PUYALLUP, Wash. — Puyallup continues to deal with the aftermath of a racist statue erected in one of its major neighborhoods a few weeks ago.
Residents were shocked to see it erected, and demanded the city address the issue, including calling for the city council to create a commission with the purpose of dealing with race-related incidents.
The city council held a virtual meeting, during which members of the community said dealing with issues of inequality in the city are vital, and that more needs to be done to address them.
Those calls grew louder after a racist statue was displayed in full view of one of Puyallup’s busiest streets.
The city council released a statement saying the statue, although offensive, was still legal to display.
“I think people have a right to say things that other people might consider hateful,” said Councilmember Cyndy Jacobsen. “I wish they wouldn’t. I think the principle of free speech reigns here, I don’t think we’re allowed to regulate speech in that manner.”
“Hate speech, in and of itself is not covered under free speech, under our Constitution and our First Amendment,” Attorney James Bible said. “The difficulty sometimes is in determining what constitutes as hate speech. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes, it’s a case of ‘you know it when you see it.’ And there’s a question of artistic intent as well. So it’s somewhat of a complicated question to answer.”
“It’s the sort of thing that would be like a sign that says, ‘No Blacks are welcomed here.’ ‘No Blacks can live here,’ that would prevent people from exercising other constitutional rights, so I would push back to some degree in relation to whether or not this is not hate speech. I would suggest that it leans towards it.”
Activists in Puyallup put forward a proposal to the city council that would create a commission that would address incidents like this.
But the council said it goes too far and would like to put together some alternatives.
“My personal problems with the plan we were given, graciously, by the people proposing it … was that the commission would have a scope of authority that we would not entitled to give them,” Jacobsen said. “If we were to put some more authority into the arts commission or the library board, to perhaps address this. We’ve talked about festivals, we’ve talked about book clubs, we’re talking about educational events that we could have, we’re open.”
Whatever the in Puyallup looks like moving forward, Bible said the key is making sure everyone in city feels welcome.
“I think the city council can be creative in addressing issues or racism and discrimination, and that was the message I’d hoped to hear from them,” Bible said. “Making sure that all individuals felt safe and comfortable in the city of Puyallup would also be critical. They fail when they just say, it’s allowed.”