Easthampton made a smart move last week in taking the first steps toward establishing a Community Relations Committee to deal proactively with potential conflicts and address barriers to a diverse and inclusive city.
The 11-member group was proposed by Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and Police Chief Robert Alberti to “preserve a welcoming community and promote an atmosphere of mutual understanding and cooperation among all residents, visitors and those engaging in commerce,” according to the mayor.
This effort comes at a particularly important time for Easthampton as debate continues over whether it should become a “safe city” and ban municipal resources from being used to enforce federal immigration laws, and the School Department responds to last year’s damning report by the attorney general’s office that described racial discrimination at the high school.
We commend LaChapelle for following through on her pledge last year as she campaigned for mayor to examine “what it means to be a welcoming city.” We urge the City Council on July 11 to approve an ordinance formally establishing the Community Relations Committee.
The process started last week with a two-day City SPIRIT program sponsored by the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice, which aims to “develop collaborative approaches for reducing conflicts and addressing the factors that contribute to the conflicts.”
Six residents were trained as facilitators and they then met with more than 40 community residents to discuss issues important to Easthampton and set priorities for consideration by the Community Relations Commission, if it is approved. Representatives from businesses, faith-based communities, local government and moderators from community-created Facebook groups participated in that conversation, according to the mayor’s office.
“It’s a launch pad for the Community Relations Committee to get to work,” Alberti said.
Examples of potential tasks for the commission are identifying how the city can better connect with young people of color, suggesting changes to public spaces that make them more welcoming to diverse populations, and creating a contact list for use by municipal government that is broadly inclusive of community organizations.
The exercise was a citywide counterpart to the Department of Justice Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (SPIRIT) program started at Easthampton High School in response to the 2017 civil rights investigation by the attorney general’s office. It revealed a years-long pattern of minority students being subjected to more severe discipline than white students at the high school, and insufficient training and policies guiding the staff’s response to racial incidents.
The attorney general’s office closed its investigation by concluding that Easthampton school officials’ “willingness to confront these issues” is convincing evidence that they “will take the steps necessary to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in discipline and foster a school environment that is positive, welcoming and inclusive for all students.”
Students and staff reported progress made during the school year just ended, including assigning diversity oversight to two administrators, and creating a Diversity and Inclusion Center at the high school for students to discuss their concerns.
Concerns about bias at the high school surfaced as the greater community began discussing whether the City Council should consider an ordinance declaring Easthampton a sanctuary city. The proposal was withdrawn last year after the city solicitor ruled that the City Council does not have the authority to issue such an ordinance.
The issue reemerged in October after the Easthampton Community Coalition submitted a petition asking again for either an ordinance or executive order issued by the mayor establishing sanctuary city protections in the city. In April, the City Council voted 6-3 to reject the opinion of City Solicitor John Fitz-Gibbon that only the mayor or police chief has such authority.
With continued debate over whether sanctuary city protections are needed in Easthampton, we believe that a Community Relations Commission would help that conversation remain civil and constructive.
It would also continue the message of unity LaChapelle delivered on election night last year when she said, “I think it’s also a time to give every resident a voice, regardless of their color, their orientation, what they believe in — they’re a resident and they have a seat at our table. Our table is going to get much, much bigger.”
Now it’s up to the City Council to further enlarge that table by seating a Community Relations Commission.