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.
No comments:
Post a Comment