Now is the time to use your voice and EMAIL the City Council in support of the Removal of the Serra Statue & School name change. We've made it super easy for you - all you have to do is CUT & PASTE these EMAIL TEMPLATES. We've included email addresses as well, just takes a minute and will impact so many. The more support we have, the more pressure they feel! Thank you so much!
EMAIL THIS ONE TO THE CITY AT cityclerk@cityofventura.ca.gov and council@cityofventura.ca.gov
Dear City Council of Ventura,
My name is [INSERT NAME]. I am writing to ask you to remove the statue of Father Junipero Serra from outside of City Hall. While Junipero Serra is often seen as a sentimental emblem of Californian history, the true history behind his Spanish missions is a history of oppression, racism, slavery, rape, and genocide.
Father Junipero Serra founded 9 missions in Baja California, including the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. The Spanish missions were systems of mass oppression and slavery. Spanish missionaries in the 1700s and early 1800s forced the indigenous peoples of the areas they colonized to build the missions and convert to Roman Catholicism. If they refused they were tortured and/or killed. Junipero Serra was complicit in the enslavement of indigenous peoples. He enslaved the Chumash people and forced them into labor and conversion. He exhibited a white savior complex by referring to indigenous peoples as inferior beings who needed Spaniards and God to save them.
As statues of racists historical figures are being torn down around the world, including statues of slave owners and European colonizers, we need to acknowledge the racism that still plagues Ventura. One facet of this racism is the city's tolerance of the mass genocide of indigenous people, which it continues to perpetuate by allowing this statue to remain outside of City Hall. We need to remove statues in our own community that represent colonization, oppression, and the destruction of indigenous cultures. We need to work toward building a community that chooses to admire symbols that are inclusive of all people, including the Chumash people whose traditional homeland we live on and benefit from.
I urge you, as city council officials, to stand for justice and against the oppression of indigenous peoples by removing the statue of Father Junipero Serra. To keep that statue up is to uphold the notion of white supremacy and represents a symbol of racism and systemic oppression. As we know, these ideologies are responsible for the continued and unjust killings, discrimination, and harassment of people of color today, and it must stop. NOW IS THE TIME!
Sincerely,
[INSERT NAME]
EMAIL THIS ONE TO sabrena.rodriguez@venturausd.org, jackie.moran@venturausd.org, matt.almaraz@venturausd.org, jerry.dannenberg@venturausd.org, velma.lomax@venturausd.org, roger.rice@venturausd.org
Dear Ventura Unified School District,
My name is [INSERT NAME]. I am writing to ask you to change the names of Junipero Serra and Blanche Reynolds elementary schools. While Junipero Serra is often seen as a sentimental emblem of Californian history, the true history behind his Spanish missions is a history of oppression, racism, slavery, rape, and genocide. As documented in history, Blanche Reynolds was an avid supporter of segregation in our schools, which resulted in unequal access to quality schooling for Mexican and Mexican-American students.
Last year your school board unanimously voted to pass a resolution that made Ethnic and Social Justice Studies a graduation requirement, as well as ensuring that ESJS is taught in every TK-12-grade classroom, and I applaud you for that. However, it would be major contradiction to not change the names of these two schools as a district that just passed this resolution, and the community expects you to follow through with your commitment to improve the culture of this city and our district by taking a stand for social and restorative justice.
Father Junipero Serra founded 9 missions in Baja California, including the San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura. The Spanish missions were systems of mass oppression and slavery. Spanish missionaries in the 1700s and early 1800s forced the indigenous peoples of the areas they colonized to build the missions and convert to Roman Catholicism. If they refused they were tortured and/or killed. Junipero Serra was complicit in the enslavement of indigenous peoples. He enslaved the Chumash people and forced them into labor and conversion. He exhibited a white savior complex by referring to indigenous peoples as inferior beings who needed Spaniards and God to save them.
As statues of racists historical figures are being torn down around the world, including statues of slave owners and European colonizers, we need to acknowledge the racism that still plagues Ventura, which is why I am also pushing to have the statue of Junipero Serra taken down. One facet of this racism is the city's tolerance of the mass genocide of indigenous people and unequal educational opportunities for students of color, which it continues to perpetuate by allowing schools to be named after racist individuals. We need to work toward building a community that chooses to admire historical figures that celebrate and honor of all people, including the Chumash people whose traditional homeland we live on and benefit from today.
I urge you, as school board members, to stand for justice and against the oppression of people of color by changing the names of Junipero Serra and Blanche Reynolds schools. To keep those names is to uphold the notion of white supremacy. As we know, these ideologies are responsible for the continued and unjust killings, discrimination, and harassment of people of color today, and it must stop. NOW IS THE TIME!
Sincerely,
[INSERT NAME]