Northbrook needs multiple efforts to combat racism, Ciesla says
Tackling racial injustices requires a multipronged approach on various fronts, from what children are taught in schools to everyday interactions at workplaces, houses of worship and community spaces, village Trustee Kathryn Ciesla said.
"We have a lot of unity in a lot of areas," said Ciesla who attended a recent Black Lives Matter rally in town organized by Glenbrook North senior Lauren McGinnis, who is among the 1.3% of African Americans in a town of 32,958 residents.
More than 500 people attended the rally, which included speeches by McGinnis and several speakers.
"It was a powerful, wonderful event," Ciesla said. "This is what I really learned at the march. It's not just enough not to be racist yourself. If you see racism in others, you need to work to call people out on that, you need to work to educate, and you need to promote a culture of equality."
Ciesla, who grew up in Chicago, says she was taught not to judge people by the color of their skin.
"When you're raised that way, you sort of think that people think the way that you do," she said.
But since protests began over the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Ciesla said she began to see some residents' "racist thoughts" pour out in social media comments.
"We need to address it," she said, adding that the comments prompted her to float the task force idea during a recent village board meeting. "We have to put events in place, training in place, we have to make certain that Northbrook continues to have a culture of inclusion and that micro-expressions of racism will not be tolerated."
Ciesla said the purpose of the task force would be not only to analyze issues of racial discrimination and injustice, but to take action and create solutions.
While racism often is a learned behavior that starts at home, schools should offer curriculum addressing the issue of racism and equality, she added.
Northbrook is predominantly white - 82.4% - with Asians comprising the largest minority at 14.5%, followed by Hispanics, 2%, and people of two or more races, 1.4%, according to census data.