City Watch

“I see you, I love you, I stand with you,” is the message Kamea Johnson, owner and operator of two local businesses, Chosen Creative (@chosencreative) at 2165 E. 2100 South in Sugar House, and the Utah Letter Writing Club (@utahletterwritingclub) shared in a live broadcast video this week on the Women’s Business Center of Utah (@wbcutah) Instagram account (below). Kamea Johnson was awarded the 2019 Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for Utah.

“I would really like us to start a movement of writing.”

“We desperately need to confirm relationships, ties of love and hate for the world is never still and our lives are a series of beginnings and endings.” —Kamea Johnson

“One letter can start an entire movement,” Kamea explains, “Writing takes us back to every influential movement in history.” In her live IG broadcast, she strongly encourages us to share our positive sentiments to our Black, LGBTQ, and marginalized neighbors and community members, “I would really like us to start a movement of writing. I ask you to take to the pen, to transform your world and community through heartfelt, action-charged writing.”

“Part of the heart of inequality starts in the home and the community, have we ever thought to write to the neighbor on your street? To write a letter costs no money, you could write it on your lunch hour,” she suggests.

Beautifully said, Kamea. I see you, I love you, and I stand with you. xoxo Jen 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/CByMsPkBMLU/

My name is Zara Ahmed, I am a small business owner (co-owner of the food truck Raclette Machine), and I identify as a person of color, Pakistani-American, queer, and non-binary.

It’s been two weeks since the first protest took place, in a response to demand justice over the killing of George Floyd. Since that day, I have been spending hours everyday talking to friends, business partners, customers, and our community in general—one person at a time —about race and injustice. I’ve been speaking out on my platforms, and doing everything within my capacity to fight for change. The thing that I continue to notice: white silence.

The word that best describes what it feels like to be a QPOC (queer people of color) in Utah is ignored. Nobody in my community looks like me (except for one person – Tan France. Love you Tan). I am both feminine and masculine. I have brown skin. I am proud of both my queer & Pakistani identities. How do you think that makes a person feel when they don’t see themselves reflected in their everyday life? Not in the government, not as employers, not in my everyday life. Author Junot Díaz offers one of my favorite quotes, “if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves.” And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist?”

Prior to moving to Salt Lake City, I lived in San Francisco where my community reflected many cultures. I worked with people who are black, brown, white, queer, trans, disabled, and a variety of identities. I worked as a Program Manager for a nonprofit, fighting for racial justice and my everyday conversations would revolve around equity and empowerment for all marginalized communities.

When the cost of living priced us out of California, and my wife and I chose to come to Salt Lake City just before the 2016 election, I tried to keep these conversations going, and what I felt was pain. I felt silenced. I felt invalidated. I felt people questioning if my experience was real and if we still really need to talk about racism.

So what did I do? I became more complacent as a survival strategy. I was tired of feeling so much hurt from the people I chose to be in community with. I felt so put down by my employers not validating my existence, that I put my energy into building my own business. And while I didn’t use my platform to talk about racial justice, I did choose to hire folks belonging to marginalized communities. I tried to steep myself in food justice—supporting local, rejecting corporations that contribute to systematic oppression and continue to abuse people for their labor.

I used the power I gained by owning a business to talk to my staff and customers when the opportunities arose. I chose to speak out on our company values when competing in the 2019 Women’s Entrepreneurial Grant Competition (which I believe the judges did not like hearing, ultimately hurting my earnings in the competition). I used my platform to advocate a lot for the queer community, but I never said the words “black lives matter” on my platforms, because I am aware that many people in Utah don’t believe that black lives matter as much as white lives and I was afraid of losing income and facing violence, both in person and through online harassment. My food truck is an easy target for a white supremacist attack, you just need to look at my website to find me. I was scared.

Photo By: Kerri Fukui & CityHomeCOLLECTIVE.

