Opinion: Equity Under Attack by Amherst Town Government

By Deborah Ferreira, Allegra Clark, Pat Ononibaku, Darius Cage, Russ Vernon Jones, Briana Owen, Ellisha Walker, and Tashina. Bowman

The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) Co-Chairs and Community Safety Working Group (CSWG) will be writing a series of articles over the next few months focused on how equity is under attack in the Town of Amherst. We will begin this series by discussing the proposed BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center. But during the coming weeks, watch for articles on: the Resident Oversight Board, the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS), the BIPOC Cultural Center, the Inequitable Distribution of ARPA funds, Reparations, and the Amherst Regional School Budget deficit.

BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center
Back in 2020, following the short-lived “racial reckoning” following George Floyd’s murder, the Town of Amherst began to look at its complicity in upholding white supremacy.  This started with the formation of the Community Safety Working Group (CSWG), whose purpose was to (a) make recommendations on alternative ways of providing public safety services to the community and (b) make recommendations on reforms to the current organizational and oversight structures of the Amherst Police Department.  In May 2021, the CSWG made a comprehensive list of program and policy recommendations in their first report to the town (see also here), including creation of: Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service (CRESS); Resident Oversight Board; Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to implement a BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center and a BIPOC Cultural Center;  reduce the size of the Amherst Police Department (APD); and  continue the CSWG as an ongoing entity. Nearly four years later, the public outrage over systemic racism has largely subsided, but where do the recommendations of CSWG stand? 

The CSWG met weekly and held a number of community forums, as well as a participatory action research project conducted by 7 Generation Movement Collective   focused on community members’ experiences with traditional policing in town and alternative solutions to address safety. One recommendation that came from community engagement efforts was for a BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center.  The Youth Center will give BIPOC youth a voice, a place to excel, and a place to participate in after-school activities. This recommendation was a proactive way to address youth safety, offering positive support and solutions rather than punitive ones. 

From the 7 Gen Report: Youth Services 
Amherst lacks quality free and accessible youth programming that respects the distinct cultures of the BIPOC and AAPI communities.  Amherst Regional School District boasts a very diverse population which according to the 2020 Amherst Schools: State of the Town (ASSTT) report, the district is made up of over 50% of the students who identify as BIPOC. (State of the Town, 2020).  The report also identifies half of the students in the district as “high needs,” with 34% of students as “economically disadvantaged,” and 22% identified as having a disability (ASSTT, 2020).  In 2019, Amherst received a total of $300,000 in grant funding from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for bilingual education. Growing in terms of diversity, according to Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, it is “between 2007 and 2017, Latinx students increased in the elementary schools by 30 percent” and “English language learners students increased by 35 percent” (Jochem, 2019).  In both Black and Latinx communities, a large majority of parents believe after school activities keep students safe. (Zalaznick, 2021). In addition, youth benefit from culturally and linguistically competent support through purposeful and authentic engagement with community members (Martinez, et. al. 2012). As the 7GenMC participant interviews reveal BIPOC youth in Amherst are surveilled whether in their homes, as young drivers, and targeted especially downtown. Quality after-school programs designed with BIPOC teens in mind have shown to support and increase academic achievement and play a role in reducing other disparities (Watson, Hagopian, Au, 2018). Youth programs to promote positive social behaviors and emotional development may strengthen meaningful relationships between youth and community members. Culturally responsive mentoring and programs which operate within a framework of understanding the social and cultural contexts in which youth live will provide added benefits to support youth. When considering public safety for the youth, we have to consider the detrimental effects on the criminal justice system on youth. Research indicates youth “do better after therapeutic interventions rather than punishing ones and when we limit the reach of the justice system into their lives, whether we intervene before or after they mess up” (Lane, 2018). The goal of youth center and youth programming would be to keep them safe, engaged, and growing.

A little over a year after the initial report was released, there was a high-profile incident between Amherst Police and nine youth (see also here, here, and  here), six of whom were BIPOC.  This incident reignited community calls for a center where youth could feel safe and supported.  However, for almost a year after the incident, the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) (successor to CSWG) pressed the town around the youth empowerment center with little concrete information provided (see also  here, here, here, and here).

