May 4, 2016

President Liz Wielinski

2117 West River Road North

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55411

Dear President Liz Wielinski and Minneapolis Park Board of Commissioners,

I am writing you in regards to the recent allegations of disparate treatment of people of color

by Minneapolis Park Board Superintendent Jayne Miller. I had the pleasure of working with

Superintendent Miller in 2012 while I was president of the Minneapolis Branch of the

NAACP. As many of you know during that time we were investigating over 160 complaints

of alleged racism by park visitors and employees. Superintendent Miller’s response to our

investigation was unexpected given our (NAACP’s) adversarial history with Minneapolis

governmental agencies. Superintendent Miller acknowledged that the Minneapolis Park

Board had some serious room for improvement in regards to bias within the workforce and

that she was willing to implement steps to eradicate such biases. Superintendent Miller took

the unprecedented step of personally conducting hearings for employees who felt that they

were unfairly disciplined because of their race. She did this against the advice of your legal

counsel. The fact that she took such the unheard of step is indication of her character.

The accusations against Superintendent Miller in regards to her being a racist are absurd and

off base. Superintendent Miller is committed to equity in the workforce and this is evident in

the increased numbers of employees of color who currently work for the Minneapolis Park

Board. The attacks against her are personal and they don’t reflect the view of the vast

majority of the community. Superintendent Miller is not a racist and attempts to cast her as

such a very disturbing and counterproductive. Feel free to contact me if you have any

questions.

Warm regards,

Booker T Hodges, DPA