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Philomath committee debates wording, order and scope of inclusivity proclamation
Summary
Committee members reviewed last year's inclusivity proclamation and debated modest edits: reordering "whereas" clauses for flow, whether to explicitly reference George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, how to include "caste," and adding community input alongside staff training; no formal vote recorded, and suggested edits will go to city council.
Members of the Philomath Inclusivity Committee spent the bulk of the meeting reviewing and proposing edits to the committee's inclusivity proclamation, discussing both historical context and how to broaden language about ongoing discrimination.
The Moderator read the proclamation and suggested one wording change: to acknowledge that the committee formed in response to the murder of George Floyd but that the committee's work now addresses a wider set of injustices. Several members recommended reordering "whereas" clauses to lead with broader statements about ongoing oppression and then reference history as context.
The committee debated whether to remove an explicit mention of Black Lives Matter and George Floyd. "I do think based on everything that we have here, it would be appropriate, especially with your comments just now, to eliminate mention of Black Lives Matter altogether," the Moderator said. Several members pushed back, arguing the historical reference is important. One member said removing it would send a disappointing signal: "It sounds like taking it out is white fragility, and I wouldn't support that," another member said.
Members also discussed adding the term "caste" to the list of protections and where to place it relative to "socioeconomic status" and other characteristics; some members said caste describes structural segregation in other societies and should remain earlier in the list, while others suggested moving it to improve clarity for local readers. Committee members agreed that community input should accompany training commitments and that minor clause reordering to improve flow would be acceptable.
Next steps: committee members agreed to draft suggested rearrangements and phrasing changes and forward a proposed revision to the city council; council will decide whether to adopt the revised proclamation.
