Letter to the Editor: Acknowledging Racism is a Critical Step for a Community
The Yorktown Coalition on Community Safety and Engagement was created as required by New York Executive Order 203. After watching the Nov. 24 coalition meeting, I feel compelled to speak up.
There seemed to be some question about what was intended by EO 203. In the order itself, the Governor states: “WHEREAS, the foregoing compels me to conclude that urgent and immediate action is needed to eliminate racial inequities in policing, to modify and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures, and practices, and to develop practices to better address the particular needs of communities of color to promote public safety, improve community engagement, and foster trust;…”
It is quite clear that addressing racism is at the heart of this initiative. It’s very difficult to do that without first acknowledging that racism exists across the world, across the country and right here in our town. That is the very first step to addressing the issue, yet it seems to be a difficult one for our community to take. Perhaps that is why it has been insufficiently addressed at the coalition’s public meetings. Since it is such an uncomfortable topic, that may explain why when speakers have attempted to address it, they have not always been treated with respect.
Anyone who attended the Yorktown March for Civil Justice in June of this year was able to see the courage displayed by the young people of our town who were willing to get up in public to tell their personal stories of experiencing racism right here in Yorktown. Please let their bravery not be in vain.
As a longtime Yorktown resident, I greatly appreciate the resolutions that the Town Board has put forth condemning racism and hatred of all kinds. But that is only a first step. Without further action, we cannot make progress to root out racism right here where we live. It is very important to listen to our community members who have had these experiences – and to hear them with compassion and a willingness to learn.
I hope that when the coalition drafts its report, it will address the issue of race just as prominently as EO 203 itself does.
I am a member of Yorktown for Justice and also sit on the Steering Committee of Race Amity of Northern Westchester & Putnam, but I speak here for myself. I hope that my fellow community members will join me and many others in learning more about racism, its history, its current manifestations and ways to move forward together as one community.
Judyth Stavans
Yorktown Heights
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