Category: Discrimination
Newtown Human Relations Commission Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which ended on October 15, 2020, the Newtown Township Human Relations Commission (NTHRC) hosted a presentation by guest speaker Dr. Leticia Ferri, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Global People & Business Resource Group Lead. Dr. Ferri spoke at the October 21, 2020, NTHRC Zoom meeting about “Being Latino in the U.S.”
Dr. Ferri focused on the Bristol-Myers Squibb People & Business Resource Group, which she leads.
Of particular interest was the financial impact of Latinos on the U.S. economy (see, for example, the GDP chart below) and among the electorate.
"The future of the U.S. workforce." claimed Dr. Ferri, "speaks Spanish." She presented data that suggested 74% of U.S. workers in the not-too-distant future will be Hispanics. Thus, "an aging America is counting on Latino contributions - in the amount of $101.8 Billion per year - to Social Security. In addition, 31.5 million Latinos are eligible to vote in 2020!
Latino vs. Hispanic
Commission member Angelic Acevedo defined the difference between the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic.” The former is derived from the Latin word for “Spain.” People from Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas are considered Hispanic. Latino is a short version of the term “latinoamericano,” the Spanish word for Latin American. It includes people with Portuguese roots, such as Brazilians.” In Europe, French, Italian and Romanian people are also considered “Latinos.”
You can view the presentations by Dr. Ferri and Ms. Acevedo here.
About the Newtown Human Relations Commission
The Newtown Township Human Relations Commission was established by the Board of Supervisors of Newtown Township on November 28, 2018, by the enactment of the Newtown Township Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, in order to ensure that all persons, regardless of actual or perceived race, color, gender, religion, ancestry, genetic information, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, familial status, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, use of guide or support animals and/or mechanical aids enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and are afforded equal opportunities for employment, housing and the use of public accommodations, and to have equal access to postsecondary educational institutions.
Join The Newtown Area Anti-Discrimination Facebook Group
The Newtown Area Anti-Discrimination Facebook Group was inspired by the Newtown Township Anti-discrimination Ordinance and the Human Relations Commissions of both the Township and Borough. Members of this group discuss Newtown area discrimination issues and post relevant information, learnings, etc. to share with other members. This is NOT an official Newtown Township or Borough Facebook Group. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the members and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of any governmental entity.
Read More...Posted on 26 Oct 2020, 01:09 - Category: Discrimination
Letter & Petition to Council Rock School District
A letter and petition written by two former Council Rock School District (CRSD) students was sent on July 15, 2020 to the Council Rock School Board, the Superintendent of Schools, and various school principals.
[See the letter embedded at the end of this post.]
The letter urges the Council Rock School District (CRSD) to "do better and actively prepare their students to become upstanding citizens who will fight for progressive change." CRSD, claim the authors of the letter, falls short of its very own mission statement: “Council Rock School District, in partnership with its community, empowers all students with the knowledge, habits, and attitudes to become life-long learners and to lead and serve in a diverse global society.”
"We know that by now you are well aware of the protests occurring throughout the country in response to the ongoing police brutality and systemic racism that have been woven into the fabric of the United States since the first enslaved peoples arrived here in 1619," state the authors..
The letter notes that "on social media, many of our classmates have spoken against the Black Lives Matter movement and refuse to acknowledge systemic racism," which indicates a need for CRSD to "actively prepare their students to become upstanding citizens who will fight for progressive change."
Action Steps
The letter lists several "action steps" that CRSD should follow to achieve that goal, including:
- Ban all Confederate flags on campus
- Change the name of Council Rock North’s mascot to something inoffensive
- Add more Black/indigenous/LGBTQ history to the curriculum for American history courses
- Make an active effort to hire and train a more diverse, non-white teaching staff
- Allow students to create Black and POC student unions
Creating a K-12 curriculum to combat racism was on of the pledges I took as a paricipant in the June 4, 2020, "Enough is Enough" vigil at the Garden of Reflection hosted by NAACP Bucks and the Peace Center.
Read the Letter, Sign the Petition
See the letter embedded below (or download the pdf file) and sign the petition here.
