Posted: 05/25/2022 17:37:28 A recent court ruling found that racism operates in the Greenfield Police Department. Mayor Roxann Wed...
Posted: 05/25/2022 17:37:28
A recent court ruling found that racism operates in the Greenfield Police Department. Mayor Roxann Wedegartner’s response demonstrates that she is not listening to a diverse constituency and failing to collaborate with city officials and employees. First, she said she would consider appealing the verdict (with taxpayers’ money). She does not seem to grasp that racism is pervasive in all American institutions. No matter how well-meaning European Americans are, change will never happen without this fundamental recognition. The court’s decision is an invitation, a mandate, to review the policy and make amends. Let the judgment be an opportunity for change, not hunkering down with secure blinders. Second, alleging that he lied under oath, Wedegartner discharged the white police officer who testified on behalf of the black officer who brought the case. And she confined him to his house during working hours! Is she judge, prosecutor and jury? I am delighted with the number of citizens who joined in testifying outside of City Hall as well as the members of Council who spoke. In the civil rights movement of the 60s, a favorite freedom song was “Which Side Are You On?” Mayor Wedegartner, which side are you on?
Adele Smith-Penniman
Wendell
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