As one of the most treasured institutions on the Olympic Peninsula, the Port Townsend Food Co-op holds a central place in many of our lives. Even though it is currently roiled in controversy, the means exist to transform present challenges into opportunities for transformation.

To review the issue briefly: After the Co-op’s board of directors voted to oust from its ranks Cameron Jones, a former Co-op employee and yoga teacher who also serves as Co-Director of Black Lives Matter Jefferson County / Well Organized, the board’s only other member of color, former Board President Juri Jennings, resigned in protest. Both Jones and Jennings, who were tirelessly addressing equity issues, felt broadsided by the Board’s actions.

Multiple organizations have called for a boycott of the Co-op and demanded the resignations of multiple-term Board President Owen Rowe, and General Manager Kenna Eaton. At least four informational meetings have occurred — I attended one at QUUF on Sept. 3 — and many Co-op members aired their grievances at Sept. 4’s monthly Co-op board meeting, which I attended virtually. I’ve also spoken with multiple parties.

Eaton alleges that Jones’ actions toward her were “threatening.” “I felt I had to go to my boss, the Co-op board, and say I don’t feel safe in my workplace,” she told me. “His actions negatively impacted my ability to feel safe. That spoke to our Code of Conduct, where we say that directors will always act with civility and kindness, even when we have a disagreement. And we won’t use racist, sexist, or discriminatory language at any time.

“I reported this conduct to my board, as is my responsibility. I know my board tried to work with Cameron. He would not accept that. He didn’t want to acknowledge it. And ultimately, I think that the board felt they had a fiduciary responsibility to make the decision they did. I didn’t ask them to do it. That was their decision.” 

Nonetheless, Eaton acknowledges Jones’ contributions. “Working with Cameron we made progress and improvements to our grant programs, ensuring that we added criteria about representation from historically marginalized people/communities. We reviewed our policies and added equity into the places it made sense … We had differences of opinion on how it should be framed, but we were working thru that, looking for a consultant to help us develop a committee that could be effective and help the BOD do its work.”

In my opinion, the Co-op board erred grievously in removing Jones, one of its most forward-looking and proactive members. A small group of white people ousted the only Black director on the board and alienated the only other director of color (who selflessly co-created and managed the Co-op’s vital home delivery service during the worst months of the pandemic.) 

The errors don’t stop there. The board recently welcomed two new Black members. On Sept. 4, when they voted in a new vice president and secretary, the board’s white majority cluelessly chose white candidates over competing Black candidates. This from a board whose newly elected secretary (and member emeritus) Lisa Barclay, responded to a concerned Co-op member by writing, “Mr. Jones refused to acknowledge or repair the damage, so the board took appropriate action to fix the situation.” 

Even my Yiddische mamma, who once lost her latkes after she found me dancing with our Black maid, could have told the board that you do not repair damage by adding insult to injury.   

One issue concerns Jones’ defense of a former Co-op trans employee, Scout Anderson, who resigned from the Co-op after management cited legal privacy mandates and refused to allow him to air his concerns in a staff meeting. Anderson had accused his then supervisor, James Robinson — also a reporter for The Leader — of using transphobic language in his news story about Julie Jaman’s lawsuit against the City and its YMCA-administered Mountain View Pool.

When Robinson discussed Jaman’s banishment from the pool after she confronted a trans employee, he employed the same language and terminology as in the lawsuit by placing quotation marks around the trans employee’s name, i.e. “Clementine Adams.” (See my April 24 column, “Jaman legal challenge has people under rainbow umbrella on edge.” [https://tinyurl.com/d6dwkrc]) As unfortunate as it is that The Leader did not clarify why it put quotation marks around Adams’ name — it was quoting from the lawsuit — that error does not constitute transphobia on anyone’s part.

Former Co-op employee Anderson is the ultimate authority on this episode. Reached in Seattle, he said, “I’ve had many months now after this incident to reflect and think about all the things that had happened … James had always been kind to me. We had good rapport. I don’t think he was being malicious; I just thought he was being ignorant. That’s very different. I don’t think he was using that language intentionally.

“When I had gender-affirming surgery almost a year ago and was gone for two months, James asked another employee how I was doing. When I came back to work, he asked how I was feeling. But I think he may have been uncomfortable with the topic because he didn’t understand it. That’s something I can empathize with,” said Anderson. 

How to resolve matters? Instead of everyone digging in their heels and intensifying resistance, all parties need to step back. I urge the board and general manager to bring in an outside mediator well-versed in diversity and racial issues — ideally a woman from Usawa Consulting pledged to impartiality — revisit the issues, reach out to Jones and Jennings, and seek ways to make amends on all sides. It is not too late.

However the healing happens, everyone must consider that words such as “civility and kindness” can inadvertently become weapons against marginalized individuals who speak out strongly. When, 54 years ago, I began marching through the streets chanting, “We’re here, we’re Queer, get used to it!” I assure you that civility and kindness were the last things on my mind.

I urge the cisgendered straight white folk who govern the Co-op to understand that when oppressed people channel frustration into anger, it’s appropriate for its recipients to pause, breathe through fear, and accept that righting many centuries of harm is a messy but nonetheless essential affair. Rather than making Cameron Jones the problem, it’s time to acknowledge that his anger and alleged missteps arise from wrongs we all have a responsibility to fix. As much as the work can be unpleasant and threatening, it is work we must do if we are to walk our talk and create a world in which people and planet are honored equally.

Jason Victor Serinus is a critic of culture, music, and audio. A longtime advocate for rights, equality, and freedom, he is also a professional whistler. Column tips: jvsaisi24@gmail.com