Conlon: We're relaunching 'Perspectives' under a new name, with new views

Shelly Conlon, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·4 min read

It's been a mission of the Argus Leader for quite sometime now to better reflect the diversity of the people it serves.

Sioux Falls, and South Dakota as a whole, is more racially and culturally diverse than it's ever been. Sioux Falls public schools alone include more than 90 different languages and our population has now surprassed 200,000. Our demographics are changing, as are the opportunities to better understand different world views.

That said, a couple years ago, we brought forth a cohort of writers from the community, called "Perspectives," by working with leaders like Taneeza Islam, executive director of South Dakota Voices for Peace. This group is comprised of a variety of backgrounds, races, cultures and upbringings to highlight various aspects of lived experiences across our great state whether they were familiar or otherwise.

More:'Perspectives' columns will embrace, lift up our community's diverse voices

We're relaunching that effort, but this time we're doing it under the new moniker of "Speaking Truth to Power," with these similar goals still in mind:

  • Bring together a diverse group of individuals to weigh in on current events, from those with voices you don’t usually hear from in media, to those who can speak to the more uncomfortable or quieter issues our communities are facing today.

  • Highlight the good in the community through different lenses.

  • Build something long term and sustainable that involves community engagement and inclusiveness with our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and LGBTQ residents with broader social conversations about current events.

What that last one looks like is still to be determined, but this is a wonderful opportunity to help push conversations forward. Yet as South Dakota grows and changes, we have to be willing to elevate marginalized voices and directly address fears about uncomfortable feelings, wrongful decisions and difficult topics that continue to hold power over us as we work to better understand each other and make space for all.

More:From the Editor: Working to cover, and reflect, our diverse community

"The Argus Leader was recognized by the South Dakota Newspaper Association in its annual awards ceremony for this column," Islam said about the change to "Perspectives. "We are excited to unveil the next iteration of this column we are now calling,'Speaking Truth to Power.' We brought together well-known BIPOC community leaders to highlight opinions on current events in our community. We are launching the 'Truth to Power' column with reactions to the legislative session."

Here's a look at who you'll hear from this year, some of whom are returning columnists and familiar faces and others brand new:

More:Census 2020 data shows Sioux Falls' population is growing — and becoming more diverse

  • Taneeza Islam, executive director of South Dakota Voices for Peace and an immigration attorney

  • Julian Beaudoin, co-founder of The Hub, a BIPOC leadership, networking and professional development organization, in Sioux Falls.

  • Jen Dreiske, Deputy Director with South Dakota Voices for Peace

  • Cody Ingle, Board Secretary of Sioux Falls Pride

  • Rachida Mahamed, a student at Augustana University with a focus on political science and government, and host of "In the Know" a local podcast focused on "de-stigmatizing what it means to be informed and aware."

  • April Matson, outreach coordinator at South Dakota at Urban and Indian Health

If you would like to weigh in on their perspectives, we look forward hearing from you as you contribute to the conversation. Submit a letter to the editor to sconlon@argusleader.com or through this entry form here.

More:South Dakota’s multilingual population is growing. Advocates say more resources are needed.

What to know about letters to the editor:

Letters need to be no more than about 300 words, and will need to include first and last name, address, city and title. Addresses won’t be publicized, of course, but it’s a way for us to make sure those who submit a letter are who they say they are.

Letters will run on Sundays in print and online as we receive them. There may be moments, however, when we don't have any as we work to solicit interest and actively rebuild this part of our coverage for readers.

We look forward from hearing from you as we continue to bring you closer to the news in South Dakota through a variety of perspectives.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: We're relaunching 'Perspectives' under a new name, with new views