By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
WINDSOR, Vt. — Supporters for a town diversity and inclusion advisory committee will have to wait for approval, after the Windsor Selectboard tabled the discussion for consideration until June 22.
On Wednesday the Selectboard tabled a discussion on whether to approve a long-discussed JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Committee, an advisory group tasked with recommending policies or practices to foster greater inclusion, equality and cultural awareness across the community.
Despite expectations by committee proponents of a decision this week, several selectmen said they remain unsure about the sufficiency of the resolution’s language, as well as remaining questions regarding the proposed committee’s scope.
The board attempted to address these concerns by going line-by-line through the heavily detailed four page proposal, containing the formal resolution and a descriptive overview of the proposed governance, composition, purpose and scope.
This approach, however, spanned over an hour to cover less than half of the document.
In an effort to refocus the board, Town Manager Tom Marsh said the board’s focus should not be on the entire document but the main resolution statement — a brief two paragraph passage — and the information pertaining to the committee structure.
“The resolution codifies the topics that the board will look at,” Marsh said. “So if all the rest of this [content] isn’t reflected in a statement in the resolution, that is something that needs to be adjusted.”
The selectboard must now determine whether the committee’s proposed scope and purpose is reflected in the resolution statement, Marsh said.
The main resolution statement simply describes the JEDI committee as “a special committee to review and make recommendations on town policies regarding justice, equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Outside of the resolution, however, the proposal identifies specific populations, including “black, indigenous and people of color” and types of discrimination, including “racism, misogyny, transphobia, ableism, ADA non-compliance, ageism (or) any oppression or marginalization.”
Selectman Ryan Palmer expressed concerns about where specific groups or issues appeared, which he worried might be potentially alienating to some Windsor residents.
Palmer suggested changing a line from “supporting respect and dignity for Black, indigenous and people of color” to “supporting respect and dignity for everyone.”
“I understand the committee has its roots in racism and other things,” Palmer said. “But I like the language of ‘everyone’, as opposed to mentioning specific groups. I think that language will carry more weight with the people who might not necessarily agree with the purpose of this committee.”
Ethan Lawrence, chair of the JEDI Steering Committee, disagreed with making a language change, saying that identifying marginalized or underrepresented groups has proven necessary, as the use of “everyone” in promises by governments or other institutions has frequently failed to be inclusive.
“Making a specific condition in this section is not excluding justice for all other people,” Lawrence said. “Saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ does not mean that lives of people who are not black don’t matter.”
But the board agreed with another suggestion by Palmer to include “poverty, food insecurity and socio-economic (factors)” as a listed type of discrimination.
According to Marsh, the only place to make enforceable language changes is in the resolution.
“The rest of this document is not something the selectboard is going to vote on,” Marsh told the board. “You cannot vote to bind the committee to these specific (tasks or priorities) when all the wordsmithing of those is done by the committee once it is formed.”
Some board members conveyed disappointment about deferring the committee’s approval.
“I have a hard time delaying this on the eve of George Floyd’s murder’s one-year anniversary,” said Selectman Christopher Goulet. “But if we must, we must.”
The fatal killing of Minneapolis man George Floyd by three Minneapolis police officers factored heavily into sparking the dialogue in Windsor about racial injustice that later led to the formation of the JEDI Steering Committee.
The JEDI Steering Committee formed five months ago to determine a need for a standing advisory committee to address issues of injustice and discrimination in the community and draft a proposal.
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