I’d like to tell you a little about my experience serving on the City Council’s citizens’ commission, share a few thoughts I developed during that work, and then ask everyone, pro or con, to think about some of the ideas that underlie this controversy.

ABOUT THE COMMISSION

I think the broad outlines are known, so I’m just going to touch on some areas where I’ve noticed misconceptions.

Our purpose was to recommend what the City Council should do – not what the community should do. Those are two very different questions.

We did not recommend that the name stay the same. What we did was decline to recommend that the City Council lead any effort to change it. Most members agreed that any change should be citizen-led.

We did not find that the citizens overwhelmingly favored keeping the name. Our unscientific poll found significant numbers on both sides.

We were not deadlocked. 6 of 10 commissioners, in the end, were personally in support of changing the name. But In spite of our differences, we unanimously approved 6 recommendations:

• Create city policy to prioritize Land Back to local coastal tribes.

• Formalize an official government-to-government agreement to

  work with local coastal tribes.

• Support the creation of a cultural center.

• Appoint a local history working group.

• Appoint a City Council Ad Hoc Committee to support the schools

  in presenting a more complete and inclusive history of the local

  area.

• Create a multicultural North Coast Community Day, to showcase

  our diverse heritage.
  

  The City has recently taken steps to move forward on some of these.

There was also a seventh recommendation: that in the event of a citizen ballot initiative to change the name, the City facilitate a series of moderated public gatherings in which people are able to tell their stories in a comfortable environment that encourages listening across differences – which is what we did for each other on the commission.

PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON THE NAME

About the timeline:

People have lived here for thousands of years. Just a few hundred years ago, new people came. They pushed out as many of the indigenous as they could, and built a fort to do it. Later, they founded a town. That was only 134 years ago. It’s the blink of an eye, compared to how long humans have been living on this land, and calling it by different names.

About the cost:

When we talk about needing to replace a million things (Signs! Stationery! Uniforms!) I think we’re misunderstanding the challenge. It’s not like entering the Witness Protection Program; there’s no need to obliterate traces of the old name. It’s more like changing your name when you get married: you’re signaling a new beginning – and sure, you need a new ID right away. But you don’t need to throw out your monogrammed towels, or your high school diploma. A new name could be phased in over time. And, to be clear, changing the City’s name doesn’t mean that businesses or even schools would be obligated to change theirs. Those are separate choices.

About heritage:

My ancestors didn’t settle Fort Bragg, but they did settle in Western Washington. I’m proud of them, and I also understand that they were taking part in a larger movement of peoples that was fundamentally violent and unjust. These two things don’t cancel each other out. I bristle a little bit when the descendents of local settlers tell me I don’t understand. I think I do. I think all of us whose ancestors settled the nation are capable of understanding this tension, no matter where our roots begin.

About the idea that “you can’t change history”:

I think what people mean is that you can’t change the past. But history is the story we tell about the past. I think we DO need to change the stories we tell about Fort Bragg’s past. For example: the plaque in front of the Guest House. It says the fort was named for “Braxton Bragg, later Gen. CSA.” How many passersby immediately understand that means, “Braxton Bragg, who led a war against the United States to fight for white supremacy and slavery”? To be clear and honest about the past, it should say exactly that. Anything less is a lie of omission.

The same goes for the remaining Fort building. I think it’s important that that building be turned into a memorial to the tragedy that occurred here. In order to honor the past, we need to tell the real stories. The Fort was established to remove the indigenous people, and it was the site and source of great harm. That should be clear to everyone who strolls past that old building, and it’s not. We need to change that history, in order to honor the past.

About responsibility:

None of us were in the room in 1889 when the town was named. Imagine for a minute that we were starting over today. I don’t think there’s a single person who would raise their hand and say, “I want to name our town after a Confederate general!” or “Let’s commemorate the fort that was built to remove the people who were here first!” None of us want those things. If we could go back in time, and be in that room, I think we’d choose differently.

But we inherited the name, we didn’t choose it -- and for 134 years, it’s been attached to a place we love. It’s not really fair that we are the ones who have to deal with the fact that this name commemorates terrible things. It’s not fair, but it’s happening, and it’s not going to go away.

We didn’t choose this name originally, but every time we are asked to change it, we’re choosing. Maybe in the past we didn’t understand what the name means, but we understand now. This name doesn’t actually refer to any of the things that we love about this town: the beauty, the values, all the good parts of the history, our memories. It refers to a white supremacist, and it refers to terrible violence against the original people. It’s not our fault, but it’s our responsibility.

We weren’t in the room that day in 1889. We’re in the room now. We’re choosing right now, and we keep choosing. I hope that someday, we’ll choose something new.

IN CLOSING: A REQUEST

I have a request for everyone in the community, no matter how you feel about the name. Please think hard about the underlying goals associated with changing the name.

Over the years, as I’ve listened to the same arguments over and over, I started asking myself and others: what are the actual goals that people hope to achieve by changing the name? Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

• We want to demonstrate the City’s commitment to being inclusive and welcoming to all people

• We want to increase understanding about local and Indigenous history and culture

• We want to signify that we don’t support the ideas of the Confederacy

• We want to face the difficult parts of our history together

• We want to symbolize a commitment to rise to the social

  challenges that face us in the future

• We want to optimize our prospects as an attractive and

  prosperous place to live and visit

  These goals had broad support on the citizens’ commission, and I hope they have broad support in the entire community. I’m asking everyone, pro or con, to take a moment to think about those goals – separate from the name question. Are they important to you? I hope they are.

  And, even if you want to keep the name Fort Bragg – maybe even especially if you want that – I hope you’ll support those goals, and work toward them by other means. There are plenty of strategies to choose from. Here are just a few possibilities, some of which are already in progress:

• We can put up public markers to memorialize the events that took place at the Fort

• We can create a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Task Force for the City

• We can put up markers to indicate traditional Pomo place-names around the area

• We can convert the last Fort building into a memorial museum & garden

• We can make sure that schools present local history that is accurate and complete, and includes the very hard parts

• We could create storytelling programs for community members to share their experiences across cultural, racial, and other differences.

• We could start a One City, One Book program to explore these issues further, through reading

• We can replace that plaque

  I’d love to see us pursue all of the above. I think actions like these have the potential to move us forward together, as we continue to grapple with the legacy of this name that we keep choosing.

  Thank you.