Sacramento, Calif., takes on racial equity

South Sacramento to discuss racial equality

by Stephen Magagnini

September 23, 2008 | Sacramento Bee | Sacramento, California

South Sacramento is one of nine communities in the United States – and the only one in California – selected to participate in a yearlong conversation promoting racial equality.

The sprawling area of nearly 84,000 is often portrayed as one of Sacramento County's trouble spots when it comes to crime, poverty or education.

It was chosen because of its diversity and the work that Sacramento County has done to bring people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds together since 2005.

"We want to help communities figure out ways to make sure all kinds of people have a good life," said Amy Malick of Everyday Democracy, a Connecticut nonprofit that's sponsoring the nationwide conversations. "One of the things we loved is south Sacramento's so incredibly diverse."

Malick's organization will provide $10,000 grants to pay for community action plans. "The focus is giving people a voice," she said.

The county's Department of Neighborhood Services has organized CARE – Community Addressing Racial Equity – a group of 100 south Sacramentans who will start meeting in small groups in November.

CARE already has 65 volunteers from diverse backgrounds and is looking for at least 35 more, said Melissa Cuevas, the county's specialist for south Sacramento. Those interested in joining can call Cuevas at (916) 876-8356.

"We'll place them with the ethnic groups they identify with and later merge groups into a broader conversation," Cuevas said.

Project consultant Bonnie Ratner noted that African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Middle Easterners, American Indians and whites live side by side in south Sacramento.

"Yet these communities often remain segregated, and the hopes of one group remain unknown to the others," Ratner said. "CARE seeks to remedy that situation through a series of conversations and eventual solutions to address racial disparities."

Along with the seven ethnic groups mentioned, there will be one for mixed-race people and another for youth.

Victor Morrison-Vega, neighborhood services director, said the county had initiated community discussions 2 1/2 years ago through its Visions Project "to identify issues."

Concerns included illegal dumping, code enforcement, foreclosures that hit south Sacramento neighborhoods hard, and gang-related violence such as the shooting of Sheriff's Deputy Vu Nguyen in December, Morrison-Vega said.

"The media seems to focus on the negative aspects of what's happening in south Sac, and people were saying the community had no collective identity," Morrison-Vega said. "The view from outside is that south Sac's a place you want to pass through quickly. But people who live there have a much more positive view."

The conversations are designed to break barriers between groups so they can join forces with the city and county "to affect the kinds of changes you want to see in your community," Morrison-Vega said.

Tom Burruss, an African American resident who will moderate the discussions, believes the dialogue will help residents "understand we have more in common than we have differences."

Farouk Fakira, an Arab American from Yemen, took Burruss and others to Masjid Annur Islamic Center. "I had some misgivings before I went. Then I realized the only difference between those folks and me is we have a different way of worshipping," Burruss said.

Fakira, who will also help lead the conversations, said some ethnic groups, including Muslim Americans, "don't feel fully integrated."

Since 9/11, area Muslim leaders have worked to get their neighbors "to see we have the same aspirations and concerns, the same pains and joys that they have," said Fakira.

He expects the conversations to help resolve "whatever misunderstandings or issues exist between various communities."

South Sacramento, which includes mostly unincorporated area and parts of the city, is roughly bounded by Highway 99 on the west, Elk-Grove Florin Road on the east and Calvine Road on the south. A dogleg stretches as far north as 14th Avenue.

About 32 percent of south Sacramentans identify as white; 17.5 percent as African American; 24.2 percent Asian; about 7 percent as two or more races; and 14 percent as some other race.

About 31.5 percent are Latinos, who identify with various races.

The area's Asians include 22.7 percent who identify as Vietnamese; 18.8 percent Hmong; 16.1 percent Filipino; 13.8 percent Chinese; 10.3 percent Laotian; and 7 percent Asian Indian.

"South Sacramento's really unique in that there's no specific ethnic majority and this creates a great opportunity to talk about some of the challenges and some the assets," said moderator Elaine Abelaye, a Filipina American.

"We can use our diversity to have a really honest conversation and promote some positive changes and community pride in south Sacramento," Abelaye said. "We can get back to being a community where we're coming out of our homes and talking and stepping out of our comfort zones."

http://www.sacbee.com/302/story/1257803.html

Learn more: Racial Equity