Weld commissioners end affiliation with ROC after e-mails discussing injustice apology

The Board of Weld County Commissioners will no longer participate in an immigrant integration group because members of the group have asked for an apology for "historical injustices."

Commissioner Dave Long said the commissioners decided to end their affiliation with the Realizing Our Community group after a series of e-mails came to his attention through which members of the group kicked around the idea of asking the "European and Anglo community" to apologize for injustices their ancestors allegedly committed.

"It was the board's perception that (the group) would be forward looking," Long said. "It seems it's taken a different turn. In order for it to go forward, it's now conditional on an apology, so we decided not to be a part of that group."

Long said he was brought up to believe that forgiveness shouldn't be based on the condition of getting an apology first, though he stopped short of saying whether he thought an apology was warranted.

Realizing Our Community is a group composed of more than two dozen municipalities and civic groups working to integrate immigrants into Greeley and Weld. The group received a $10,000 grant from the private, nonprofit group Colorado Trust to initially fund its efforts. Sharon McCabe, Greeley's human resources director, said the group will soon apply for another grant from Colorado Trust to implement its strategies for integration.

Juvenal Cervantes, co-chairman of Realizing Our Community, said members of the group had discussed asking for an apology but that the proposal was in its infancy.

"Every point (in the commissioners' press release) is incorrect," Cervantes said. "Some (proposals) were discussed, but the end result was always healing and inclusion. The final decision is made as a group after deliberation."

Cervantes said the group is open to meeting with the commissioners to resolve any ill-will between them instead of "using the media as a mediator."

Greeley City Councilwoman Pam Shaddock said she would have appreciated the opportunity to speak with the commissioners about their decision before they made it, and that she will try to speak to the board to ask them to reconsider their decision.

The commissioners used e-mail messages to each other to make the decision to stop participating in the group and held no public meeting on their decision.

Susan Downs-Karkos, a senior program officer with Colorado Trust, said it's unfortunate that the Weld commissioners are dropping out of the group because it's important for all voices to be represented at the Realizing Our Community meetings.

Downs-Karkos said if members of the group were indeed speaking about asking for an apology for historical injustices that it's "all part of an ongoing conversation that the community needs to have."

She added that Realizing Our Community's plan for integration is not final and that people in the conversation will find common ground through these conversations.

"Some (proposals) stay in the plan, and some get voted out," she said.