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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClosed Session03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III, President & CE) Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Founder & President Emeritus C.K. Hoffler Esq, Chairman – Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Inc. www.rainbowpush.org National Headquarters 930 East 50th Street Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 373-3366 Office (773) 373-3571 Fax Automotive Project 4335 W. Fort Street Detroit, MI 49202 (313) 842-3883 Office (313) 842-2625 Fax Wall Street Project 1441 Broadway Suite 5082 New York, NY 10018 (646) 569-5889 Like us Rainbow PUSH Follow us @wallstreetproj @RevJJackson @RPCoalition www.rainbowpushwallstreetproject.org www.rainbowpush.org 773-FREEDOM (773)373-3366 March 26, 2024 Office of the Mayor and City Council Palm Springs City Hall 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 Dear City Council and Leadership of Palm Springs, I write to you as President and CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which was founded by my esteemed predecessor and mentor, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, to help Black communities protect, defend, and gain civil rights throughout the United States. Last month, I had the distinct honor of visiting Palm Springs to deliver remarks at a service in honor of Black History Month – including the history of the Black community of Palm Springs. The diversity in the room was awe-inspiring. Despite the many different backgrounds represented, everyone in the room came together to pray for the leaders of your beautiful city to pursue a path of healing for the scars of the past. My message that day is the same as my message to you now: the City of Palm Springs has an opportunity to lead the way, to show the rest of the country the good that can come from living the values that we preach. The healing power of helping to restore what was taken from a community 60 years ago will reverberate across the city and its people because this city is a place that attracts those that hold themselves and their communities to a higher standard. I am humbled to have had the opportunity to play a role in bringing such a diverse chorus of people together in prayer for long overdue justice and healing for the Survivors of Section 14. I am likewise encouraged to know that this chorus has continued to grow and expand since my visit only a month ago, and that the Council is looking to resolve this matter. Hopefully, the next time I visit Palm Springs, I will have an opportunity to thank you in person for your leadership on this important matter. In the meantime, I will continue to pray for clarity and healing for all the people of Palm Springs, and for you as City leaders to reach a resolution with the Survivors and their families. In gratitude, Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III President and CEO, Rainbow PUSH Coalition 03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session Office of the Mayor and City Council Palm Springs City Hall 3200 East Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 March 26, 2024 Dear Mayor and City Council Members of Palm Springs, When the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors approached the National Action Network (NAN) to share their story, we were alarmed to hear what these families endured, but not at all surprised. Their story is not unique. It’s a tale that has repeated itself in our history time and again. In Jim Crow America, when Black and Brown communities established homes and began building wealth, their homes and businesses were razed. It happened in Tulsa, it happened in Atlanta, and countless other places. Even when they tried to escape Jim Crowism by moving West to California – it happened in Palm Springs. However, what we believe sets Palm Springs apart at this very moment is the City’s present opportunity to finally deliver restorative justice to the survivors, many of whom are in their twilight years. It’s an opportunity to not only make families whole again, but also to secure a place for Palm Springs in the history books as a national leader for racial reconciliation. For more than 30 years, the National Action Network has promoted a modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender. This includes fighting to correct the wrongs of the past. We stand in solidarity with the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors and echo their calls for justice. We look to you all with hope that the City of Palm Springs will do what is necessary to settle this matter once and for all. Sincerely, Rev. Jonathan E. D. Moseley, Sr. Western Regional Director, National Action Network 03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session From:yomandi@aol.com To:City Clerk Subject:Get The FACTS Date:Wednesday, March 27, 2024 9:11:39 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. March 27, 2024 Dear Mayor Bernstein and members of the City Council, GET THE FACTS- in April 2023 the city approved issuing a request for proposal to hire a researcher to Get the Facts on Section 14. The facts are needed to know what really happened in the late 1958-1965 when Frank Bogert was mayor. If the City Council Gets the Facts it will have to deal with the false information the human rights commission