Resources

Williamstown Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity (DIRE) Committee

• Willinet archive of past DIRE Committee meetings

Williamstown Select Board

• Willinet archive of past Select Board meetings

RJPR Statements & Letters

• Statement on Town Manager Jason Hoch's Resignation. WRJPR, February 19, 2021.

Policing in Williamstown

• "Lawsuit brought by WPD sergeant alleges sexual assault, racial harassment by Williamstown Police Chief and unnamed officers," Williams Record, August 13, 2020

• “WPD use of force policy falls behind advocates’ benchmarks, six reported uses of force in past two years,” Williams Record, July 4, 2020

• Williamstown Select Board member Andy Hogeland's memorandum on responding to Racial Concerns, June 2020

• “College Helps Fund New Williamstown Police Station,” Williams Record, September 18, 2019

Antiracism

• "Racial Pandemic: 5 Prevention Protocols," Bilal Ansari, Medium, July 2020

• Anguish and Action - Learn about Police Violence and Antiracism in America, The Obama Foundation

• "Talking About Race," The National Museum of African American History and Culture

• Historian Khalil Gibran Muhammad on the American imagination, crime, and race, Harvard Magazine, July–August 2018

• Not in Our County Pledge, Berkshire Resources for Integration of Diverse Groups through Education (BRIDGE), signed by Williamstown Select Board and Town Administrator

• "The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture," Showing Up for Racial Justice

Police Reform

• Mapping Police Violence

• “What Defund Police Really Means,” The Guardian, June 21, 2020

• “Six Reasons Why It's Time to Defund the Police,” American Friends Service Committee blog, June 4, 2020

• Invest - Divest, M4BL

• ”There's Already an Alternative to Calling the Police,” Mother Jones, June 13, 2020

Policing in Massachusetts

• “Mass residents view racism as systemic and support sweeping police reform, new poll shows,” Boston Globe, June 24, 2020

• “‘Mission creep’ in policing a backdrop to reform, says Michael Wynn, Pittsfield chief,” Berkshire Eagle, July 5, 2020

Local Budgets

• Williamstown Town Report, 2018, with police stats on calls and charges on p. 61

• Invest in Pittsfield

Mental Health

• Social Work and the Future of Policing, Center for Social Development, June 2020

• "Streetwise Clinician Helps Bring More Humane Approach to Police Calls in Berkshires," The Berkshire Eagle, July 20, 2019.

• Critical Resistance resources on Addressing Harm, Accountability, and Healing

• “These Cities Are Stopping Police From Responding to Homelessness, Drug Use, and Mental Health Issues,” Vice News, June 17, 2020