The meeting in Hartford, Connecticut was packed with people. Only one subject was discussed on the agenda i.e. how the Department of Children and Families must be challenged on policies of racism. For over two decades the DCF has been accused by clients it serves and members of the community of institutional racism. Clients of color claim DCF targets their children disproportionally than other ethnic groups in the Connecticut area. Also people of color complain DCF barges into homes and removes children for flimsy reasons. When we look at the community concerns the issues are as follows, DCF doles out millions of dollars in contracts to service clients by white governed institutions. The few clinical agencies people of color manage, are ignored when DCF dispenses largesse from their cornucopia, i.e. monies from state and federal sources.
In the midst of all of this, DCF also disciplines employees of color more than other ethnic groups, terminations, letters of reprimand, etc. In the middle of a community of color on Park / Hudson Streets sits a structure called DCF... with headquarters. It is a monument to white apartheid policies and an insult to people of color... sitting there ... living off the misery and blood of blacks and Hispanics. Let me be clear. There is no logical reason for community members to continue discussing DCF racism... it is documented. In 2011 five members of Connecticut Juvenile Training School [people of color] launched a lawsuit about racial hostility in that facility. How much longer do people in the community need to debate the obvious -DCF racism- before confronting this behemoth of institutional racial?
The meeting recently about DCF in Hartford might be a portent of things to come with people of color seeking to dismantle it. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment