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I have contacted the author of this article in hopes that my statement be edited as it is incorrect. I hope to hear from him at some point. In the event that it is not corrected, I would like to make myself very clear in that I DO NOT believe that these council members or any other city official of color were appointed due to tokenism. My statement was that appointments and promotions could appear to be tokenism without transparency of the process. My hope with transparency in the process is that it becomes 100% fair that my fellow people of color fought tooth and nail for their place at the table AND that by knowing the process, it would encourage other people of color to apply or even participate in it. I recognize that my statement may have been bungled as it is nerve-wracking to speak in front of the council, however, later on in the meeting I clarified that I wanted to be clear that I do not believe that it was tokenism and I had no intention of giving the impression that I was taking anything away from these fine men, women, and those that may identify as non-binary. As a professional employee and black woman, I know the sting of this accusation and I refuse to be a part of a narrative that even inadvertently diminishes people of color. To Lori Adams Simon, Police Chief Daryl Green, and any other person of color in these positions and who were in that zoom meeting, please know that I know you've busted your tails and continue to do so on our behalf and I have nothing but gratitude for your service.