WELCOME TO THE ACTION FORUM!
WELCOME TO THE ACTION FORUM!
Welcome!
Thank you for attending the Avon Aspires Community Dialogues Action Forum! Access the event agenda and data and viewpoints referenced in Session 2 on this page.
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Refreshments, Social Time, Gallery Walk
Welcome and Introductions
Report Outs from the Community Dialogues
Moving to Action (Summary of Insights and Themes for Action)
Prioritize Action Ideas (Voting)
Action Theme Discussion and Report Outs
Closing Remarks
Adjourn
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This “fact packet” provides information on demographics, socioeconomics, and school data.
Questions asked of participants about the data:
When you look at the information, what resonates with you the most? Why?
What do you think contributes to these statistics?
What can we do to better understand the demographically changing school and town?
How can we reflect on these facts?
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Below are 8 viewpoints, each with a unique perspective on race. They were designed to stimulate discussion on values and beliefs held by the community. Some are direct quotes and some are drafted from other community dialogue events in other geographies.
Questions asked of participants about the viewpoints:
What is your reaction to this viewpoint?
Does the viewpoint represent your way of thinking? Why? If not, why not?
Is there a view you would like to add?
Do some of these views surprise you?
Is there anything that you don’t agree with?
What themes keep coming up in our discussion?
Viewpoints Referenced in Session 2
Viewpoint 1
We are under the impression that all Avon students are very fortunate. Not quite so fast. In many ways they are fortunate. Most live in an affluent community with access to “first-rate schools” that offer a variety of extracurricular activities, a library that offers ongoing events for teens, and facilities that offer convenient access to places where kids can get together. And the list of college-bound Avon students is long. But for a growing number of our kids-both majority and non-majority-all is not well. Students of all colors and backgrounds are overwhelmed by the pressure to succeed academically and hold up under unrealistic expectations. But for some of our kids, because of their race, economic situation, learning abilities, religion, country of origin, sexuality, (the list goes on), they have to deal with the added stress (and even trauma) of striving to feel they fully belong. This added pressure must be terribly hard on them.
Viewpoint 2
We should encourage people to take pride in their own cultures and identities. It is natural and okay for us to spend most of our time with people in the community who are like us. People in the same racial, ethnic, or religious group enjoy the same things, and face the same problems, so it makes sense that we stick together. There is no need for African Americans, Latinos, gays and lesbians, and people from different religious traditions to blend in with other cultures. Belonging to these smaller groups within the community gives people a sense of pride, solidarity, and strength. We should encourage people to focus on their own traditions and culture just as long as we don’t harm or alienate others.
Viewpoint 3
We should empower Avon residents who feel they are excluded by first examining our own biases. You can’t create a strong sense of community if some people feel invisible. People need to know that their voices are being heard – whether they are families with school-aged children that reside in or outside Avon, White, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic, African American, or senior citizens. It may seem we are a welcoming community, but in reality, all of us harbor unconscious bias. Sadly, some fear that our community will change as the town diversifies.
Viewpoint 4
All this talk about “inclusion” for our kids really bothers me. For example, we talk about “a strong sense of community and belonging, especially for our students and families of color, including our Avon students from Hartford, the LGBTQ+ community, and others that belong to non-majority communities and cultures.” So, we don’t want white straight kids to “thrive”- just “non-majority communities and cultures?” Or, worse, we assume straight white kids are all thriving because of the color of their skin? Why not support “all” kids as opposed to singling out just certain kids based on race? Or sexual orientation? Why not support any kid having a hard time? Or any kid whose life or experience we could improve? There are so many kids hurting in today’s world. Why not help all of them based on need as opposed to color? How about “we care for all kids?” Wouldn’t that be more “inclusive?”
Viewpoint 5
There is no way that all of these different groups in Avon are going to work together to create a unified community. We have too much diversity, a politically correct word that gives special status to people of different races, to women, to people with disabilities, and to homosexuals. That's not right. I worry that, in the name of diversity, people are lowering their standards. There is no example in history for the kind of multi-ethnic society America is trying to pull off. Just look at Avon Mountain. On this side you find predominantly white towns; on the other side of the mountain, just beyond West Hartford, you find the North End of Hartford which is 91% Black and Hispanic. The town of Avon has done a good job of keeping those people from coming over the mountain. People should stay within their own groups. Your own people will care about you, and they will teach you about what your values should be. Forget about trying to make everybody get along.
Viewpoint 6
I think we should forget about things like multicultural history; instead, we should promote and learn about the traditional values that made America what it is today. We have always been a nation of immigrants, a melting pot made up of people from different backgrounds who give up some of their differences to become American. Immigrants should do everything they can to fit in. What makes the United States great is that people come here in search of equality, freedom, opportunity, and individual rights. We shouldn’t pay too much attention to particular groups and what they want.
Viewpoint 7
America's high ideals about freedom and equality have not been applied equally to everybody and we need to acknowledge that. Americans need to know our history so that we can celebrate the good and make amends for the bad. We need to know about our heroes, but we also need to know about those we have wronged. We need to be aware of our history of segregation and discrimination and its negative impact on economic opportunities, income equality, and racial justice for many Americans of color. Far too many of us have paid and continue to pay a higher price for admission, not because of anything we ever did, only because of who we are and where we came from. For example, people are willing to admit that slavery was cruel and heartless, but those same people do not seem to understand its effects on our institutions today (e.g. police brutality, redlining, etc.). We have to pay attention to our different experiences so that we can come to terms with what kind of human beings we want to be. We must talk honestly about how some of us are being treated.
Viewpoint 8
Racism has always been part of American life. Its history is well documented. I know all about the dominant white "American" culture because that's how I've survived, not because it has been good to me. People like me, who aren't part of that culture, often need to explain ourselves over and over again. The dominant culture sets the rules on all sorts of things. For example, I have to go out of my way to find a hairstylist who knows how to cut my hair. In school, I studied only Western traditions that whitewashed history. Of course, everybody learns George Washington's name. How many people learn Sojourner Truth's or Cesar Chavez's? These kinds of things tell me a lot about who is highly regarded in America and who is not.