AMHERST — A weekend-long anti-racism training initiative for the Town Council, aimed at helping to build trust between councilors and the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities, is being proposed by two of its members.
District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis and District 5 Councilor Shalini Bahl-Milne are suggesting the 13 members participate in the 2½-day workshop Undoing Racism, led by the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond.
Bahl-Milne said at the council meeting this week that the training would be an opportunity to develop common language, understand racism and work with constituents with more sensitivity.
“I feel if we’re going to become an anti-racist town, we need to do the work,” DeAngelis said.
DeAngelis said biases are often unconscious and there is a need to develop how councilors listen with understanding.
“We have an opportunity to come together and look at ourselves in an environment where we trust each other,” DeAngelis said
While all councilors appeared supportive of the initiative, District 4 Councilor Evan Ross cautioned that the training will be time consuming, and give a perception to residents that serving on Town Council as a full-time job.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the training will cost $350 per person. The town budget has enough money to cover the expenses, in part because there were no travel costs associated with the Massachusetts Municipal Association annual conference, held virtually this month.
Arden Lloyd of Amherst, a student at Amherst Regional High School, is being honored for her accomplishments as a musician.
Lloyd was recently recognized as a 2021 National YoungArts Foundation Finalist in Voice: Singer-Songwriter, the organization’s highest honor.
YoungArts award winners gain access to opportunities for financial, creative and professional development support throughout their careers.
“YoungArts empowers artists to pursue a life in the arts beginning at the critical time when many are faced with decisions about life after high school,” Executive Director Jewel Malone said in a statement.
Lloyd will receive a cash prize up to $10,000 and the opportunity to learn from artists such as Debbie Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Frank Gehry, Wynton Marsalis, Salman Rushdie and Mickalene Thomas.
Life-size animal ice sculptures will be on the Town Common early next month as part of a Winterfest drive-thru experience.
Amherst Recreation, the Amherst Business Improvement District and the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce are presenting the event, which will feature 11 sculptures.
During the event, which runs Feb. 5-6 from 5 to 7 p.m., Winterfest mascot Flakey, along with mascots from local colleges and businesses, will wave to passersby.
Amherst native Arthur Jemison is leaving Detroit for a position with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Joe Biden.
Jemison was recently named the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Community Planning & Development
For the past eight years, Jemison, who graduated from Amherst Regional High School in 1988, led housing and development strategies for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
With the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development earlier in his career, Jemison returned to Amherst in 2014 for the ribbon-cutting at Olympia Oaks apartments and talked about his experience growing up at Watson Farms.
MONDAY: District 4 meeting focused on zoning priorities, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.
TUESDAY: Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional school committees joint meeting, 6:30 p.m., via Zoom.