by Abigail Appel | Jun 18, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-15
At tonight’s City Council meeting, Council President Sabina Matos (Ward 15) proposed two resolutions around important issues to the community regarding race and the power of words on our community.
The first resolution, co-sponsored by Councilmen Goncalves (Ward 1), Correia (Ward 6), Igliozzi (Ward 7) and Councilwomen Miller (Ward 13) and Ryan (Ward 5), calls on the Rhode Island General Assembly to revisit the 2009 referendum to remove “Providence Plantations” from the State of Rhode Island’s official name.
“A lot has changed since 2009. Our Nation has had to mourn the loss of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and too many more black souls at the hands of police brutality and racially motivated violence,” stated Council President Sabina Matos.
Throughout the Nation, many states have acted by removing Confederate statues and memorials from their public spaces. While the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was not named this way in direct connection to slavery, the use of the word ‘plantation’ is insensitive to our Nation’s dark history of slavery.
“By changing Rhode Island’s official name, we are not forgetting our history; we are simply removing something that no longer represents the values and morals that our State should embody. The history is still there; we will never forget our role in the slavery and racist institutions that have plagued our country for so long. But it is time for us to make a change and move forward, with a name that better represents who we would like to be,” added Council President Matos.
“Without acknowledging and learning from our past, and without addressing those things within our control, we cannot move forward as a City or a Nation towards a more equitable and just future,” continued Council President Matos.
The second resolution urges Governor Gina Raimondo and the Rhode Island General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing the Rhode Island Department of Education to include African Heritage History in the K-12 curriculum in the 2021-2022 school years. In July of 2014, the 1696 Historical Commission was signed into law and formed in order to form a comprehensive African Heritage History curriculum for K-12 public school students.
Council President Matos continued, “African and African American heritage is inextricably woven with our State’s history and identity. Black Rhode Islanders have made innumerable contributions to our community despite facing unique suffering and hardship. It would be extremely beneficial for all Rhode Island students to have access to this rich history,”
The 1696 Commission created a curriculum with units covering the many eras of black history in Rhode Island from 1696 to current times. The goal of this curriculum is to not only design and implement an African and African American history curriculum, but also to equip teachers to work with an increasingly diverse student body, fully integrate the teaching of African American history into the curriculum on a year-round basis and to establish this curriculum as a necessary and long term part of the Rhode Island Department of Education’s curriculum.
by Abigail Appel | Jun 18, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-14
At tonight’s City Council meeting, Councilman David A. Salvatore (Ward 14) will put forth two resolutions regarding police reform in light of tragic events that have taken place across the nation.
The first resolution requests that the Providence Retirement Board review the rules and regulations surrounding police officer pensions, and specifically how the City of Providence handles pension benefits for police officers who have been disciplined for the use of excessive force.
“It is not right for any officer who has been disciplined for the use of excessive force to continue receiving compensation or pension benefits,” stated Councilman David Salvatore. “I am asking the Retirement Board to review this process and make recommendations to the City Council, as I believe it is a critical step towards rebuilding trust between residents and their local law enforcement in our City.”
The second resolution urges the Rhode Island General Assembly to enact legislation imposing a duty to intervene on all Rhode Island law enforcement officers who witness misconduct by a fellow officer.
“Three additional police officers watched as George Floyd was killed by another officer. This behavior is unacceptable. In the State of Rhode Island, we must demand that our police officers stand by their oath to serve and protect our citizens, and an important part of this is intervening when a fellow officer is behaving inappropriately. This could have saved the lives of Mr. Floyd and others,” added Councilman Salvatore.
Both of these resolutions have been co-sponsored by Councilman Pedro Espinal (Ward 10), Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune (Ward 3), Councilwoman Helen Anthony (Ward 2) and Councilwoman Rachel Miller (Ward 13). Additionally, the second resolution is also co-sponsored by Councilman John Igliozzi (Ward 7).
by Billy Kepner | Jun 18, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-4
Last evening, the Providence City School Board voted to ask the City Council to rename the Esek Hopkins School.
Before that discussion takes place, I believe that my community in Ward 4 should have a conversation to get their feedback and their desire to rename or not to rename the school. I am working on gathering the facts regarding the history of Esek Hopkins, while some of it is ugly, there may be evidence that he saw the gross misfortune that he was involved with and charted a different path. In addition, I have asked our City Archives to provide me with research on the other founding families of Providence, including the Brown’s.
That said, any change to the name of the school should come from robust community engagement where the school is located. The name also cannot be changed by the State or the School Department. The buildings are owned by the City of Providence.
I look forward to facilitating that conversation in the near future.
by Billy Kepner | Jun 16, 2020 | Council News, Press Release, Ward-7
Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Esq. (Ward 7) today announced the launch of an online petition asking the Governor and the General Assembly to repeal Rhode Island General Law 42-28.6 titled Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR). Individuals looking to sign the petition can do so here: https://bit.ly/PVDWARD7.
“Last week, after receiving over 2,000 emails from residents asking the City Council to defund the police, I held a Committee on Finance meeting where I invited community advocates, members of the City Council, the Commissioner and the Chief of Police, as well as the President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) to appear for a discussion on the Police Department’s budget and the concerns that the community shared via email,” stated Chairman on the Committee on Finance John J. Igliozzi, Esq. “The conversation came out of the community’s deep pain over the atrocities that have occurred in recent weeks but have been ongoing for centuries. One of the things that I heard from this conversation was that Rhode Island is one of 12 states to have a Police Officers’ Bill of Rights, and our state law is one of the most restrictive. I believe that if we are going to have real change in our police and community relations, we need to start here. If there is a bad apple, we don’t want it to spoil the whole bunch, and LEOBR prevents us from making a real change when we have officers that are accused of violence.”
During the Committee on Finance meeting that was held on June 10, 2020, Deputy Majority Leader Mary Kay Harris asked, “If Mr. Floyd’s life would have been taken here, would our Chief had the opportunity to call for the police officer to be fired?” Commissioner of Public Safety Steven Paré stated, “Under our LEOBR the answer is no. We would not be able to fire, which to me, means to terminate from employment, benefits, and everything. And even after the act was committed, we would have to wait until that individual was indicted, and that means getting an indictment, a charge, out of a grand jury since it’s a capital offense and a homicide. We wouldn’t be able to stop his salary until we get an indictment from the grand jury, and then we stop his salary, and his benefits continue until he’s convicted of that crime, and then we stop his benefits…”
“It was clear from Commissioner Paré that one of the biggest hurdles they face is the state’s LEOBR law. If we can repeal that and hold bad actors accountable, we could potentially save a life. I think that’s a worthy pursuit and why I’m launching the petition, and I hope that we can work together as a City and State to make a better community for all of our residents.”
The petition will be forwarded to Governor Gina Raimondo, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, and Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, and the members of the Rhode Island General Assembly.
by Billy Kepner | Jun 15, 2020 | Uncategorized
The City Council Committee of Finance will be holding a Public Hearing on the City’s proposed 2021 FY Budget on June 22, 2020 at 5:00 pm in City Hall (located at 25 Dorrance Street).
In order to protect participants and listeners from hate speech, those interested in offering public comment must do so in person. Any individual who would like to provide public comment MUST register to do so on the City Clerk’s Website by 3:00 pm on June 22, 2020 or by calling the Clerk’s office at 401-680-5248.
Anyone who would like to submit written testimony can do so by sending their written testimony to the City Clerk via email: sselleck@providenceri.gov
Anyone who would simply like to view the public hearing can do so by visiting the City Council’s YouTube Channel. Please note that you may need to refresh the setting several times until the meeting begins streaming.
