New Kent city board to strengthen ties with diverse communities

Building stronger relationships between diverse communities and Kent city officials looms as the primary goal for a new volunteer board.

Mayor Suzette Cooke and the City Council appointed the 17-member Cultural Communities Board on July 19 at City Hall to help bring Kent and its diverse residents closer together.

“They are a bridge between their respective communities and the City Council and mayor as we serve the community to help inform us about what makes a difference in their lives and that we might improve what we do and how we do it,” Cooke said at the council meeting. “And they are to be a link to the communities to talk about how we operate as a city and a culture here in Kent.”

The mayor explained further the board’s goals.

“It is really connecting people with people in helping to eliminate or prevent stereotypes from forming and to develop relationships based on true individuals and knowledge,” she said.

An initial meeting date hasn’t been set yet, but board members can’t wait to get started later this year. Each of them shared a few comments with the council last week.

“When I heard about this opportunity, I knew it was time to give back,” said Josephine Karanja, a state social worker who moved here from Kenya 21 years ago.    “I think we can all come together as one people and have a Kent culture. We can be a city that is an example to the rest of the country.”

Vaivao Semisi-Tupou, originally from Samoa, moved to Kent from Hawaii 19 years ago. He will represent Pacific Americans or Pacific Islanders.

“I want to serve on this committee because diversity is beautiful,” Semisi-Tupou said. “We’ve got to realize that each individual is unique and we’ve got to embrace our differences.”

Cooke described what city officials looked for in finding people to serve on the board.

“We are looking at appointing individuals to represent different cultures that are here in Kent as we as a whole city become one culture with all of the mix that’s in it,” Cooke said. “While I can’t appoint one individual to represent a whole culture, they are symbolizing that and helping us to learn from each other.”

The group includes individuals representing cultures from Iraq, El Salvador, Somalia, India, Ukraine, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The mayor said city staff defined culture to mean:

“Practices, habits, patterns, customs, values and structures that are related to a common group experience,” Cooke said. “It can include ethnicity, language, religion or spiritual beliefs, race, geographic origin, group history and life experiences.”

Goals for the board include increasing the diverse community’s access to city government, to become more engaged with city policy decisions and to serve as a liaison between the cultural communities and the city.

Board member Sharnshoke Kaur, 19, was raised in a traditional Punjabi family. She competes in martial arts where she has watched cultures come together.

“If we want our kids to appreciate diversity, there has to be something out there that excites them,” Kaur said. “That’s why we do martial arts because it’s cool and cool to watch. One of the things I want to accomplish on this board is I want to make diversity cool.”

The members of the group are: Ted Schwarz, Rand Al Hammadi, Vaivao Semisi-Topou, Marvin Eckfeldt, Sonia Morales, Yusuf Bashir, Hussein Al Kinani, Josephine Karanga, Beabe Akpojovwo, Cesar Rangel, Satwinder Kaur, Yuriy Zaremba, Sharnshoke Kaur, Raymond King, Mizanur Rahman, Shamso Issak and Ta Kwe Say.