For the first time since starting my business, I feel a shift in our culture. I feel more safe and supported to speak out and say that I believe black lives matter, that they are worth the same as white lives and that all people deserve the inherent right to freedom and to not feel a fear of being killed at any given moment. People are dying and I’m not willing to keep silent, let this moment pass, and return to business as usual. I’m not interested. This is what oppression looks like.

I’m going to keep doing what’s within my capacity, donating my time to non-black communities, and helping them understand the importance of this work. This is not the job of people of color, many of your questions can be answered with Google, but I am also aware of the power that direct interaction and what my experience as QPOC can offer to the people who I care about. And I am going to try to engage in these conversations with compassion and empathy. I’m tired of staying silent and I have the energy to give. The only thing I ask in return—please continue the conversation. Your work is not done after talking to me. Talk to your parents, kids, neighbors, employers, and friends. Hold others accountable. Ask them where they stand on this human rights issue. White people, you have power and a reach that I will never have. You have influence. You have the ability to change systematic oppression. Please, speak up.

Zara Ahmed

Co-Owner of Raclette Machine

pronouns: she/they

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We want to hear from you. At Salt Lake magazine we want to share our platform with local voices. Speak out. Send us your opinions and thoughts and and we may publish it to our website. Email our editor Mary at mary@saltlakemagazine.com.

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Everyone knows when Valentine’s Day is although no one really knows why it is celebrated or why it’s called Valentine’s Day.

Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday, supposedly celebrates the harvest and a probably apocryphal feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people of New England, many of whom were later enslaved by whites.

But for a long time Juneteenth was familiar mainly to those who live near black/African American communities. In Texas. It’s the day, June 19, the news reached the slaves in Galveston, Texas that they were free—two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. (ed. note: Thanks to a reader for pointing out my earlier mistake!)

The day that slavery really ended in the United States.

It’s crazy that we celebrate so many trivial days when this one goes unrecognized by the federal government. Not crazy: racist.

But over the past few years, because of Black Lives Matter, because after 400 years, Americans are becoming aware of their own racism, Juneteenth has become a celebration in many places it’s been overlooked before.

Here’s what will be happening in Utah, where thousands gathered in various places for Jubilation Day last year. Because of Covid-19, much of the recognition is planned to be virtual.

Juneteenth Day Flag Raising (Friday, 11:30 a.m.), Salt Lake County Government Center, 2001 S. State St. in Salt Lake City.

The State of Black Utah Town Hall (Friday, June 19, 6:30-8 p.m.) on Zoom

For events in Ogden and Logan, go to weber.edu/juneteenth.

Please share any Juneteenth celebrations with us.

George Floyd, a Minneapolis man died as a result of excessive brutality from a white police officer on May 25, 2020. Multiple eyewitnesses and videos revealed police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling his entire body weight on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. During that time, Floyd was faced down on the pavement, handcuffed, and begging to breathe, while three other officers stood by and assisted. In strong protest and outrage, many have gathered, shared thoughts and expressed ideas about what can be done to stop the ongoing injustice faced by so many people in our Country.

This small family came to visit the new George Floyd mural from Park City.

As an offering, on Thursday, June 3, 2020, a mural in memory of George Floyd was unveiled to our SLC streets near 800 South and 300 West and across from the Fisher Brewing Co. painted by an anonymous artist.

And members of our community are coming to pay respects, as individuals, groups, and families to visit Floyd’s mural, bringing flowers, artwork, or placing signs with messages like “Be Kind” or “Black Lives Matter.” As a symbol, this mural of George Floyd’s face will hopefully serve as a reminder to continue to take action for real social reform, justice and equity for all.

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The Park City Council voted unanimously to transform Main Street into a car-free, pedestrian zone every Sunday from June 14 through September 6. The council’s decision is part of a larger effort to bolster consumer activity in Old Town during the summer as coronavirus continues to wreak economic havoc. The hope is that added space and a vibrant atmosphere will attract people to return to Main Street to dine, drink and shop as summer tourism season arrives.

