A recent study of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board reports that racial tensions and distrust have created severe rifts between the board and those who work and play in the city's parks.
In an interim report sent to park board employees on Jan. 25, consultants cited issues ranging from discrimination against minority employees to failures to "connect" with inner-city communities. Such problems, also highlighted in recent complaints from the local NAACP, require immediate attention, the consultants wrote.
In December, the local branch of the NAACP informed Park Board commissioners that, during the previous six months, it had received more than 160 complaints from employees and park users alleging racial discrimination by the agency.
In a letter inviting employees to discuss the report at a series of meetings, Park Board Superintendent Jayne Miller said she will work with the consultants, commissioners and staff to address the complaints.
"This superintendent and this board hear you, take your concerns seriously, and will act with you to make needed meaningful changes," Miller wrote.
The superintendent noted that the report also found numerous strong points in the board's operations and told employees, "Unfortunately, many of the deficiencies and issues noted are not new but have been present for years."
The Brooklyn Park consultant hired by the board last fall concurred that the problems were longstanding and deeply rooted. The board, wrote Betty Webb and Gary Miller, will need a "laser like focus on well designed and implemented transformational strategies over a long period of time."
The report was not due until April, but Webb and Miller delivered the interim assessment after the NAACP complaints surfaced, saying the allegations "elevated our findings to a sense of immediacy."
