It was a shocking vote at last week’s Common Council meeting (4/21/21), when the Council sent back to committee the resolution addressing the increase in xenophobic, anti-Asian attacks in our country and the City of Appleton. After the courageous speaking out, especially by elders and then others, of the Hmong community – sharing their gut-wrenching experiences of fear after threats and harassment, the vote was in the hands of those who listened but did not hear.
A need that we all have when dealing with racism is to get out of our heads and into our hearts and the hearts of others. It is a letting-go experience. We need to respect the authors of the resolution that reflected the study, research, and words exposing the unsettling truths that give rise to fear in the Asian community. And yet some members of the Council offered intellectualizations to justify their opposition rather than to hear the trauma of the Asian community and to undestand the reasons why. Based on comments, tears and overall impressions given by members of the Hmong community after the meeting, they received the message that the Council would not support them in their fears.
Who are we to say that they need to ask for our support in a better way? Compassion, compassion, compassion.
The Appleton, WI, Common Council hesitated this past Wednesday (April 21) when asked to pass a resolution condemning xenophobia, racism and anti-Asian violence and encouraging Appleton to become a more welcoming, inclusive community. ESTHER president Gary Crevier has issued this statement in response. For more background, please see this article from the Appleton Post-Crescent, published the day after the Council’s deliberations and decision. Click Read More below for the full text of the proposed resolution.
Dear ESTHER Folks,
As ESTHER president I spoke to Appleton’s common council this past week to support the resolution condemning xenophobia specifically related to our Asian & Pacific Islander community. We as ESTHER stand in solidarity with this beloved community. We are collectively disappointed in the Appleton Common Council’s action to push back the resolution to condemn xenophobia, racism, anti-Asian violence, and we are disturbed by their desire to change the AAPI narrative and lived experiences.
Thank you to Council Member Maiyoua Thao and all the sponsors of this resolution. We stand with you in calling out xenophobia, racism, sexism, and all forms of hate. We hope this resolution is not gutted from its original intent and that when it comes back to Council, the City will make a stand to support the AAPI community fully.
In these times of crisis, let’s come together and build strong communities of trust, where we all feel safe, where all workers are treated with dignity and respect, where all children feel comfortable going to school, where our elders are not shrouded in fear, and where all our loved ones have the freedom to thrive.
Please contact your Common Council representative to share your thoughts on this issue.
A Special Invitation for ESTHER Faith Communities & Individual Members from
Bread for the World Midwest Regional Organizer Zach Schmidt
with Deb Martin, ESTHER-Oshkosh &
Nancy Jones, ESTHER Rep from Prince of Peace Lutheran, Appleton
2021 Offering of Letters / Ofrenda de Cartas al Congreso
We are excited to invite ESTHER faith communities and individual members to the 2nd annual Fox Valley Offering of Letters. This year’s campaign relates directly to the End Child Poverty work of WISDOM and ESTHER’s work on Equity and Racial Justice, and builds on the success of the 2019 Offering of Letters. (See this Congress Passes Global Nutrition Resolution video which features advocacy from WI’s 8th Congressional district.)
Please plan to join the webinar on Thursday, April 29, at noon for this fabulous opportunity to join with neighbors through the Fox Valley to address food insecurity and nutritional needs even as we continue to be physically distanced.
Almost lost in the news of the gut-wrenching testimonies in the death of George Floyd is the equally horrific increase by 150% in the attacks and killings within our beloved Asian community in the past year. The killings of Asian women in Atlanta and the brutal attack on an elderly Asian woman on the streets of New York are only recent examples of this ongoing tragedy in our midst. Members of the Asian community in the Fox Cities are being harrassed as well.
And then there is the plight of the high percentage of missing and/or murdered indigenous women. Mark Charles, indigenous author of Unsettling Truths, adapted a diagnosis from psychologist Rachel McNair, who says that some perpetrators of crime suffer from Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stess (PITS). Charles suggests that we as a country suffer from the same trauma, a subconscious guilt after four-hundred years of genocide and slavery, and don’t even realize it.
How long will it take for us to face our denial as a nation? Growth in this consciousness within our community will occur when we are willing to face reality and see ourselves as part of our national systemic racism. We as members of ESTHER encourage all of us to realize that we can no longer consider ourselves to be “innocent bystanders” to what is happening in America today. Last week, Ron, a young South Korean, asked that we “be self-aware, speak up, ask questions, be genuine and have respect for everyone.”
Saad is a well known consultant on race issues worldwide. Using a step-by-step reflection process, she encourages people with white privilege to examine their thoughts and behaviors (often unconscious) that affect Black people negatively. Journaling is an integral part of the program that will make the book-study meaningful for you as a transformational Lenten process. The weekly discussion in a group of peers will utilize the Circle Way, a non-hierarchical (no leader) style of listening, storytelling and respectful discussion. Please purchase an online version of the book at Amazon.com or a hard copy to your local bookstore.
We will meet via Zoom every Tuesday from 6:30-8:00PM, starting Feb. 23 and continuing through Mar. 30. To sign up or for questions, please contact Bill Kessenich, moderator, at kessenichw@gmail.com.
Have you wanted the skills to interrupt bullying or other harmful hehaviors and comments? Are you looking for tools to invite people into challenging conversations rather than shutting them down? Do you wonder when it’s appropriate to Stand, Speak and Act?
If so, this event is for you.
Become an agent for change and a co-creator of positive narratives about race and other identities in your places of influence. Participants will unpack real-life scenarios to enable them to challenge prejudice effectively in our community.
Sponsored by Lawrence University Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Open to all Lawrence students, staff, and faculty. Wider Appleton communtity cordially invited.
Appleton Area School District Black Student Union presents:
2021 Black History Month Celebration
The opening event, offered on Zoom, introduces Black History Month and features presentations and performances by AASD students and administrators, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford and St. Louis singer LaToya Wilson.
United Way Fox Cities is offering a 21-week “Equity Challenge,” a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and our community. The challenge begins on February 1 (but participants can join any time) and continues through June 21. Each Monday during the challenge, participants will receive an email with topics to explore to develop deeper interpersonal understandings, build a stronger awareness of current systems, and engage in opportunities to take action.
A Special Invitation for ESTHER Faith Communities & Individual Members from
The social justice committee of St. Bernard Parish (Appleton), an ESTHER partner, is sponsoring a Lenten book study group using the New York Times best seller, 
Have you wanted the skills to interrupt bullying or other harmful hehaviors and comments? Are you looking for tools to invite people into challenging conversations rather than shutting them down? Do you wonder when it’s appropriate to Stand, Speak and Act?
United Way Fox Cities is offering a 21-week “Equity Challenge,” a powerful opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and our community. The challenge begins on February 1 (but participants can join any time) and continues through June 21. Each Monday during the challenge, participants will receive an email with topics to explore to develop deeper interpersonal understandings, build a stronger awareness of current systems, and engage in opportunities to take action.
