To the Menlo Park City Council:

On behalf of the over 800 public commentators who overwhelmingly supported naming the new multi-generational community complex “Onetta Harris Community Campus,” we are writing this letter to express our deep disappointment and hurt related to the 4-1 vote to adopt the name “Belle Haven Community Campus.” This decision was reached in bad faith, and we are appalled that the City Council disregarded the voice of the community and its own commissioners.

Hundreds of community members, family members, and Belle Haven and Menlo Park residents across color lines and ethnic backgrounds dedicated time and effort to attend the meetings and have their voices heard, including elderly people, those with mobility issues, and those with health issues. A large number of African Americans spoke about the history of racism in Menlo Park and in the United States; the erasure of Black history, Black people, and our contributions; and, the displacement and silencing of Black voices.

After being tasked by the City Council and listening to hundreds of public commenters, the Library Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission made their recommendation in a 10-2 vote that the City Council name the new overall campus “Onetta Harris Community Campus” or “Onetta Harris Community Campus at Belle Haven. ” We thought that the City Council would adopt the recommendation and land on the right side of history. We felt that our voices and stories would actually make an impact and be heard. We thought that the overwhelming outpouring of support to place Onetta Harris’s name on the new community center complex would be honored.

Instead, the City Council, led by Vice Mayor Cecilia Taylor, decided to ignore the hundreds of public commenters, the hundreds of signatures (110 resident and 240 non-resident), and the vast majority of people who advocated to keep Onetta Harris’s name. Not only did Taylor disregard the voices of community members, family members, and Belle Haven and Menlo Park residents; but she also chose to personally thank at the meeting Cheryl Bims and Rose Bickerstaff, who had launched a mean-spirited, untruthful, and defamatory campaign against Onetta Harris due to a personal vendetta. Taylor’s decision to honor the wishes of a small minority, and specifically a family member and friends, flies in the face of true democracy. Taylor’s decision to place personal allegiance over the voices of the Black community and residents, and Betsy Nash’s, Drew Comb’s and Mayor Jen Wolosin’s decision to support Taylor is not only shameful; it’s a scandal. It was deeply disappointing that even after Wolosin voiced her surprise and confusion at Taylor and Nash’s recommendation due to it being in stark odds with the resounding support of having Onetta Harris’s name on the overall community center, Wolosin decided to go along with Taylor’s back-door plan to name the community center Belle Haven Community Campus. The majority of the Library Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission vocally opposed erasing Onetta Harris’s name and naming it Belle Haven Community Campus.

The decision to name entities within the facility holds significantly less impact to the public since the entire facility will now be in one building.

Several commissioners and City Council members remarked that this has been a painful process for Menlo Park. It was particularly painful for Black people who have endured centuries of oppression and lack of power to have our heroes celebrated and our legacies honored with our names on important buildings. Menlo Park could have decided to become the only municipality in Silicon Valley with a building’s name honoring a beloved Black woman, community leader, mentor, and inspirational figure. Instead, they chose to minimize Onetta Harris’s name from the overall campus. This shows that the number of community voices and their opinions do not matter. Only the opinion of Cecilia Taylor and Betty Nash who cited “tens of people” who are unnamed and unknown, who haven’t spoken, attended a meeting, or filled out an online survey mattered more than the 800+ members of the public who supported naming the campus Onetta Harris Community Campus.

Onetta Harris’s great granddaughter spoke at the City Council meeting and said the younger generation is watching and listening. Sadly, instead of the City Council setting the precedent that the voices of the community matter; the City Council chose the status quo where elected officials are able to turn their backs and close their ears to their constituents and sideline Black voices. In 2019, we were told by a few long standing members of the community to not bother advocating because Menlo Park officials would just do what suits them best. In the end, they were correct. The City Council could have spared all of us the grief and wasted time spent over the years if they were honest upfront and acknowledged they had no intention of honoring the wishes of the people.