The Richmond Selectboard has voted to incorporate a declaration of equity and inclusion in the town’s mission statement.
The declaration, proposed by Richmond Racial Equity, was approved by unanimous vote Monday night after a brief discussion. However, it followed nearly a year and a half of debate over how best to encourage inclusivity in a way that is thoughtful and ensures Richmond, which is 95% white, remains welcoming to all.
“The Town of Richmond, Vermont condemns racism, and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, age, or disability, and wants everyone to feel safe and welcome in our community,” the declaration reads. “As a town, we formally condemn all discrimination in all of its forms, commit to fair and equitable treatment of everyone in our community, and will strive to ensure all of our actions, policies and operating procedures reflect this commitment.”
In Richmond, and in communities in Vermont and across the country, the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a police officer sparked a movement to address systemic racism, bolster inclusivity and support Black Americans.
In its approach, the Burlington suburb of just over 4,160 people sought to create a more inclusive community without injecting anti-law-enforcement sentiments, which at times have accompanied efforts to combat racism.
In June 2020, Richmond hoisted a Black Lives Matter flag in front of the town hall and placed a sign with the same message on the lawn in front of the town center in an effort to “show a willingness to grow by acknowledging our responsibility to clearly and publicly support the worldwide movement for racial justice,” according to Richmond’s resolution in support of displaying a BLM flag. The symbols remained in place for three months, as was outlined in the resolution.
“There was a lot of urgency” following the killing of George Floyd, said Christine Werneke, town selectboard chair. “We started with symbolism or awareness — how can we make it clear that we are paying attention.”
Some members of the community and town leadership expressed a desire to deepen the discussion around racial equity and actions that could be taken to support it.
The desire was highlighted during an hourlong discussion at the selectboard meeting Oct. 18.
Bonny Steuer, a member of Richmond Racial Equity, asked the board to consider flying the flag year-round and to adopt the declaration of inclusion, something other Vermont towns, including Milton and Bennington, had already done. The organization also announced plans to ask the town to appropriate money for diversity, equity and inclusion work.
Some people at the meeting questioned exactly how the money would be allocated, while others warned that attitudes regarding race are hard to change. One person said that, although the town budgeted $5,000 for diversity training last year, such programs are not always impactful.
One community member pushed back even harder. Ian Bender asked specifically what type of work would be done and urged the selectboard to reconsider the use of the BLM flag as its primary symbol of inclusivity.
Bender asked if the town is to have a flag, a sign and a declaration, do they have to be associated with BLM or can they be associated with something else that is “not evoking so much emotion amongst some of the folks in the town, myself included?”
Said the 17-year town resident: “I just think BLM is really a flashpoint now. It’s a conduit to the culture war and I think it turns a lot of people off.”
Werneke, the selectboard chair, cautioned that the issue is complex and that flying a flag was just a start. “It’s an imperfect statement or visual symbol for us to be using to highlight our need to bring equity to BIPOC individuals in Richmond,” she said.
Werneke said the selectboard had heard from some residents concerned that the flag could be interpreted as an anti-police statement.
Werneke, who voted in favor of the declaration, said, “People say, ‘I don’t feel like Black lives don’t matter; I don’t even want to say all lives matter,’ they just think that using that as a call or symbol has other things attached to it that haven’t been discussed and are perhaps not in full agreement of where our town values stand.”
She said important next steps for the town are to look beyond the symbolism and to identify what systems need to be changed to help the town become more welcoming and inclusive to all. Already, the selectboard signed off on a resolution “in support of a fair and impartial policing policy,” she said.
The Vermont League of Cities and Towns has issued a list of actions that municipalities can take to encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in their communities.