Programming Versus Center
Over the past two years, there has been a debate within town government over whether to begin by providing programming or only focus on establishing dedicated  space.  Undoubtedly, providing opportunities for youth to engage in activities that support their growth is imperative.  However, the rationale behind offering a center for youth comes from the need for youth to have ownership over their space.  With so many spaces in town being predominantly white, BIPOC youth have reported feeling unwelcome and surveilled in many of the places they have access to.  Having a stand-alone center for youth, led by BIPOC youth, would foster a sense of belonging for all youth, led by those most marginalized.  Thus, the town must focus on providing space and not just programming.  

Unfortunately, little progress has been made to provide a space so far.  The Town Manager set aside $500,000 of ARPA funds for the Youth Empowerment Center.  This money has largely been utilized for an assessment and feasibility study (as confirmed by Recreation Director Rey Harp in the October 2024 CSSJC meeting).  Part of the feasibility study will look at whether any town property could be utilized for this purpose.  One of the options that has been proposed is with the consolidation of Wildwood Elementary School and Fort River Elementary School, there is potential for space becoming available at Wildwood . Why is this funding being used for assessment and feasibility and not for establishing the Center?

Additionally, the original recommendation for the BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center that it be under the aegis of the DEI Department has been ignored.  While the DEI department has had an AmeriCorps intern focused on youth programming, their role has been intermittent and not much has been accomplished.  There has been little transparency regarding which department is spearheading the work on the BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center, with Recreation and Finance being the most recently referenced departments .  There has been a group meeting with representatives from DEI, CRESS, Finance, Recreation and the Schools but little information has been provided to the public about the content of these meetings.

(Editor’s note: the Indy made a public records request for agendas and minutes of these meetings and was told that no such committee exists, even though the director of CRESS and the assistant director of DEI have stated that they have attended meetings of this committee.)

These confidential meetings also represent a departure from previously discussed plans to have community members engaged in discussions about the Center.

Current Programming with Police Involvement
During the October CSSJC meeting, Recreation Director Harp provided descriptions of current youth empowerment programming being offered in collaboration with the schools, DEI, CRESS and the APD.  The Morning Movement and Mentoring Program has been successful in engaging youth emotionally, academically, mentally, and physically by uniting student-athletes, staff, and other community members for the purpose of supporting 7th- and 8th- grade students through movement and mentoring. The RISE Program is a partnership between the schools and multiple departments. RISE is a national nonprofit that educates and empowers the sports community to eliminate racial discrimination, champion social justice, and improve race relations. RISE states that the  Amherst program will:

• Create a safe space to break barriers, build trust, and create pathways for positive communication 
• Provide a leadership and cultural competency curriculum designed by RISE covering topics such as community building, bias, identity, and building trust 
• Share new perspectives, develop relationships, discuss the challenges participants face and their collective responsibility to create change and build stronger communities 
• Improve relationships between youth and the Amherst Police Department 

With the history of fraught relations between BIPOC youth and the police in town, understanding precisely what is meant by improving the relationship between youth and the APD would be helpful.  Another CSWG recommendation— the CRESS Department— was conceptualized as an alternative to policing and was considered as a possible avenue to address safety issues arising with youth as opposed to involving the police.  

Our concern is that based on the CSWG research, youth succeed more when their contact with the police is limited.  

Where Are We Now?
Since the recommendations were made by CSWG, three years ago, the town is nowhere near establishing a BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center. There has been a tremendous lack of transparency coming from Town Hall.  The Town Manager communicated that there are various departments involved with these initiatives but none take ownership of moving this project along. The CSSJC continues to ask questions regarding the establishment of a BIPOC-led Youth Empowerment Center  but has been met with zero collaboration, and continual roadblocks. In the end it is the youth who suffer because the town has failed to provide them a space that they can call their own. 

We are calling for the BIPOC-Led Youth Empowerment Center to be fully funded during this budget season. No more assessments, feasibility studies, delays, or distractions. Our youth deserve better from our town officials.  We also call for the town to include the CSSJC as a full partner in its planning and creation, as was intended in the original CSWG recommendations.

Allegra Clark and Debora Ferreira are Co-Chairs of the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee. Pat Ononibaku, Darius Cage, Russ Vernon-Jones, Briana Owen, Ellisha Walker, Tashina Bowman, and Debora Ferreira were members of the Community Safety Working Group. Owen and Walker were co-chairs of that committee.