and the city council has spread through the community. Frank Bogert was a good man and worked tirelessly to help residents of Section 14, Tribal members, and others to make life better. I know because my family knew Frank since 1945 and we were here during that difficult time in the city's history. Please keep your promise to Get the Facts and have an open process to move the city forward positively. Sincerely, Gregg A Mandinach 2351 E Camino Pelicano Palm Springs, CA 92262 03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session Dear Members of the City Council There is a wonderful opportunity today to correct the serious wrong that has been done against the memory of Frank Bogert and the history of Palm Springs. I grew up in Palm Springs, graduated from Palm Springs High School and three elementary schools here before that. My family, living in three different neighborhoods before eventually buying a home, gives me a varied perspective. I can honestly say there wasn’t a square inch of this town where Frank Bogert wasn’t deeply respected, even loved. His devotion to the community and all the people in it, rich (as we weren’t) and poor (as we were) is legendary. Our very first rental home was in Section 14 on the corner of Amado and Callee Encilia. It’s not standing today and was barely standing then, but as a student at nearby Katherine Finchy, I thought it was heaven, a virtual gold mine of kids to play with. I was too young to foresee the bitter history that would be later attached to the area, and like my now well known neighbor and classmate, the late Charlie Jordan, I would grow up proud of Palm Springs and everlastingly grateful to the best known person in town., Frank Bogert. He was a true friend and mentor to us both and to countless others. Charlie’s success story and his gratitude to Frank Bogert is well recorded history in this town and I have no doubt if he were alive today he would be standing up for the legacy of a truly great man. The wrong that I respectfully urge you to correct today is the removal of the Bogert stature from City Hall based on false claims clearly known to be false at the time by many, and at this point, should be known to be false by any and all who have actually sought out the facts concerning Bogert’s relationship to the plight of Section 14. As heartbreaking as it was to see the statue’s removal two years ago it has been more heartbreaking since because of PS Council action or inaction. Am I correct that it has been a full year since the Council voted to hire an independent contractor to research and get the facts on the City’s role in Section 14? And what happened to the assurance that there would be open public meetings to discuss these facts? Don’ the records already show that in 1961 Mayor Bogert strongly advocated for a moratorium on evictions initiated by landowners and the Bureau of Indian Affairs? Isn’t it a fact that it was at his direction that the City worked to find alternative housing for those needing to relocate?. Why aren’t the facts that the City already has in its own records being opened up for public discussion in place of the slander against Bogert promoted and allowed to stand by the so-called Human Rights Commission? I respectfully request that there be no further delay in getting the FACTS out and public discussion established by the City Council. We all deserve better, certainly Frank Bogert, a truly great public servant. Sincerely, Doni Hubbard 03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session From:City of Palm Springs To:City Clerk Subject:*NEW SUBMISSION* Submit Public Comment to the City of Palm Springs Date:Thursday, March 28, 2024 3:01:10 PM NOTICE: This message originated outside of The City of Palm Springs -- DO NOT CLICK on links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe. Submit Public Comment to the City of Palm Springs Submission #:3097587 IP Address:76.226.164.155 Submission Date:03/28/2024 3:01 Survey Time:3 minutes, 3 seconds You have a new online form submission. Note: all answers displaying "*****" are marked as sensitive and must be viewed after your login. Full Name/Nombre omar valdez City of Residence/Ciudad de residencia Concord, Phone (optional) /Teléfono (opcional) (415) 497-2530 Email (optional/opcional) valdeomar@gmail.com Your Comments/Sus comentarios We’re all familiar with the history of our city, and we have seen over the recent past that we’ve gone from conversations to action, from apologies to negotiations. I’d like to thank the Council for their understanding and empathy and for listening to both residents, descendants and Survivors. In recent months, the Council has gathered twice to address this issue which is significant progress, and we are truly grateful for your leadership. As conversations continue, we all have a great opportunity to show the world that, here in Palm Springs, we are the center of progress, social justice, and equality of opportunity for all people, regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion, or anything else. If we seize this moment, we can be the city that made it right. I believe a tailored and targeted program that is reasonable and fair is absolutely achievable if we work together. Thank you, City of Palm Springs This is an automated message generated by Granicus. Please do not reply directly to this email. 03/28/2024 Public Comment Closed Session