by Barbara Smith
Blogger and social justice activist
https://www.facebook.com/HWdemocrats/
I’m sharing information from the North Shore
NAACP chapter as the leadership takes action to address incidents of racism in Danvers, Massachusetts.
Watch the recording of the meeting and see dialogue with the Select Board and Town Manager here, starting at the 5 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu4Zw8lMry4
The North Shore NAACP under President Natalie Bowers, leadership addressed the Select Board in hopes they would support our work and enact their elected authority to help the town adopt our recommendations that we have laid out in our report. We want the town to implement all four of our recommendations so that everyone feels safe raising their families in Danvers.
you can access the report here.
President, Natalie Bowers, shares that this week, after approximately five months of our Branch’s work in Danvers, we presented our report of recommendations to the Human Rights & Inclusion Committee to ask that they adopt and support this work.
Sending Emails
I sent the following email to a list shared below that includes SelectBoard Members, Town Manager and Police Chief emails:
Dear Danvers Officials,
I am a member of the North Shore NAACP . Please support their work and enact their recommendations in the following report so that everyone in town can feel safe raising their families in Danvers.
mduggan@danversma.govmaureenbernard@danversma.gov
sbartha@danversma.gov
jlovell@danversma.gov
More Information from the North Shore NAACP Branch
The Danvers Update: We don’t just walk, We Stand. This week, after approximately five months of our Branch’s work in Danvers, we presented our report of recommendations to the Human Rights & Inclusion Committee to ask that they adopt and support this work.
This week, our Branch received much media coverage, as it was the first time we have gone public with this report that we shared with the town manager and police chief in January. Three weeks ago, we were told by Town Manager Steve Bartha that they have ‘decided to let Baldassare decide what he wants to do’ instead of adopting our recommendation that they use their authority to remove him from his position as community Liaison officer. We are not asking them to fire him, just remove him from a position that he has demonstrated an inability to a full competency in. Baldassare, in his roles within the community, has failed to demonstrate the ability to detect a violently racist culture that was happening. under his watch.
Our Branch asks, How then, can he perform in the capacity of community liaison officer, a role responsible for making decisions on cases processed by SROs on juvenile matters that occur within our schools.
See all relevant documents, a recording of the press conference and our statement at the Danvers Human Rights & Inclusion committee here:
https://northshoremanaacp.org/the-danvers-case
We added this webpage that is dedicated to our work in Danvers so that we can offer complete transparency to the community. We know this work isn’t pretty or neat or pleasant, but we believe that truth and honestly, not shame and hiding, is what will eventually lead us to healing. We feel that within the last two years, one of the mistakes that the community has made is a failure to effectively communicate with all stakeholders, despite many attempts to do so. We will continue to make our work in Danvers transparent. Our goal in this work is to achieve accountability by Danvers leaders so that the work to restore faith in Town governance can begin.
Here is what we are currently working on:
1. Danvers Human Rights & Inclusion Committee to formally vote and support our work in Danvers to any extent they are able. We presented to the committee during their public statement portion of their meeting this week and expect to be invited back for their next meeting as a formal agenda item.
2. Danvers Select Board. This coming week, we will email the Selectboard to welcome us to their next meeting, so we may present to them the invitation to formally vote to support our work. The meeting we will attend is on April 5th. If you want to attend to support our statement at this meeting, please do.
Other ways you can help:
1. Write letters to the Danvers Selectboard in support of our work and urge them to hold the Town manager accountable to doing the hard work. email: cellsworth@danversma.gov with title: ‘attention Selectboard Members’
2. Write letters of support to the Danvers HRC as we move to a vote on their support for our work. email: epdanvers@gmail.com with title: ‘attention All HRC Committee Members and Liaisons’
Media coverage:
Salem news, March 24, 2022 “NAACP wants former hockey coach removed from police position”
Boston Globe, March 25, 2022
Boston Globe, March 23,, 2022