From a press release:

The Metropolitan King County Council’s Committee of the Whole, the only standing committee of the Council on which all nine members serve, will host County Executive Dow Constantine, other elected officials, and guests at a special meeting discussing race in King County at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Pacific Science Center, 200 Second Ave. N., Seattle.

The Science Center’s current exhibit, RACE: Are We So Different? will serve as the setting for the meeting.

“This is the first time the King County Council will have an open and honest public discussion about race,” said Council Vice Chair Julia Patterson, Chair of the Committee of the Whole. “We, as policymakers, need to take leadership and create the space for open dialogue about race.  Without a doubt, perceptions of race continue to impact public policy at all levels of government. Our hope is that this meeting is just the beginning of an on-going discussion.”

“This is a groundbreaking and appropriate discussion for elected leaders to have in Martin Luther King Jr. County. It is beyond time to dispel and dismantle the artificial, social construct we call ‘race’, which was created to divide us rather than unite us,” said Council Chair Larry Gossett. “With the changing demographics of King County, we have a duty to understand how race and racism has impacted public policy historically and currently.”

“Race,” developed by the Science Museum of Minnesota in collaboration with the American Anthropological Association, deconstructs historical, scientific and social ideas of race. The goal of the exhibit is to help guests understand what race is, and more importantly, what race is not.

Along with a tour of the exhibit, which will be conducted by Science Center CEO Bryce Siedl, the committee will hear from several expert speakers, including:

• Pamela Taylor, Director of the Center for the Study of Justice in Society and an Associate Professor in the College of Education at Seattle University; and

• Martin Friedman, Director of Re-Entry and Family Services with the YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish. He also serves as internal consultant for the YWCA’s Race and Social Justice Initiative.