Several residents at the meeting said the resolution was not specific enough.
Denise Moore said people of Asian American and Pacific Islander descent need support right now. Moore, with Sugarcreek Cares, asked the commissioners to put this resolution on their agenda.
Moore said Sugarcreek Cares is a volunteer group dedicated to anti-racism.
May is AAPI Heritage month.
She painted the situation like this: all houses in a neighborhood are important, but when one is on fire, that house is a priority in the moment.
“That’s what is happening in this moment right now,” she said.
Perales said “many houses are on fire right now,” and said that when someone narrows down groups not to hate that it can sometimes open up to groups that it is okay to hate. Perales said people who are Jewish or people who are Black likely feel that their “houses” are on fire, too.
Kelsey Hurlburt, who got a note threatening her for her Black Lives Matter sign, was at the meeting to present on something unrelated, but spoke about the note she got during the public comments section of the meeting. Hurlburt said a man on a motorcycle came to her house and chip clipped the letter to the BLM sign in her yard. After reading it, she called the Sugarcreek Twp. police. The township police department is looking into who may have sent the note.
Wendy Dyer said the hate and anti-violence resolution “lacked courage.”
“Certain groups have been exposed to hate because of COVID,” Dyer said. “I appreciate the resolution, but I do feel there is a group of people right now asking for help and they’re feeling overwhelmed like they haven’t for a long time.”
Dyer said it was unfortunate that the resolution did not address the hate that Asian Americans have been getting during the COVID pandemic.
“Because of what’s going on in society right now, there is a group of people who should have been acknowledged,” Dyer said.
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