By Anna Bedell 

The recent leaflet drop of white supremacist propaganda in the city was among the topics raised at the Bristol Diversity Council’s first meeting since May. 

“Once the white supremacist flyers were distributed, citizens were angry and scared — rightfully,” said Jaymie Bianca, leading her first meeting on Tuesday as chair since being elected in May. The June meeting was canceled. 

One resident, who participated via Zoom, asked a pointed question for Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, who was in attendance and opened the meeting with introductory comments. 

“Is the mayor going to permit us to discuss those flyers again?” asked resident Mel Bee. 

The mayor’s response to the distribution of the leaflets by a white supremacist group over a month ago has drawn the criticism of local activists who have asked for a strong statement condemning the literature and supporting citizens who might be a target of such groups. 

There have been several meetings between the activists and the mayor. Most recently, the mayor had promised to consider bringing a proclamation proposed by the group up for a vote at the July City Council meeting. He wanted to have it reviewed by the Corporation Counsel’s office and also run it by the City Council, but when the Council meeting occurred, the proposed proclamation never was mentioned.

Rather than following through, the mayor opened the council meeting with some personal comments that the group found fell far short of the language of the proclamation. 

For her part at Tuesday’s meeting, Bianca proposed that the Diversity Council develop a resource list of inclusive organizations in the city to be able to respond to such threats and promote diversity. 

“Our perfect course of action for the Diversity Council can be to provide this resource list of organizations in the city — promote that mission of — diversity, equity and inclusion.” 

Leading up to this meeting, Bianca said she had heard from both Bristol Parks, Recreation, Youth and Community Services and the local chapter of the NAACP.  

Parks and Rec will be holding its third annual Community Conversation on  Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Rockwell Park. The mayor has made several references to the conversations in his deliberations with local activists and at council meetings, inviting everyone to participate. 

Council member Marcus Patton said, “A big part of this, on the resource side of things, is an opportunity for the council as a whole to jump in. I think that something like this presents us with the opportunity to kind of band together.”

He said he would like to see the Diversity Council reaching out to people, finding out what people are doing themselves, and to help populate the list of resources. 

The meeting attracted eight people in person and 15 people via Zoom.   

In his introductory remarks, the mayor said he looks forward to working with Bianca and to continue to rebuild the Diversity Council. 

“I’ve seen a fair amount of change and really make sure that we’re representing the community across the board,” he said.  

“One of the things I’m hopeful is that we use this Diversity Council here to celebrate Bristol’s diversity, but not be divisive,” he said.  

For more information about becoming a member, volunteering or attending meetings, the public can visit the Diversity Council website.  

Other topics on the agenda were the upcoming Community Conversations, promoting the Diversity Council, West End Association Rockwell Park, Youth Coalition, Impact Avenues, Farmers Market and Cultural Festival 2023. 

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