City Council to Form Multiculturalism Committee Following Touching Discussion on Racism | Where is

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WEST City Council will move forward by creating a Multiculturalism Committee with the goal of promoting diversity, sharing ideas and concerns, and improving the quality of life for all residents, regardless of race or ethnicity. Ethnicity.

Following a lengthy and sometimes moving discussion Monday evening that included comments from several residents sharing their experiences as minorities, council members voted 6 to 1 to move forward in creating the committee. Councilor Phil Overton opposed the measure, saying he feared such a committee would cause division rather than be of benefit to community members.

There is no excuse for racism anywhere, and quite frankly (racism) is a total waste of time, Overton said. We are all Americans and we are all in the same boat. We must work together to make our country a better place, no matter where we come from.

Monday’s discussion and measure to form a committee, which was designed and presented by Council Vice-President Suzanne K. Giorno with support from Council President Sharon E. Ahern, comes as city officials seek to promote unity and address racial concerns that have entered the national spotlight since the death of George Floyds.

Giorno said that in proposing the committee she was specifically seeking to create a safe and open dialogue that would break down barriers and allow people of different backgrounds to come together and enjoy each other’s heritage and cultures.

The point is, this is designed to embrace all of the cultures we have in our community, said Giorno. This is the first step in moving forward, admitting to having a different point of view.

With the committee, she said, the city can bring people from all walks of life together, share a common calendar of events to promote each culture and directly address local racism issues that resonate with residents.

Overton disagreed, however, and said he believed the committee would have a different impact, which could further fuel the flames and create divisions. He spoke about his own family history, with immigrant parents from Poland where they came from nothing and some suffered serious abuse, including during WWII with the German death camps.

He said that upon hearing the term white privilege, he was worried because the term sends the message that all white people are born into privilege. Overton explained how his father worked seven days a week and how he himself took day classes and worked nights to make ends meet.

White privilege didn’t go to school all day and didn’t work all night, he said. I continued my studies by working six days at night, and I did that for years. I really don’t like that term. It’s racist; it is a racist term. We all work hard to do our best.

He also said he did not support other traditional divisive efforts, including portraying critical race theory as overtly racist, and said any action to promote a singular group as a whole could also be. seen as a source of division.

Overtons’ statements drew dramatic reactions, with some board members stepping away from the camera during his comments and prompting some members of the public to speak up during the public comments. Those who spoke to the council on Monday also took the time to explain the need for such a group, telling stories about what it was like to grow up as a minority in Westerly or the challenges they are facing. faced every day that their peers don’t.

April Dinwoodie, a nationally acclaimed writer and podcaster who recently returned to Westerly after moving at the age of 17, told the council she still remembers the different ways, despite her experiences that seemed good on the surface , there were problems and things weren’t OK.

Born in Boston, Dinwoodie is black / biracial and was adopted transracially. She praised her adoptive parents for giving her the opportunities they gave her, but said that even with their best efforts, they just couldn’t protect her from some aspects of being a minority in a predominantly community. White.

Dinwoodie said she remembered the many times someone had touched her hair without permission while growing up, or the experience of being a child constantly raising her hand to answer only for the children around you to call. instead, or getting in trouble because she looked like someone who had done something.

As she drove through town after Floyd’s murder, she said she still remembered seeing those who came together to protest the death and stopped to cry because it showed her what ‘there were those who cared. She said that was when she also realized how beneficial it would be to have a safe space for these discussions.

When we talk about this, we’re not just talking about celebrating culture. When we celebrate different cultures together, we fight against the forces that make people feel unseen and unheard of, said Dinwoodie.

The concept of creating a committee was also supported by others, including Amy Blachette and Leslie Dunn, who also each expressed their own concerns.

Dunn, a woman of color who has spoken to Westerly school board and committee over the past year about the need to promote diversity, discussed a recent trip she took with her mother and of the way her mother had pointed out an unnamed restaurant and told her not to go there. She said the reputation of restaurants is so bad that it has become common knowledge for minorities to avoid it at all costs.

She was also concerned that without a committee, it can be difficult to see when the city takes action such as building a fence to protect the statue of Christopher Columbus, which has come under scrutiny. thorough across the United States for its connection to slavery and the mistreatment of native people. populations upon arrival in America.

If you go through downtown, there’s a fence around an inanimate object, and that’s just considered OK. It makes you wonder: are minorities sought after here? Is this a safe place to raise my children? Can they be comfortable sharing their culture at school, walking the streets and going to a business, or even finding a job? she said.

Councilor Caswell Cooke Jr. argued that in our time similar questions could be asked on the other side as well. Cooke spoke about his role in the community, including organizing many events in Misquamicut, and said he personally believed that when those who spoke to him pointed out white leadership and said they wanted change, it could send a difficult message to a white man. accept.

I’m that middle-aged white guy. When I hear people constantly saying we need change, I hear we need less of you, he said. There are times when I feel suffocated, that I shouldn’t say anything because I’m automatically racist.

Cooke said his own feelings only show the need to support a multicultural committee and to have a space where everyone can discuss their concerns with an open line of communication. He asked that the committee not seek to demolish, he used the elimination of the Columbus Day Parade as an example and noted that although it has no stakes, the event has significance for many Italians from west, but instead looking to find ways to add to what the community already has.

I want to see how we can build on what we have and how we can add to our community to make it an even better place, Cooke said.

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