Read More...Posted on 17 Jun 2020, 01:38 - Category: Discrimination
Newtown Supervisors Plan a Town Hall Meeting with Police
A the June 10, 2020, Newtown Board of Supervisors meeting, I suggested to Newtown Police Chief John Hearn that the township host a public "Town Hall" meeting where police officers and the community - especially residents who feel they have issues with the police - can get to know one another and have a meaningful dialog. In essence, a bigger, more inclusive, version of "Coffee with a Cop". This is something similar to what the Chief has done on a monthly basis when he was a Captain in the Philadelphia police force.
Listen to the Zoom meeting discussion:
Hearn was selected to be the Newtown Chief of Police back in Februray 2020 after an exhaustive process that involved screening over 20 applicants (read “Meet Newtown Township’s New Police Chief”).
In my review of Hearn's application, I noted the following:
- He has experience preparing budgets for special events
- He takes an analytical approach to making decisions based on facts
- He believes technology can minimize the cost of training
- In his previous position he assigned officers “areas of influence” where they are required to knock on doors and visit businesses and introduce themselves
- He held special “traffic safety blitzes” and emphasized education vs. tickets
- He implemented a “walking with a cop” program
- He held monthly town halls with citizens
Back in March, 2019, when I first wrote about this, I noted that of particular interest to me were items #6 and #7 on this list. Since then I have often brought up the subject of a town hall with the Chief, but not until the #blacklivesmatter demonstrations and, in particular, the June 4, 2020, Vigil at the Garden of Reflection, did this move to the top of my list. It is part of my Vigil pledge to “begin community dialogue … about combating racism and making our community safe for everyone.”
I will be working with fellow Supervisor David Oxley, community leaders, Chief Hearn and Township Manager Micah Lewis to plan for this live Town Hall meeting, which we hope can happen in July 2020, conditions permitting.
NAACP’s Challenge
Every police department in Bucks County must publicly speak out against racism and the unjust killing of black Americans by law enforcement. That was the challenge issued Tuesday, June 9, 2020, by members of the Bucks County NAACP, which sponsored the June 4, 2020, Vigil in the Garden of Reflection (see end of post).
Here’s the response by Newtown Police Chief John Hearn made at the June 10, 2020, Newtown Board of Supervisors Zoom meeting (view the full video archive here):
Posted on 13 Jun 2020, 01:11 - Category: Discrimination
An update from Superintendent Fraser regarding the Starbucks incident!
Dear CR School Community
The Council Rock School District has been made aware that the Newtown Borough Police Department has filed one count of Harassment and one count of Criminal Mischief against a First Student employee who drives a bus for the District. The charges arise out of an incident that occurred on June 1 in Newtown Borough in the area of 100 South State Street (read "Let's Make Sure Racism Has No Place in Newtown!"). While the District firmly believes the individual charged is entitled to due process, our transportation department has notified First Student that the individual may no longer serve as a driver in the Council Rock School District.
This incident comes on the heels of the senseless murder of George Floyd, which many of us have horrifically watched on television. Like many, I’ve been shocked and shaken by this murder and also by the murder of Ahmaud Arbery just days before. As the CR community, I urge all of us to come together as one to combat any hate crime, any hate speech, and all forms of racism. It’s important that we’re unified and that we are there for each other. I urge you to surround each other as one community with all the love, compassion, and kindness that we all possibly have to offer. We all need it, and our African-American friends in particular need it right now.
Now I want to take an opportunity to write directly to our CR students. I want you to know that every student in the Council Rock School District – EVERY SINGLE STUDENT – is accepted, valued, and welcomed with open arms. There is a safe space for every single CR student in our schools. I wrote earlier this week that tolerance is not nearly the standard. We are not interested in merely tolerating the wonderful diversity that we do have in CR; rather, we embrace, value, and celebrate our collective diversity. We celebrate it because ultimately it makes us better, individually and collectively. To every CR student… we love you and we will build dreams with you. We also miss you dearly and can’t wait until our schools can reopen. In the meantime, if you feel a need to discuss these incidents with an adult, please talk with a parent or trusted friend, or contact your school counselor or another adult at school. Please be well, stay well, and stick with each other. Depend on each other. Lead with love – and live a life full of kindness and compassion for all people. I’ll do the same. We’ll all be better for it in the end.
