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Divided Community Project: Cc city Resiliency Initiative — Case S <br />Unity in the Community: <br />Erasing Racism in San Leandro <br />This case study tracks the volunteer -based Unity in the Community — San Leandro, as it <br />convenes, evolves, develops, and works to implement a structure to end racism in San <br />Leandro, California. The effort, which began in March 2016, is convened by a core group <br />of volunteer -leaders from San Leandro's civic community. <br />INITIATIVE <br />Residents found racist graffiti targeting minority communities in San Leandro's Marina <br />Park. A local school was found tagged with hate -laced graffiti. A decades -old African - <br />American owned barbershop was defaced with racist, defamatory language. <br />It was winter 2016 in San Leandro, California. Because of these events, former City <br />Council Member Surlene Grant's "sensitivities were hurt," her "spirit was crushed." She <br />thought San Leandro evolved from its past and was "not that town anymore" Initially <br />elected to City Council in 1998 as San Leandro's first African -American Council member, <br />Grant is an aberration of San Leandro's longstanding history of structural racism and <br />visual racial disparities. According to Grant, in the 1990's San Leandro "had an identity <br />of being a segregated place... when black people dgo]ve into town they got stopped" <br />While driving on her own street in the 1990's, a police officer pulled Grant over for <br />alleged "erratic" driving. The officer was surprised when Grant pointed to her house <br />and offered to walk home. Likewise, when she broke City Council's color barrier in 1998, <br />some civic leaders refused to speak with her, "not even a hello," she said, emphasizing <br />their contempt. <br />In contrast, modern San Leandro is a diverse community comprised of African -American, <br />Pacific Islander, Asian, white, and other populations. In the wake of this string of hate <br />incidents, it was as if San Leandro turned the clock back two decades. On March 28, <br />2016, Grant called Bernard Ashcraft, a mentor and the founder and chief executive of the <br />Bay Area Business Roundtable, a longstanding organization that works to bridge societal <br />gaps between business and communities. Long involved in San Leandro institutions <br />and non -profits, Ashcraft is well known in the community for dedicating his career to <br />community -race relations. According to Grant, Ashcraft announced, "we will have an <br />emergency meeting — I'm telling everyone to come to my office at two o'clock." Grant <br />responded, "People are not going to come to your office at two o'clock — it's ten o'clock <br />now!" <br />TAKE <br />INITIATIVE <br />ASSEMBLE <br />FRAMING <br />ENHANCE <br />CONSTRUCTIVE <br />PRACTICES <br />CHALLENGES <br />& NEXT STEPS <br />©THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY ® -1—Anrt —ASxu W <br />MORITZ COLLEGE OF LAW FOUNDATIONr <br />