Pedestrian zones are a familiar experience in Park City. Summer Sundays have long featured a vehicle closure on the northern end of Main Street for the Park Silly Sunday Market, though that weekly event has been canceled this year in response to pandemic-related distancing guidelines. The popularity of other seasonal pedestrian-only events on Main Street—including the Kimball Arts Festival and the Independence Day parade—have led to some community members to support closing the road to vehicles for some time.

The Main Street closure will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each Sunday, encompassing two stretches between Heber Avenue south to the Wasatch Brew Pub lot and north to 9^th Street. Cross traffic will be permitted on Heber Avenue and 9^th Street, and there will be a turnaround in the Brew Pub lot in an effort to keep drivers from heading onto residential streets, a commonly voiced community concern whenever the topic of pedestrian zones are discussed. City officials will assess the pedestrian zone’s effects on Main Street businesses and the surrounding community in July and August to help determine when and how vehicle closures may be implemented in the future.

Traffic and parking congestion have been consistent scourges in Park City, and the pedestrian zone could be a step towards mitigating those issues. Increasing the usability of Main Street as opposed to optimizing it for high traffic volume is essential to the area’s economic recovery and the viability of businesses there. Hopefully more outdoor dining and shopping will provide a welcome sense of vibrancy and normalcy to Old Town this summer.

For more Park City updates, click here.

Salt Lake is eerily quiet on this Monday afternoon after a painful weekend of demonstrating against police brutality. Just a week ago, George Floyd, an African-American man, died while in police custody. Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt his entire body weight on Floyd’s neck while fellow officers helped hold Floyd down and another office stood by as a bystander. All four officers were later fired. Chauvin has been charged with third degree murder and manslaughter, although there are conflicting autopsies.

This act of police brutality ignited mass protests in almost every major city across the country, and has caused outrage worldwide, echoing the frustrations and oppression of the African American community. Here in Salt Lake City, we witnessed for the first time a protest gone violent. Below is a gallery of images from this weekends protests, at the Capitol building and by the City Library. By Saturday night, despite the sound of sirens and helicopters permeating downtown, volunteers were already at work cleaning up trash and graffiti.

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The rumble of concrete and dump trucks shuttling to and from worksites throughout Park City each summer isn’t talked about as frequently as the town’s pristine mountain air, singletrack trails and outdoor dining, but it’s an undeniable part of the summer soundtrack. With much of the world is bracing for a long recovery once the coronavirus pandemic is brought to heel—Park City officials are among those forecasting difficult months to come—some of us anticipated a brief respite as large-scale projects were delayed and reconsidered. Still, the perpetual churn of development in Park City continues amid a stalled economy with little certainty about how the future will unfold.

Few suitable development sites remain as decades of infill and conservation efforts have accounted for most land in the area. Four major projects—construction of the new Mayflower Mountain Resort on U.S. 40, development the Park City Mountain base area lots, development of Deer Valley’s Snow Park lots, and the creation of an Arts and Culture District near Bonanza Drive and Kearns Boulevard—will dictate Park City’s landscape going forward, but economic turmoil threatens to alter how some of those may take shape.

Across from the Jordanelle Reservoir, construction is moving ahead on Mayflower Mountain Resort. Contractors have returned to the site to continue work on the Military Wellness and Recreations Hotel (MWR)—a centerpiece of the new development—a 1.2-million-gallon water tank, roads, retaining walls and the voluntary cleanup program, which will control erosion to the area during and after construction. Though construction has resumed, challenges remain including a shortage of lending capital and the lack of a long-term agreement between Deer Valley and Extell to allow joint skiing operations between the two resorts.

