "justified in believing council isn't listening to them."

"Erica and Vicki-Lynn provided really valuable insight and policy ideas to the City at a time when we lack diversity in leaderships. Those contributions will be sorely missed," he wrote.

He said next term, city council will have to reckon with why they have an equity committee.

"We are asking for a lot of time, input and the sharing of sometimes painful lived experiences from members of these committees. If we are not going to listen when they speak to us or call on us to act, we are wasting their time," he said.

St. Catharines anti-racism committee members resign, citing lack of council support (St. Catharines Standard)

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2022/09/13/st-catharines-anti-racism-committee-members-resign-citing-lack-of-council-support.html

By Allan BennerStandard Reporter

Tue., Sept. 13, 2022timer3 min. read

City council’s refusal to stop a performance by comedian Jeff Dunham was the last straw for two members of the St Catharines anti-racism committee.

Committee members Vicki-Lynn Smith and Erica Williams publicly released a letter sent to Mayor Walter Sendzik and city council Tuesday, resigning from the committee citing a “consistent lack of support displayed by council.”

“Whether the issue was the need for police to wear body cameras or the need for council to take a stand against racist ‘entertainers’ being allowed to use city facilities to propagate their messages, council has demonstrated the lip-service lens through which they view this committee,” they wrote.

The volunteers and “experts on the aspects of living with racism,” the city councillors have “displayed an unwillingness to respect our positions and our knowledge.”

“To continue under these conditions can only lend legitimacy to your pretense and therefore we resign,” the letter says.

In an interview, Smith said council’s Aug. 29 decision voting 10-2 against a recommendation to consider cancelling the Nov. 20 show at the city-owned Meridian Centre — it features an American comedian known for using puppet characters based on racist stereotypes — was the breaking point for her and Williams.

“It just felt like everything we brought forward. They haven’t really listened to,” she said.

Committee chair Saleh Waziruddin said he too considered resigning, feeling the same disappointment with the response of councillors to issues committee members felt should be considered a priority in the city.

Despite his disappointment, Waziruddin said he still believes “there is still potential for positive change through the committee and that’s why I’m not resigning.”

Although Waziruddin said it wasn’t surprising that the city refused to stop the Dunham show, he said “the way that arguments were made against cancelling was unexpected.”

During that meeting, for instance, Sendzik said “we’re not the ‘Thought Police.’ We are not the ones that ban books.”

“It’s not our decision, even though it’s our facilities,” he said. “But if we can have a policy, those who are making the choices for selection, they’ll be able to look at it and say, ‘Here’s what’s best for our community moving forward.’”

Smith said that’s when she chose to leave the committee.

“I’m done. I can’t do this anymore,” she said.

For the most part, Waziruddin said committee recommendations — often initiatives that are being done in other communities — are typically referred to city staff for a report.

“They are postponed from quarter to quarter on the outstanding reports list,” he said.

Another issue Smith and Williams raised in their letter was a recommendation regarding police reforms, including a need for police to wear body cameras.

During that discussion on Aug. 10, 2020, Waziruddin said city council sided with police chief Bryan MacCulloch over their own committee.

“They didn’t want to take our word for it. Not only our word, but other people spoke to council who have lived experience,” Smith said.

Despite the frustration committee members feel, Waziruddin said they have had one success.

“I think the only thing we’ve done that actually went through was when we asked that Haldimand County and the police board to back off of calling the land defenders terrorists,” he said, referring to a Six Nations-led group that set up street barricades at a Caledonia construction site in December 2020.

“The Haldimand police board issued a written apology for doing that,” he said. “Even in that case, one of the city councillors didn’t believe us.”

But for the most part, he said the “experience has been that we feel we are not being listened too.”

The term of the anti-racism committee coincides with the current term of council, and members are expected to be reappointed after the new city council is sworn in in November. And Smith said she isn’t ruling out putting her name forward to return to the committee at that time, depending on what happens in the Oct. 24 municipal election.

“I hope there’s some change,” she said.

In the meantime, she plans to remain involved at the community level.

“I’m off the committee but it doesn’t mean I’m finished fighting. I can’t stay out of it.”