Good for Greenfield.
Mayor William Martin may not want to admit that bigotry exists in his town, lest he tarnish its image. We may not have the degree of problem that exists in other parts of the country, but we have our share.
While Martin has shown himself reluctant to publicly acknowledge Greenfield’s struggles with racism, it speaks well of this town that two groups, not just one, have responded from the grass roots to push back against what bigotry does exist here.
At a Greenfield Human Rights Commission meeting this week, many of the town’s leaders and residents turned out to hear an explanation of the nationwide Not In Our Town anti-bigotry project that began in 1995 when residents of Billings, Mont., stood up for their neighbors after a series of hate crimes. The project provides resources and training for elected and appointed town government officials, educators and students and law enforcement, among other community stakeholders.
Come to find out that in the audience Monday were residents who a few weeks earlier on their own had formed just such a group. About 15 had formed the group, and at least 30 more people wrote their names on a sign-up sheet during the meeting.
The effort comes in response to a series of racist and anti-Semitic incidents in town, with the goal of preventing similar hate crimes in the future.
In recently weeks, racist, digitally altered photos of At-Large Town Councilor Penny Ricketts were emailed to town department heads and local businesses. The owners of Pierce Brothers Coffee Roasters also came forward to say their business has been harassed by a neighbor who used an anti-Semitic remark to object to the smell created by its roasting process.
Emma Morgan, who has been involved in the start-up Not In Our Town coalition in Greenfield, said the group is in the beginning stages, but hopes to host events including community dialogues and film screenings in town.
Ricketts voiced her support for the coalition during the meeting, saying she likes the model and plans to join the group, and hopes others will, too.
“I hope that everybody joins it so we can just continue talking, because I think at the end of the day, what if they found the person that did this to me? What if? What does it give me back? What does it heal? And the way the court system is, there are no promises there, either. So we have to heal as a community,” she said through tears.
“This is an opportunity to speak up and speak out for what is happening in our country,” Ricketts told the human rights panel, referring to recent race-related shootings elsewhere. “As we discuss senseless deaths, the important piece is to discuss how it makes us feel, what needs to stop and how our everyday words and actions can help build up our own community.”
Ricketts has been nothing but a model of patience, civility and community-mindedness and should be an inspiration for this community, despite the truly hateful treatment she has received at the hands of some cowardly, boorish bigot. So we should take her advice, because we don’t want to live with bigotry — not in our town.