By David Fortier
When mayor sits down at 7:30 this morning to talk about the recent leaflet drop of white supremacist literature in the northeast section of the city, he will be talking with two Bristol Eastern High School graduates who are committed to their native city and to helping Bristol meet the challenge—and danger—posed by both blatant and implicit racism.
The conversation started during the public participation portion of the last City Council meeting held earlier this week at the Bristol Board of Education auditorium.
Adam Antar, BEHS class of 2007, is going into the meeting with an open mind. At the same time, he expects more than the general response where the mayor asks him to join a committee and to work with the police. We spoke Thursday evening when Antar drove me to the places where the leaflets were dropped.
Rather, he said, that he would like to see a different approach. Already he and others have noticed an increase in police activity since the drop.
“If we are talking about black and brown people being targeted by white nationalists an increase in police activity is kind of tone deaf,” he said.
“In a post-George Floyd world, we should all realize what police means to communities of color.”
He said he would like to see a more satisfactory and well thought out response.
“It’s not about policing,” he said. “It’s about uplifting our community and making sure that residents of color understand that they are welcome here and that they have a voice and the city cares about them.”
Instead of the response being city-hall centered, he said, he would like to see the city come out to the areas where the people are.
“Black and brown people aren’t going to see what the city is doing [if it is city-hall centered], but they will certainly have heard about white supremacist leaflets.”
He recommends a series of events around town, at Davis Drive, Shawn Drive and Rockwell Park, for instance, with food and assurances.
“Anything that says to the people, ‘Hey, you are here. You are beautiful.’”
Camelia Lopez, BEHS class of 2006, has a couple of ideas that she would like the city to pursue. We spoke over the phone Thursday night.
“I want to really make sure we are not just putting sugar on top and being, ‘Oh, look, it’s so pretty.’ You are going to have to have those hard conversations. It’s unfortunate but in order to get past this you have to.”
She said she would like to see action on a several levels.
On one level, there is education, beginning with City Hall. She said the problem is systemic and training is imperative, if people there are going to think differently about racism.
On another, there is a community-wide response.
“With all this fear of police, people are not going to report anything if they are scared of you,” she said. “And they won’t be scared of you if they know you. So it all comes down to becoming connected as a city.”
On a third level, she would like to see a concerted effort to address racism in all the cities across the state where these leaflets have been distributed.
“We can all agree to go about it all the same and to really take a stand and say, “Okay, racism isn’t allowed.’”
“Otherwise, it’s still going to be there because you are not addressing the whole situation,” she said.
Lopez, who has worked at ImagiNation, has deep ties to the community. The relationships she has from working there, living in Bristol her entire life, and family ties helps her understand and speak for others.
At the City Council meeting, she said, “I am scared for our teenagers finding these papers, there is so much hate in this world and I don’t want it coming to Bristol. I love this city. I came to here in fourth grade and I went all the way through high school. and I praise the city all the time to people, but I never feel scared. This is making me feel scared.
“I know families are too, to the point where they don’t feel like even saying anything. They don’t feel represented.”
The white supremacist leaflets, slips of paper the size of business cards, were scattered neighborhoods in the Northeast section of Bristol. Both drops were in single family neighborhoods, with freshly mown lawns, signs congratulating high school graduates, newly planted flowers, and a variety of flags, from the U.S. flag to Pride flags and even Ukrainian flags.
It was at the council meeting that the mayor agreed to the Friday morning meeting. He had originally suggested a July meeting with Antar. Lopez told the mayor, during their exchange, that July was unacceptable.
This morning Antar will be meeting the mayor in-person. Lopez, who had a prior commitment, said she will be joining virtually.
Lopez, who has a bachelors from Emerson College, is a certified head teacher for children birth to five years old. She has had a longtime relationship with the Bristol Boys and Girls Club, including working for the club, and at one point, as a youth she received a grant from them to purchase a laptop. She has worked for ImagiNation as both a high school student and an adult.
Antar has his bachelors, masters, and law degrees from UConn. He said Lopez, a friend, reached out to him after the incident because she was aware of his activism. One episode involved a Muslin leader who was scheduled to speak at the university being disinvited by the university president. The decision was eventually reversed after emails revealed the president’s action had been influenced by a donor.
At the council meeting, the mayor said he would invite Police Chief Brian Gould as well as other interested parties. After they spoke at the council meeting, the two had a brief discussion with the police chief, that Lopez said was helpful.
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