Two incidents have occurred in Windsor of late that demand a community conversation about race and racism.
Earlier this year, the Mount Ascutney School District Board fired Windsor School Principal Tiffany Riley after she made remarks on social media that some residents interpreted as ignorance of why Black lives matter. More recently, the Windsor Selectboard rejected a proposal for a public hearing about renaming Jacob Street, which is named for a prominent Windsor lawyer who purchased a slave, Dinah Mason, in 1783.
Despite the passage of 237 years between these two incidents, they both involve the issue of racism and beg for wider community discussion than has occurred thus far.
The lack of discussion of these issues is especially frustrating because Windsor has held constructive community discussions about important issues in the recent past. For example, the School Board has sought community input by inviting residents to its discussions about creating a vision and a mission statement for our schools. Similarly, the School Board has engaged community members as well as students in its work to create a “Portrait of a Graduate,” which articulates the community’s aspirations for all students. Thus, discussions of important public issues are nothing new in Windsor.
In keeping with that tradition, community leaders in Windsor, including elected officials, law enforcement officers, clergy and librarians, among others, should organize an exchange of ideas on the issue of racism. To ensure a frank and thoughtful discussion about racism in Windsor and beyond, we must secure the services of a skilled facilitator, share some enlightening reading material, and gather a group of people willing to listen to and learn from their neighbors.
To be sure, discussing racial matters can be uncomfortable, even intimidating. But communication is the beginning of understanding, and recent events in Windsor demand a greater understanding of racial issues from all of us. Whatever the outcome, the discussion will have value.
SHERRIE GREELEY and BRIAN PORTO
Windsor
Given the pandemic, it is probable that many people have little need for daily public transportation. However, it would be both convenient and safer to stay off the highways in inclement weather during the winter.
To that extent, I have to ask if it would not be prudent to at least have Amtrak service on weekends through the holiday season, if not beyond. My wife and I are faced with the prospect of having to drive to Albany, N.Y., or Springfield, Mass., to pick up our daughter, which we do not look forward to, given the nightmarish possibilities of night driving during winter weather. It’s not merely an issue of convenience. There are safety issues as well.
Perhaps, if enough of us contact our representatives in Washington, something can be done to remedy this.
BILL McDONALD
Woodstock
Donald Trump, current captain of Team America, steps up to the plate. The votes are tallied in Georgia and Joe Biden is declared the winner by a slim margin. The pitch is clearly right over home plate. Strike one!
An angry, red-faced Trump berates the umpire and claims the pitch was a ball. A manual recount takes days to complete but delivers the same result.
The second pitch is again directly over the plate, which is apparent to almost everyone in the ballpark. Strike two!
By now the captain is ranting and raving, threatening to fire the umpire, claiming that the ballgame is fixed and demanding a third count. The count is done electronically and again results in Biden being victorious by a similar margin. The third pitch is delivered. Trump swings, misses and falls to one knee. Strike three.
Trump throws his helmet to the ground, spouts off crazy conspiracy theories and is finally ejected from the game, to the relief of an overwhelming majority of the onlookers.
The sun breaks through the clouds and a long period of darkness goes away. Joe Biden steps into the batter’s box and Kamala Harris is on deck. The fans of democracy break into resounding cheers and at last feel that there might be four upcoming winning seasons for Team America.
ED RIPPE
Enfield
I am an admirer of columnist Randall Balmer’s compassionate view of things political, as in his example of the friendship of former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter (“A time for healing,” Dec. 6). But I am mystified as to exactly what “conciliatory words” he would expect Joe Biden might offer Donald Trump?
JON APPLETON
White River Junction