Back in town, PEG Companies, the Provo-based firm intending to purchase and develop the Park City Mountain base area lots, met with the Park City Planning Commission this week to outline the scope of their project. PEG is operating within the bounds of an existing approval from the 1990s, but significant debate over how the ambitious plan will impact traffic and surrounding neighborhoods remains, with the possibility an entirely new master plan will be deemed necessary. Public input is considered essential in the process and final decision, but the inability to hold in-person meetings is a hindrance. Planning Commission Meetings will be available on the City Hall Website for those who want to stay informed and be involved.

Meanwhile, Park City Council members Becca Gerber and Tim Henney suggested reassessing the feasibility of the current plan for the upcoming Park City Arts and Culture District. The expected dearth of tax revenue is a major obstacle to what is an enormous undertaking for the municipal government. Developing the Arts and Culture District is a major step towards diversifying a local economy that has been inextricably tied to the ski industry, which is likely to be increasingly important amid an ongoing pandemic. No decisions have been made yet, but what the project looks like after upcoming budget discussions will impact the look of town for years to come.

There’s no news on the development of the Snow Park lots at Deer Valley at this point, but it’s it’d be foolish to assume it won’t be impacted in some way by coronavirus and economic difficulties it’s created. Park City was experiencing an unprecedented boom before seemingly the whole world went bust. Projects that had been simmering for decades were put in motion, and despite speed bumps along the way they continue forward, albeit with a few tweaks.

For more Park City updates, click here.

Organizers have officially canceled the 2020 Tour of Utah due to concerns about the continued spread of COVID-19. The decision to suspend the race—which was due to take place in early August with stages in various venues in Park City on August 6, 8 and 9—highlights the depth of economic uncertainty facing Park City and Summit County this summer. Businesses and the town are already feeling acute ramifications after ski season was abruptly halted with a month of expected lift ticket sales, shopping and dining money, lodging reservations and tax revenue remaining. Summit County has been hit particularly hard by the novel coronavirus, with infection rates rivaling denser national hot spots, casting doubt the tourist-centric community will be able to realistically resume normal economic activity any time soon.

The Tour of Utah attracts world-class cyclists and UCI World Tour Teams from around the globe. The race, considered the most difficult stage race in the United States, sees riders challenged by mountainous terrain across Utah. It’s become a huge tourist draw and driver of economic activity, as evidenced by the decision to add a new stage starting from Woodward in Park City to this year’s edition. The Tour’s final day, where riders finish on Main Street, is one of the largest single-day draws to downtown in the summer season.

The decision to cancel the event this far in advance evinces a sobering reality about the Utah’s recovery in the face of the pandemic. University of Utah epidemiologist Lindsay Keegan warned Utah’s peak in COVID-19 cases is months away. A doctor with the University of Utah I spoke with who asked not to be named said the latest U of U modeling shared with healthcare workers expects the peak of infections to occur in late June. The caveat here is the inherent uncertainty surrounding epidemiological modeling, but projections make clear that social disruption will continue far beyond the end of April.

Vail Resorts, owners of Park City Mountain and one of the town’s largest employers, announced massive furloughs for nearly all hourly workers, executive pay cuts and a suspension of dividends for shareholders. In an open letter, CEO Rob Katz said it was unclear when resorts would be able to resume normal business. When the largest companies and most visible events that drive tourism are battening down the hatches, it’s time for the rest of us to take notice. How everything will play out remains to be seen, but the havoc wreaked on Park City’s economy, businesses and workforce will be felt for longer than anyone would like to admit.

Cycling fans will undoubtedly be disappointed with the Tour’s cancellation. So will people like me who frequent the event and enjoy seeing widespread enthusiasm and a vibrant spirit take over the community each summer. Who knows what will happen with Park City Sunday Silly Market this year? Same goes for the Kimball Arts Festival and the huge lineup of outdoor concerts, all of which are centerpieces of Park City’s summer. As with everything in the time of coronavirus, we need to expect disruption, act responsibly and hope for the best. The mountains aren’t going anywhere, and we’ll still be able to watch cyclists suffer up their steep grades next year.