Fairfield Racial Equity Plan Presented: 'These Issues Need Leadership'

FAIRFIELD, CT — Questions of racial equity and how best to incorporate them into town operations were the subject of much discussion Monday, when Fairfield’s Racial Equity and Justice Task Force presented its equity blueprint to the Board of Selectmen.

“We all have to be willing to ask difficult questions and not avoid uncomfortable realities,” task force member Douglas Bunnell said.

The group was created in 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd to research racial equity issues in Fairfield and provide recommendations. The blueprint advises, among other things, the formation of a permanent racial equity commission and the hiring of a full-time community justice and belonging officer. The body also recommended the town make a proclamation and adopt a resolution acknowledging the existence and impact of systems that disadvantage people of color in terms of access and opportunity in Fairfield and committing to addressing equity issues in town.

“These issues need leadership and we need to explicitly call out the fact that these issues are alive and affecting people in Fairfield,” Bunnell said, emphasizing the need for clear progress measurements.

During its tenure, the task force conducted a listening project with key stakeholders, hosted presenters and held a community roundtable. In terms of quantitative data, members cited evidence that students of color are overrepresented in disciplinary actions at Fairfield schools, and noted that a Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project study found Fairfield police targeted Black and Hispanic drivers in traffic stops near Bridgeport. However, the task force ran into access barriers and was unable to take steps such as creating a townwide equity survey or obtaining human resources information, according to Co-Chair Gina Ludlow.

“We have reached the end of what we can do,” she said. “We were able to come together and present new pathways.”

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick suggested one or two task force members discuss possible actions with the town’s attorney and human resources director, and an equity consultant to be hired with $75,000 in federal grant funding.

“Obviously it’s a lot to digest and there’s a lot of stuff we need more answers on,” she said.

Kupchick supported funding a townwide survey and the formation of a group for deep listening, although task force member Ryan Odinak emphasized the body had intended the permanent commission to handle vision and oversight.

“This collection of data needs to be ongoing,” Odinak said.

One task force member spoke about what she characterized as a lack of quantitative data to demonstrate that Fairfield is systemically racist to the extent the blueprint indicated.

“I never said that we didn’t have qualitative data, I never thought that the lived experience was something that we should ignore, but we don’t have the quantitative data, we just don’t have it,” Sandra Tallman said, noting that she would have liked to rescind her vote supporting the document.

As for Kupchick, she expressed an interest in gathering more data, asking further questions and discussing the blueprint with department heads and other officials.

“I appreciate this as a framework,” she said. “I think that there are some really good things in here that are going to help.”

To read the blueprint, visit https://bit.ly/35uLzzk.