Exposing racism in liberal Berkeley
On September 25 , 2018, in advance of and following a Berkeley City Council meeting at which an item was being considered to stop the police from targeting anti-racist activists for exercising their free speech and then punishing them by releasing their arrest photos and identifying information on twitter, Emilie Raguso published two articles in Berkeleyside, both of which attacked Berkeley Councilmember Davila, the initiator of the item, and myself (as her legislative aide).
Following the publishing of her attack, Raguso filed a claim against me with the City of Berkeley Human Resource Department, asserting that my confrontation of the racism in her article against Coucilmember Davila and myself was a form of “intimidation”. Berkeleyside has refused to publish any responses to their articles, including my statement and the statement of witness Ellen Brotsky, thus letting their attacks stand without allowing us to respond to the racist, anti-semitic and anti-progressive portrayals in Raguso’s articles.
My attorney reached out to Berkeleyside to follow up on the request to publish my side of the story and received a letter back claiming, “The attorney investigating the complaint for the city asked us not to publish or discuss the matter further during the investigation. We are respecting that request.” When my attorney contacted the investigating attorney to confirm the advice, he received the following response, “I provided no advice.”
As such, my statement and that of witness Ellen Brotsky are published below.
After it was revealed that Berkeley police and Berkeley’s Public Information Officer strategized to deter people protesting recent white-supremacist rallies by criminalizing face covers and sign posts, physically blocking their path to public space, and publicly “doxing” them on social media, there was significant public and international outcry. Councilmember Davila partnered with Councilmember Harrison to propose a change to City police regulations to stop the dangerous doxing practice of publishing arrest photos and identifying information on social media, leaving anti-racist activists open to retaliation by white supremacists. In my capacity as aide to City Councilmember Davila, and at her direction, I helped to edit the proposed resolution, which passed in an altered form at City Council Tuesday, September 25.
That afternoon, Ms. Raguso sent an email to Councilmember Davila and myself at our personal email addresses asking us to comment on her claim that I, and not Councilmember Davila, was the primary author (meaning the initiator) of the resolution. Councilmember Davila has a strict policy of not speaking to the media about City Council items prior to the public discussion of them at Council meetings. Therefore, we did not respond to requests for comments from Berkeleyside, Daily Cal or others.
Following the September 25th City Council meeting, I approached Ms. Raguso to express my opposition to a racist assumption in her article: that a white, Jewish woman is running the show behind a Black politician. Her argument implies that Councilmember Davila could not have provided leadership on an item to stop the police from targeting anti-racists for exercising their first amendment rights. Davila’s leadership on this is completely consistent with her demonstrated commitment to justice and equality, to defending Berkeley’s most marginalized communities, and to protecting civil liberties. Furthermore, implying that a Jewish woman is “pulling the strings” behind a Black politician is a classically anti-semitic trope being given renewed life by emboldened white nationalist forces.
In her article, “Update: Council says police can’t name non-violent arrestees on social media during protests,” Ms. Raguso claims that I threatened and jabbed her. I am sorry that she felt threatened by my sharing a concern about the racism implicit in her article. It was not my intention to threaten her and those who actually witnessed the interaction reject the claim that I was threatening. Furthermore, as Ms. Raguso knows, her arm and my finger made contact only accidentally. I apologize for referring to her as “gross”. I was upset by her attacks on me and her disrespect of Councilmember Davila, but using that word was inappropriate.
Since the publication of Ms. Raguso’s article, our office has received emails accusing me of anti-semitism for confronting Ms. Raguso about her racist and anti-semitic insinuation. Bizarrely, Raguso’s article points to a t-shirt of mine to somehow cast aspersions on my motivations. I am proud of the t-shirt, which declares “Another Jew for a Free Palestine,” and “never again for anyone” on the back. For centuries, my ancestors fled Russia, Spain and Eastern Europe from genocide and persecution. My commitment to defending those being targeted by hate, state violence, and neglect is an attempt to honor that history and has been a life-long passion.
Confronting Jewish people about racism against Palestinians, Black people, immigrants, Muslims or others is not anti-semitism; it is our deep responsibility. For me, this has included challenging racism against and within Jewish communities — a legacy that I carry from my grandmother who was kicked out of her synagogue by the Rabbi for de-segregating the temple daycare so that the children of Black families who shared public housing with Jewish families could attend.
To Ms. Raguso I say: It is you who are attacking me in an attempt to undermine Councilmember Davila, a voice for social justice on the city council who embodies Berkeley’s real diversity. You are attacking me because of my political views, you are attacking me for doing my job and advancing Councilmember Davila’s goals, and you are attacking me for being part of an effort to hold the police to a standard of decency and accountability that is necessary for true public safety and the protection of civil liberties.
To bolster your attack, you have filed a complaint with the City of Berkeley against me for intimidation. This is particularly troubling as it appears to arise out of my exercise of my right to speak freely and to challenge, verbally and in measured tones, an article that you wrote that I believe to be racist and anti-semitic. It is troubling that it was brought by you, a reporter who should be committed to free speech and expect debate as part of open dialogue.
Furthermore, I am very concerned about the bias in the stories that Berkeleyside chooses to cover and not cover. The paper has increasingly attracted commenters espousing deeply racist, xenophobic, class-prejudiced, misogynist, homophobic and transphobic views, and has done little to discourage comments that would fail civility standards of most papers. These articles unleash forces whose intention is to silence and intimidate Cheryl, me and other progressives. Even more dangerously, the paper appears to accept police positions unquestioningly. Ms. Raguso has a self-proclaimed “special relationship” with the police, allowing her privileged access to information that is not publicly available. With such proximity to power, Berkeleyside risks betraying the core values of an independent media.
We need a local media whose stories and journalists reflect the full diversity of Berkeley, a media that can speak truth to power when such power is abused. I am proud to serve as Councilmember Davila’s aide, and remain committed to ensuring that the City Council works for everyone. That is the Berkeley that I want my son to grow up in. Berkeleyside’s attack is one of many that I have faced for this commitment, but it will not stop me, Cheryl or other progressives from standing up for what we believe in. Racism and other forms of injustice must be fought, and the right to public protest defended. I call on Berkeleyside and Ms. Raguso to do the job the Berkeley community expects of them: report the facts, seek the truth, act with integrity and stand for equity and justice.