Warmly-
Dr. Robert Fraser
Superintendent of Schools
Read More...Posted on 04 Jun 2020, 16:20 - Category: Discrimination
Let's Make Sure Racism Has No Place in Newtown!
Yesterday, June 2, 2020, an white male smiled as he assaulted a 22-yo woman #BlacklivesMatter protester outside Starbucks in Newtown Borough. The Intelligencer reported that the woman was of "Asian descent." The photos below show him before and after the attack, which knocked the young woman’s phone to the ground.
The mother of the victim said in her Facebook post, “I can’t express how frustrated I feel today after an incident happened with my 22 yrs old daughter and 18 yrs old son when they wanted to educate people in Newtown very peacefully by putting flyers on street regarding George Floyd’s death and one white couple was there and yelled at them and tried to hit my daughter and cracked her phone by dropping on the floor.”
She was being nice. He not only “tried,” he actually did strike her hand holding the phone. It’s very clear this is what happened from the video and from eyewitnesses at the scene. The Newtown Borough Police were there and I am waiting to see the police report.
Is This a Racist Incident?
The mom ended her post with these words: “Do you think this white couple will do the same thing with white kids if they were putting the same posters? I really think people have to drastically change their thinking and support humanity, not racism.”
Regardless if you believe this assault had racial undertones or not, Newtown residents should be aware of racial issues right here in town and change their thinking about racism and do more to prevent it. That is the goal of the Newtown Township Human Relations Commission (NTHRC), which plans to put racism front and center at its June 17th Zoom meeting on racism (more about that below). Below are some comments I have received from people who have registered to attend this meeting:
“As a Black female living in this community, I remain frightened for my husband, son, father as well as my daughters and myself. I'm interested to hear firsthand how these issues are being addressed in our community.”
“We are part of the 2% of African Americans living in Newtown/Richboro and are deeply impacted by the recent events and overall racism that we and other black families have experienced here in Newtown. We would like to see the Committee urge the Newtown Police Department to release a statement reassuring its black residents that they are safe and all will be treated equally.”
“We are the only black family in our development, and one of a hand full in the area. I want to make sure that this area has processes, programs, resources available so that my family can live here safely. One of my children was being picked on in first grade. My husband is a black man who runs, bikes, etc in the area and we need to feel safe.”
“As an African-American woman who was a child during the 1960s, came of age during the 1970s. I've experienced and still experience racism, discrimination, bigotry and prejudice in a variety of ways and am still learning insights to all the detailed intricate and less obvious aspects of microaggresions, unconscious bias and systemic racism.”
“Because I’ve been calling out these systemic issues within policing for nearly 2 decades only to be harassed by the very people I’m calling out because they are the law. Harassed by those that are supposed to protect and serve. Who will police the police? I have been especially concerned about the clear prejudices of certain officers, and the complete lack of diversity within the Newtown PD. The time has come to hold them accountable for everything, even the smallest of infractions.”
“I want to help to eradicate racism in our community and our country. I have friends and family from all different backgrounds and with all different skin colors, and right now I fear for their safety. I'm a white woman, and my husband is Arab and identifies as brown. I worry for him and our 2 children and how they will be treated, because of their names or how they look. Our country is supposed to stand for freedom and hope for everyone and I want to be sure I a doing my part to help achieve those ambitious goals.”
“As someone who works in Newtown and has both parents and parents in-law living in Newtown I’m concerned about the way the Newtown community has responded to racism in the past. Also having friends who are people of color living in and making positive contributions to the Newtown community I’m concerned for them and their families.”
“I am an African American female who was born and raised in Bensalem. Racism is no stranger to me, but it has helped to make me the strong woman I am today, determined to get involved to make a change!”
Get Involved, Make A Change
Just a few days prior to this incident, the NTHRC decided to dedicate its Wednesday, June 17, 2020, 7 PM, Zoom public meeting to discussing racism and what can be done to ensure that racism has no place in Newtown and that incidents such as the above are not tolerated. All members of the public will be able to attend and participate in this meeting.
Please complete this registration form if you are interested in attending this meeting.
The information you provide will be useful to aid the discussion and you will receive my personal invitation with the meeting ID and password and/or link via the email address you provide.
Read More...
Posted on 02 Jun 2020, 10:29 - Category: Discrimination
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