Black Student Union Condemns Ponto For 'Whitewashed' Resolution

BROOKFIELD, WI— The Brookfield East High School and Brookfield Central Black Student Union on Monday condemned the Common Council's action on February's Black History Month resolution.

"While we’re happy to see the city of Brookfield begin to discuss some issues Black Americans face in the area, we are disappointed that the specific issue of racism and inequality were overlooked in the proclamation," the union said in a statement Monday.

The Common Council voted 12-2 Feb. 16 to approve a Black History Month resolution that had been revised by Mayor Steve Ponto. The mayor said the original version was "negative" in tone.

Ponto released a statement to Patch on Monday afternoon.

"I wrote the attached proclamation from research I did on the internet. I did not re-write the proclamation proposed by the students and did not refer to it as I was writing my proclamation. Proclamations are not intended to be a full discussion of a matter – that is better left to other publications or media where a matter can be explored in detail.

I wanted a proclamation that would achieve broad support. The attached proclamation was unanimously recommended to the Common Council by the Legislative & Licensing Committee. It was adopted by the Common Council by a vote of 12 to 2 with only Alderman Hallquist and an Alderman who didn’t want any proclamation voting against it.

The attached proclamation achieved three goals. 1) It was positive consistent with the City’s long standing practice and didn’t make any allegations against the State of Wisconsin or other jurisdictions. 2) It proclaimed February 2021 as Black History Month in the City of Brookfield. 3) It commended the five high school students for their interest in government and their suggestion that we proclaim February 2021 as Black History Month.

It concluded by encouraging our citizens to celebrate our country’s diverse heritage and culture, and continue efforts to create a world that is more just, peaceful and prosperous for all.

I believe my proclamation was very constructive and achieved the broad support from the Council for which I had hoped."

At the time, students and an alderman who drafted the original resolution expressed disappointment in the revised resolution.

BSU released the following statement on Monday:

"While we’re happy to see the city of Brookfield begin to discuss some issues Black Americans face in the area, we are disappointed that the specific issue of racism and inequality were overlooked in the proclamation. Specifically, the points about structural racism were purposely left out of the Proclamation shared with the common council.

"As the Black representatives of the BSU, we are concerned that not all stakeholders were considered upon writing the draft the common council. We want to see a representation of the actual realities Black citizens face within this community. Leaving the original points of systemic and structural racism off the proclamation minimizes the continuous struggles minorities face in this community and allows white citizens to ignore the realities.

"This causes a sense of complacency among constituents and ignores the realities in the community. Action will continue to not be taken when it seems that the problems no longer exist. Please consider revising this proclamation to help call our community to action."

The Black Student Union is glad Brookfield is taking steps to be more inclusive and to celebrate different backgrounds, Anel Robinson, president and a founder of the BSU at Brookfield Central, said Monday. The goal of BSU is to celebrate diversity and foster learning about race, culture and history. Robinson said the union was disappointed the original drafted proclamation was not adopted.

"As a community, it is important to address those uncomfortable topics that were cut out: modern day slavery and segregation. If we as high schools can strive to educate our peers about some of the harsh realities that happen within this country, adults can handle the conversation as well. Ignoring the problem only allows it to keep spreading."

Aldermen Mike Hallquist, who helped draft the original, and Rick Owen voted against Ponto's revised version. Hallquist accused the mayor of trying to "whitewash" history.

Owen didn't support a proclamation at all. He said he didn't think the council should pick and chose what resolutions and proclamations the city should pass.

Brookfield students drafted the original resolution, which included language about the achievements and accomplishments of Black Americans while recognizing systemic challenges of racism past and present.

Students from Brookfield East High School and Brookfield Central High School worked with Hallquist and Shane Arnold, a board member of Mentor Greater Milwaukee, to craft the city's first resolution celebrating Black History Month.

Langston Ford and Jose Zapien Guerra from Brookfield East and Cynthia Lu, Rayanna Hassan and Jana Gharia from Brookfield Central authored the resolution.

"I think it is appropriate and important to recognize and celebrate the wide range of achievements of Black Americans," Ponto said at the time.

Ponto added that all city proclamations adopted while he has been mayor and while he was an alderman have been positive in tone. He told the council that parts of the resolution drafted by the students had "negative comments."

"If they are writing a book, that is fine to include the negative things. But when you are putting the City of Brookfield on the line, I think it should be a positive document," Ponto said.