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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_04_19 Racial Equity Taskforce Minutes Minutes of the Racial Equity Task Force of the Town of Mamaroneck Held April 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm, via Zoom Present: Jeffery King (Town Council member, Chairman), Sabrina Fiddelman (Town Council member), Helen Horsham-Bertels, Lynne Murphy-Rivera, Andrew Tannenbaum, Christina Battalia (Town Clerk), Ned Benton, Gail Boyle, Jacqueline Lorieo, John Pritts, Joane Shaw, Leilani Yizar-Reid (R.E.A.L.M.), Nicole Alifante (CURE), and Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman (Larchmont Temple). Chairman King opened the meeting at 7:05 pm. Explanation of the Racial Equity Task Force’s Portfolio Chairman King gave a background on the work of the Task Force, to date. We have recently completed the work of complying with Executive Order 203 and have submitted the Police Reform and Reinvention Report to the Town Board which has approved it. We can now return our focus to discussing racial equity in the broader Town community. Although no such acts of violence have occurred in the Town of Mamaroneck, we can’t ignore the mass shootings and police shootings that are happening all around the country. Mr. King quoted Bob Dylan and Ziggy Marley saying, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” and if “don’t know your past, you won’t know your future”. Presentations and Discussion 1. R.E.A.L.M. (Recognizing Enslaved Africans Larchmont and Mamaroneck) Mr. King introduced Gail Boyle and John Pritts, Co-Presidents of the Mamaroneck Historical Society and members of R.E.A.L.M. They were joined by other members; Ned Benton, Jacqueline Lorieo, Joanne Shaw and Leilani Yizar-Reid. R.E.A.L.M. was formed several years ago to research and honor the contribution of enslaved Africans to the development and growth of the Town of Mamaroneck. R.E.A.L.M. has learned that between 1698 and 1827 there were at least 43 slave owning families in the Town and at least 147 enslaved Africans. They told the story of Banjo Billy and Jinny, a married enslaved couple who raised 10 of their own children and several generations of Mott children. They outlined their wish to create a commemoration to these enslaved people who contributed so much to the development of the community. They shared images of some other monuments in the area that are in existence and being planned. They enumerated the principles they wish to use in developing the memorial. They are still in the very early, brainstorming stage of development. But, they would like the participation of the Task Force and the Town government in finding a site. Mr. King agreed that we will continue the conversation with the ultimate objective of building a memorial in a way and place where it can be a tool for teaching and learning about, not just the contributions of enslaved people to the community, but also existing racial inequities and how we can work together to combat this. 2. CURE (The Coalition for Understanding Racism through Education) Mr. King introduced Nicole Alifante, the founder of CURE. Ms. Alifante began by saying, education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world. She continued by saying the members of CURE were not educators, they are learning along with the community. They have brought speakers into the community to talk about systemic racism and how to combat it. They began speaking to people only in the tri-municipal community, but with the advent of COVID and Zoom, they have been able to reach out to a broader audience. They work with the Coalition for Community and all the organizations that make up that organization. Ms. Alifante distinguished between a welcoming community and a community in which everyone belongs. Welcoming implies some members are outsiders. They are working to create the latter. CURE wants to continue to educate and have deeper conversations. 3. Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman, Senior Rabbi of Larchmont Temple Mr. King introduced Rabbi Sirkman. Rabbi Sirkman pointed out that Larchmont Temple has had years of ongoing conversations with members of the Strait Gate Church and that he and Bishop Powell, as long time Mamaroneck residents, had been talking about how to address the issue of racial divide and “otherness” for many years. He spoke about continued large and small groups of members of the two congregations who address these issues with an eye toward breaking down barriers. The group began with 11 members and they now have over 80 people participating. The model they have developed could be shared and used more broadly in the community. He then spoke about the need to bring young people into the conversation. Real change will need to start with and include the youth of the community. The young people in this community tend to socialize within their own racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. That must change. There was discussion between and within the presentations of each of our speakers about creating connections between the groups working on this and related issues. The Task Force will work with R.E.A.L.M. to try to advance the possibility of a memorial with an associated educational component. We discussed the need for bias training for both the police and residents of the community. And, how to bring the three police departments and residents of the three municipalities together to do that. It was noted that the Task Force is without representation from the Asian American community and reaching out to that community is important. It was agreed that on-going conversations are a must. No dates were set for follow-ups or next meetings, but Chairman King will ensure these occur. The Task Force thanked all our guests for their time and thoughtful participation. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm.