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Date: 12/31/2020
LONGMEADOW – The town of Longmeadow is majoritively white - 90 percent of residents, according to the most recent data available from the United States Census Bureau. This lack of diversity has led the Coalition for Racial Justice to turned to residents for insights and ideas on identifying ways to be a more racially equitable and inclusive town.
After the Select Board declared racism to be a public health emergency in July, the Coalition for Racial Justice Task Force was formed. In October, the nine-member team, which is composed of volunteers with varying degrees of expertise or lived experiences of racism, began working on identifying means of promoting racial equity in town. Task Force Chair Zach Verriden said that includes reviewing policies and working with community organizations to see where improvements and changes can be made.
One of the major steps that the task force took was to host a public listening session on Dec. 10. More than 30 people attended the virtual forum.
“It was a pretty good turnout. There was a wide array of experiences from people,” Verriden told Reminder Publishing. He highlighted attendees who are current and former students of Longmeadow High School. “Young people offered some really profound and mature insights.” He noted that some of the incidents of racism that people spoke about were from a long time ago while others were much more recent.
Verriden said that while the task force has not yet fully analyzed all of the information and input from the listening session, some themes stuck out. For example, he said public spaces, such as schools and housing, are key areas in which racist incidents occur.
The next steps for the task force are to review the data they have collected and begin to create suggestions on how to create more equity in town. The team has six more meetings scheduled, on the first and third Thursdays of each month, before they are required to present their proposals to the Select Board on March 31, 2021.
One opportunity that has already been identified, Verriden said, is a collaboration between the school committee and the select board on efforts to promote anti-racism. Verriden also serves on Longmeadow’s Elementary School Council and said schools are working to incorporate anti-racism into the curriculum.
“Obviously, we have a lot of work to do as a community but I’m proud of the steps we’ve undertaken,” Verriden said.
Verriden said the task force may conduct another listening session but is continually accepting comments and questions from the public. Anyone who wishes to share written testimony or contact the Coalition for Racial Justice Task Force can email longmeadowracialjustice.com.