I was hoping to write a fairly short, simple and straightforward letter wholeheartedly supporting the report and recommendations of the Community Safety Review Committee (CSRC) that were shared at the Jan. 5 Selectboard meeting. I have never been so proud to be part of this town, part of the marginalized communities organizing for safety and well-being, as I was that night and the next morning.
And then the horror and reality of the unending violence of white supremacy reared its head in the form of violent attacks later that day on the U.S. Capitol, the people inside, and the democratic election processes.
What we are grappling with as a town around community safety and the violent acts by organized white supremacists in recent days are not separate.
The attacks, by armed white supremacists, were born from years and decades and centuries of white supremacists' inability to share power and see the humanity in others. Though met with some police resistance, they received active support by others. Months earlier, Black and brown bodies trying to hold peaceful vigils were met with tear gas, pepper spray, and mass arrests.
In the last month, Brattleboro has been subject to violent hate speech against Jews in a sidewalk chalking and recruitment posters for the white supremacist organization Atomwaffen. As we denounce these racist acts of violence, we remain committed to our vision for racial justice and to our vision of...