At Wednesday night’s Governing Body meeting we will receive the last briefing from our consultants on the CHART process and learn more about the recommendations that will come before us for consideration and ultimately for adoption. Nothing will be voted on Wednesday night. This is simply the completion of the consultant’s work. It’s a first look at the report and hopefully the start of a community-wide discussion about where we go from here.

I’m writing this to you on a sunny, gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Santa Fe. As I continue to read the final CHART report, make my own notes, preview the presentation we’ll be getting Wednesday night and prepare for the meeting, there are a few things I can tell you.

First, there is no city in the country that has done what we have done in Santa Fe. Since the murder of George Floyd and the white nationalist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in many cities, statues and monuments have come down. But once the statues were down that was the end of it. It was as if everyone simply wanted to paper over the issues that led to the marches and demonstrations in the first place.

In Santa Fe, and only in Santa Fe, we leaned into those issues. In Santa Fe, and only in Santa Fe, we came together for candid discussions. The CHART process sets a national standard for courageous conversation. Out of this process will come more mutual respect and better understanding of all of our history and all of our cultures. It is a brave and bold step toward healing historic trauma.

Second, the credit for this courageous effort belongs to the people of Santa Fe. Over the course of almost one year, you have been patient and engaged. You have filled out surveys and questionnaires and attended seminars and workshops. Most importantly, you have listened to and learned from each other. The people of Santa Fe have demonstrated the heart and soul of our community, extending courtesy and dignity to all, and, in the process, have taken the all-important steps toward community healing and reconciliation.

There is no CHART process without the open hearts and open minds of the people of Santa Fe. You have done what no other community has been willing or able to do in this unprecedented time of national division: You have come together for the good of our city. We owe you an enormous debt of gratitude.

Third, the CHART process and the final document have been in the making for almost one year. It’s a lengthy document with a lot of data, the results of questionnaires and surveys and many recommendations across each category of the CHART name: Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth. It took time to draft this report. Let’s take the time to read it and think about it. We need to digest it, consider it, discuss it, and then act on it. Let’s show the proper respect to our fellow residents, whose work went into making this report. We will lay out a path forward for the report and its recommendations. You can count on a lot of discussion and consideration, followed by thoughtful and well-considered action.

Please read the whole document. Take your time. Give it the time it deserves. Give it the thought and open-mindedness it deserves, and that Santa Fe embodies.

You may find that you agree with all of the recommendations, some of them or perhaps none of them. You’ll have a chance to express your point of view, hopefully with the same patience and respect that went into the whole experience of the CHART process.

My overarching takeaway from the CHART process is this: No other city in America would try to have this level of honesty and self-reflection. No other city in America could make it happen. Years from now—or perhaps very soon, as word of CHART spreads to the rest of the country—people from across America will look to our example. They’ll want to do something similar, something with the same spirit, something with an eye toward community justice, community healing, and community peace. They’ll look at Santa Fe and they’ll look at CHART and ask themselves, “How did Santa Fe do that? How do we do something like that? Do we even have the courage to try?”

Santa Fe is special in countless ways. But CHART clearly demonstrates the essential way in which we are different. We are truly the City of Holy Faith. Our devotion and our beliefs, our shared values and shared commitments—those are the qualities of heart and soul that make Santa Fe special. 

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Find links to the CHART consultants' Final Report and instructions for viewing Wednesday's Governing Body meeting here.