By Jack Krampitz

When Councilman Scott Rosado began the program on diversity at Rockwell Park Wednesday night, to illustrate his feelings on the night’s topic, he used a quote from Nelson Mandella: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

That was the message brought to the group about our local government’s quest to bring fairness and equity to the city of Bristol, and to see our diversity as a strength to be nurtured, not scorned.

Councilwoman Brittany Barney brought the program to a clear focus when she read the poem, “Freedom,” by Langston Hughes, during a moment of reflection.

In the hour that followed, the citizens in attendance broke into smaller groups to talk about how diversity and equality can be improved in the school system, city government and the police force.

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Leah McCabe, Dean of Students at Northeast School, informed the audience about the Board of Education’s long-term project to discuss and curb racism in the schools and the effort to achieve more equity in our school system. 

Police Chief Brian Gould talked about the department’s policies on use of force and the importance to de-escalate potentially troublesome situations.

Gould gave a description of the lengthy training and re-training process that all officers go through to keep them up to date on how to handle all situations.

The goal of the Police Department is to treat every citizen the department encounters “with compassion, empathy, and respect,” the chief said.

One topic that all groups discussed was the importance of recruiting and hiring people for the police, the schools and the city government itself so that our city employees better reflect the demographic make-up of Bristol. 

There were many excellent questions posed to our city leaders in the course of the night, questions like what the review process is when there is a complaint against a city police officer. 

Gould explained that a review of a serious incident goes directly to the State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate such complaints, so that the review is not tarnished by local influences.

All the government leaders who spoke Wednesday night admitted that Bristol is not perfect in the area of diversity and racial justice, but it is striving every day to improve and make Bristol a better place to live for all Bristolites, regardless of race, religion, or gender.

Jack Krampitz is a retired educator and contributing editor to The Bristol Edition.