Mayor Norton: Now is the time for difficult, but necessary conversations
There are pivotal moments in a lifetime and we have collectively just experienced one of them. While this wasn't deeply personal in the sense that we each knew Mr. Floyd, it resonated deeply with everyone because we are human and, in our gut his death resonated as inherently wrong. There is a communal sense that things must change. Right now, in this moment, we must have the difficult, but necessary conversations with our family, friends, and neighbors about how to put into action solutions that can change hearts, minds and, yes, systems.
As Rochester’s mayor, I know it’s important for us to be at the table quickly and often with people from across our community to listen, to ask questions and gather ideas in order to make the kinds of decisions that will make things better now and in the long term for the entire community. I’ve witnessed the passion of our young people organizing and leading marches and rallies; I sense the frustration from longtime advocates who grow tired of waiting for change; I also feel the hope that perhaps this is the moment that real change can happen in this country and here at home, too, for those that have been marginalized, discriminated against and who simply want fair and just treatment without trauma or living in fear.
A list of new ideas is evolving and will be discussed with the City Council in the coming weeks. Ideas that have been generated locally and nationally will be brought to the table to see where we should focus — implicit bias training, broader community oversight, more crisis workers, and expanding social programs through county partnerships or perhaps something not yet recognized. Community is a collective with a common foundation of understandings and truths — we seem to have lost our way or maybe we’ve not yet found the path. Let’s set our own course and hold each other accountable — we can, we must, and we will do this together.
Kim Norton is the mayor of Rochester.
This submission is part of a forum on race and policing in Rochester.
Cover photo: Norton in 2019 / William Forsman
