Kennewick seats first-ever diversity commission

Kennewick seated its first-ever diversity commission Thursday in a key step to put the uproar over a Facebook post by one of its council members behind it.

The seven members of the newly formed diversity commission met over sandwiches in the council chambers for the first in a series of monthly gatherings. Its mission is to identify ways Kennewick can be more welcoming to people of all ethnicities.

The first gathering was largely devoted to introductions, but the five women and two men and their facilitator face a daunting challenge: They will take an unflinching look at Kennewick’s relationship with minorities and develop a plan to improve.

The city created the commission in consultation with Latino organizations in March after Councilman Bob Parks outraged some with a personal Facebook posting that seemed to disparage Latinos. The posts are no longer public.

Without mentioning his fellow council member by name, Mayor Steve Young told the commission that he was stung that some critics targeted the city itself.

“Comments that Kennewick is a ‘racist city’ puzzled me,” said Young, who recounted his own experience growing up in Oklahoma, where the family’s Native American heritage was a closely held secret.

He challenged the commission to identify where Kennewick stands on racism and to develop a plan to improve. Its work will be folded into the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan, which must be completed by mid-2017.

“This could be a very great commission, or it could blow up in our face,” the mayor said.

Thursday’s gathering was low-key. But the city’s commitment to it was clear. City Manager Marie Mosley is personally staffing its monthly meetings. And the city recruited James Hempstead to facilitate its work.

Two of the commission’s members are black, two are Hispanic and one is Native American.

Zelma Maine-Jackson, a hydrogeologist with the Department of Ecology in Richland, said she was less interested in the reasons for forming the commission than the work that lies ahead.

“Inclusion starts on both sides,” she said.

The commission’s next meeting is tentatively set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the Kennewick City Council chambers, 210 W. Sixth Ave.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Kennewick seats first-ever diversity commission."