In New Hampshire, outraged by the brazen disrespect toward the president and – by direct extension – all persons of color who don’t “act right”, many white people of good will put their reactions into action, standing up, speaking out , keeping the pressure on until the Police Commissioner had no way out but out. Many other white people (and possibly some people of color as well) merely shrugged the situation off as the ramblings of some old guy, set in his ways, whose opinions don’t really matter. A more lunatic fringe saw fit to level their own nasty tirades and even (anonymous) death threats against the righteous folks.
Juxtaposed to this, as word spread of Maya Angelou’s passing, everyone jumped into action to pay tribute to her strength, clarity and unwavering courage to tell the truth. Network TV, veteran show hosts such as Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley and all manner of ordinary folks with access to the internet posted her poetry, ran archival interviews and generally paid homage to her impact on the country and its conscience. Dr. Angelou’s unfailingly positive, forward-looking yet uncompromising words were hailed by many as though they had always led the way for an admiring nation. Had this been true, of course, she hardly could have written the words,
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust … I rise.
In 2010, a group of five employees of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) launched a class action suit against CJTS and DCF, claiming racial discrimination in the workplace. Chief among the complaints was a pattern of more frequent disciplinary actions against employees of color compared to white. As part of that pattern, actual “consequences” (punishment) for equivalent workplace infractions were more serious for employees of color. The plaintiffs and their parties had the stats to back them up, as well as staffing demographics that showed a marked drop in racial diversity above the frontline supervisor level.
Four years later, one of the five plaintiffs is fighting his subsequent termination (see “pattern” above), one opted to retire rather than be fired, and the remaining three continue to labor at CJTS under the managerial microscope used for “troublemakers”. The class action lawsuit has been amended to include “hostile work environment”. This blog contains a running history of the struggles of five employees known as The DCF Plantation Five.
What connects these three seemingly separate stories? First – the inherent risks – and eventual reward, or at least satisfaction – of speaking out against societal wrongs, in these cases, racism. Dr. Angelou joined the civil rights protests, working closely with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., experiencing the danger up close as each was assassinated. She did not fade away, and as a shocked nation finally faced the truth of its ugliness, she joined others who were finally recognized as beacons of that truth. The residents of the northern New Hampshire resort town did not have to go public with their disapproval, but chose to shine a light on that dark corner, despite ridicule and threats by ignorant neighbors and against the initial stonewalling of town leaders. Seeing their determination, more townspeople stood up to swell the ranks of those calling for the Police Commissioner’s resignation, sticking their collection foot in the door till he walked out through it.
It is said that today’s version of racism is institutional, built into the daily fabric of our lives and difficult to both perceive and root out. But when a small, courageous group of employees can stand up and repeatedly point out the pattern of workplace wrongs, and when their ranks begin to swell as those complaints are met with silence and token actions that attempt to camouflage official inaction, it is incumbent on the rest of us to take notice and demand that the problems be fixed. Today DCF is led by an imperious former judge who does not think her decisions are subject to dispute. She appears to have the support of the Governor.
This is an election year, with some stiff competition. There is a good chance that both the Governor and many of the current commissioners will be replaced next year. Regardless, the injustice within DCF will not change without relentless pressure from the outside. This is the best way to amplify the message of current and former employees who cannot afford to let the struggle fade away into hopeless resignation. I do not have firsthand experience with the racism within DCF, but I can be a “witness” and a buffer against the extreme risks being taken by those who speak truth to power, especially in today’s economy where any sense of job security is illusory. It starts with truly believing the stories and statistics and then helping to hoist the floodlights of public attention that might finally force the ugliness of racial discrimination into the daylight where it will shrivel up and slink away.
Nancy Bowden
Bloomfield, CT
Occupy Hartford Activist
No comments:
Post a Comment