[0:04] [Music] [0:09] Well, my name is Regina Neville and I've [0:12] lived in Adina now almost 25 years and [0:15] it it is a city of choice for my husband [0:18] and for me. We both grew up in Iowa. We [0:21] met in Iowa and we've had the [0:24] opportunity to live in several different [0:26] places including Connecticut, North [0:28] Carolina, and then 10 years in San [0:31] Francisco. We both had good jobs and our [0:34] kids were starting school, but we missed [0:37] the Midwest and we wanted the kids to be [0:39] closer to their grandparents. So, we [0:41] looked at cities in the Midwest and for [0:45] lots of reasons, Adina stood out. It's [0:47] close to an airport, which my husband [0:49] needed for travel. The schools are [0:51] great. It's on the southern side of this [0:55] city in so easier to get to Iowa. Uh, [0:58] and it just seemed like a great [1:00] community. So, we have we've never [1:02] looked back. Best decision we've made. [1:05] [Music] [1:11] I'm still growing. I'm still learning. [1:13] And growing up in Iowa, my community was [1:16] homogeneous, mostly white, uh, primarily [1:19] Protestant and Catholic, so mostly a [1:22] Christian community. And diversity is [1:25] something that we talked about, but the [1:27] terms are a little bit different. Were [1:28] you of German or Irish origin? And for [1:32] my grandparents, they were GermanIrish. [1:34] So they had to choose a different [1:35] church, one that spoke English and [1:38] didn't have mass in German. So that was [1:40] my upbringing. that even as a little [1:42] kid, race inequity was not something we [1:45] talked about in our community. It wasn't [1:48] that it was um not recognized because I [1:51] think everybody was aware, but it wasn't [1:54] something that there was a conscious [1:55] effort to discuss. When something when [1:59] there was uh what I now know were [2:01] microaggressions, I did not know that as [2:03] a child, but when that came up, what I'm [2:06] grateful for is there was something [2:07] inside me that made me feel [2:09] uncomfortable. It was it was like a a [2:11] switch or a a jerk. It's like did I did [2:15] I really hear that first questioning? [2:17] Did it sound like what I think it [2:19] sounded like? And one specific example [2:22] when I was probably elementary school [2:24] was watching a basketball game on [2:26] television with a lot of family members. [2:29] I think it was a high school tournament [2:31] and there were Iowa teams playing [2:34] students in this case from Waterlue Iowa [2:37] which is a more diverse community. One [2:39] of uh my family members talked about the [2:42] dark skin of everyone on the court who [2:45] was from Waterlue and phrased it in a [2:48] way that I found very jarring and I ju I [2:54] wasn't used to being around people who [2:56] didn't have white skin certainly was [2:58] aware of it but hearing the term hearing [3:01] it called out now fortunately it wasn't [3:04] as derogatory as some terms that can be [3:06] used but definitely a recognition [3:08] there's there's a difference. Something [3:10] is not the same and it's not about the [3:12] skill in basketball. So that was [3:14] jarring. And then many years later in [3:17] college, I had the opportunity just to [3:20] study for a while in New Jersey, much [3:22] more diverse school than where I was [3:24] attending in Iowa. And when some friends [3:27] of mine came to see the production, what [3:30] I didn't expect, but what was clear is [3:33] some of them were extremely [3:34] uncomfortable. And this was the 1980s. [3:37] The idea of interracial relationships [3:40] was not new to the United States by any [3:43] means, but recognizing that people who I [3:47] thought we we had the opportunity for an [3:50] education to meet many other people, how [3:53] uncomfortable that made some people [3:54] feel. [3:56] I didn't know everything about where we [3:58] had come from as a country. Certainly [4:00] didn't know where we were going. But [4:02] that idea of being colorblind, it felt [4:04] like that was um like, okay, now I know [4:08] and this this is an answer. We were [4:11] looking for an answer and thought that [4:14] that might be it. In the late8s, [4:17] conversations between Robert Brewstein, [4:19] who was the artistic director of [4:20] American Reparatory Theater, and August [4:22] Wilson, who has some St. Paul roots and [4:26] nationally known playwright, had a [4:28] conversation about colorblind casting. [4:30] Can we just put any role in a play? Can [4:35] we cast it with a performer of know [4:38] regardless of the color of their skin? [4:40] It was a tense debate. And I remember [4:43] having been taught that colorblind [4:46] casting was the a right way to look at [4:50] casting. And in hindsight, being able to [4:55] recognize that it is a way, there is not [4:58] a right way. And there are so many other [5:01] factors to consider. Um, and that [5:05] doesn't necessarily make it equal. So [5:07] just because it is a different way of [5:09] doing things than what has been done [5:11] before, specifically in theater arts, [5:13] but also with a lot of athletics, [5:16] staffing the boardroom and hiring [5:18] people, hiring practice. It was a way, [5:21] it was part of a journey, and we needed [5:23] to come farther. [5:30] We were not progressing in some cases at [5:33] all communally. I was not asking enough [5:36] questions of myself. I was not [5:39] intentional enough with my learning and [5:42] my unlearning. And the anti-racism [5:45] collective conversations [5:48] allowed for one a safe space to share [5:52] and collectively try to do better. If we [5:56] know better, we do better. And we can't [5:59] do much if we really don't know. And we [6:02] remain ignorant and unable to move [6:05] forward if we have no idea that some of [6:07] the things that that some of the things [6:09] I might do might be a microaggression. [6:12] And I'm not aware of that. I need to be [6:14] made aware of that. And it's [6:16] uncomfortable. And I have to go through [6:19] the discomfort. I can't just put it [6:22] aside and say, "Well, I'm going to [6:24] deflect and go another direction because [6:27] I won't move forward." [6:35] Having the opportunity to travel and to [6:38] live for extended periods of time in [6:41] different parts of the country has been [6:43] great, mostly through school and work. [6:45] being able to live in places where I get [6:48] to meet people from many different parts [6:51] of the world and many different cultural [6:53] backgrounds and in Minnesota very much [6:57] focused on education and governance. So [6:59] looking at policy, looking at how do we [7:03] support all of our students and all of [7:06] our staff so that everyone has the [7:08] opportunity to succeed and then [7:11] recognizing that our systems aren't set [7:14] up to let everybody succeed or to [7:17] support that kind of success. needing to [7:20] take that deep dive into one just [7:23] learning what I had not been aware of [7:25] before of policies that we have on the [7:28] books or that might have unfortunately [7:30] still been as part of our systems. Um [7:33] looking at our governmental systems just [7:35] looking at what happened and getting to [7:37] know people and then asking them what [7:40] what makes a difference what makes you [7:42] feel welcome? How do you feel at home? [7:44] Uh that's been tremendously helpful. [7:55] Adina is willing to ask hard questions. [7:57] I will say that from our city council. [8:00] They are willing to ask the questions [8:02] and recognize that the there may not be [8:05] answers and that a lot of the [8:07] conversation is difficult because of the [8:11] development of the anti-racism [8:13] collective. And it's not the only [8:15] organization in our community that is [8:17] asking these kinds of questions. It's [8:19] one that is partnering with EAA, you [8:24] know, representing Asian voices. Uh we [8:26] need to have indigenous voices. We need [8:29] to have voices of people with white [8:31] skin. There is no standing still. Being [8:34] silent is not neutral. [8:37] So given that I'm appreciate the fact [8:41] that there's a choice with many people [8:43] in the community to try to do better. I [8:46] am so impressed with young people [8:49] because one, they've had the opportunity [8:52] for conversation that I didn't have [8:55] growing up. So to see that difference [8:58] one, how comfortable they are with [8:59] conversation, [9:01] how comfortable they are with each [9:02] other, and they're willing to call [9:06] things out. I'm learning from them, and [9:08] I feel like the future is in good hands. [9:12] [Music]