Iowa Dems host armchair discussion on minorities preceding forum

The Iowa Democratic Party hosted an armchair discussion at Drake University, where five people representing several minorities joined the party's chair to discuss issues faced by minorities in Iowa.

The Sunday event preceded Monday’s Iowa Brown and Black forum, where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Gov. Martin O’Malley will be faced with questions concerning issues including immigration, education and bias.

Some of the issues brought up Sunday included inequalities that minorities face.

“We are not all at the same starting point. That’s not equality, that’s not justice,” said Sanjita Pradhan, an Asian community advocate. “We’re not at the level playing field.”

Speaking in broad terms, Pradhan said some government programs have outreach issues with minorities. She also pointed to communication and transportation as barriers for minority communities.

Claudia Thrane, an activist for the Latino community, brought up education and documentation as additional barriers.

“We need to be heard more than anything,” Thrane said, adding that often minorities do not speak up for themselves.

Thrane talked about how she has seen an increase in the Latino community in Iowa over the years she has lived here.

“We need to start recognizing that the community is here, and the community is here to stay,” Thrane said.

With the Iowa caucus just weeks away, the discussion took several turns that led to talk about the political atmosphere and how minorities fit into it.

Hector Salamanca Arroyo, the advocacy chair for DREAM IOWA, said some Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump have “stoked a fire” in the sentiments of people with their rhetoric regarding minorities.

MORE: 6 things to watch for at the Iowa Brown & Black Forum

He also spoke about how growing up, he did not have access to mentorship that others in his class did, and he said that lack of networking is an issue minorities often face. Thrane also said that in classrooms, minority students often have less expected of them than their peers, which leads them to believe less in themselves.

“I thought there were some really good themes that ran throughout the entire discussion,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Andy McGuire.

One of the themes that carried through the conversation was an emphasis on education and acceptance. Thrane said white privilege would not be fixed by taking an hour out of the year to discuss it, and that children are not born racist — they learn it.

State Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad and Deidre DeJear, a small business owner and community activist, also participated in the discussion. Abdul-Samad said this type of discussion has to be ongoing and not just occur during election years.

DeJear said the more often these conversations are had, the more impact they will have.

“This was just a small sliver of the pie,” DeJear said.