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Reprinted with permission of the
Meriden Record-Journal, April 25,
2005 Editorial, Monday, April 25 No person is going to apply for a job solely because of a booklet describing a perspective employer. But a new 23-page missive the Town of Wallingford will be sending to minority job candidates is impressive and should help boost minority applicants. It was composed by Wallingford Coalition for Unity Chairman Wilbert "Robby" Robinson, an African-American who has lived in town for 37 years. The booklet's strengths are short testimonials given by African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities living and working in town. These first-person accounts are believable because they don't gloss over problems commonly faced by people of color living in a predominantly white community. Issues like prejudice and the lack of diverse role models are openly discussed and are balanced by other positive comments about the overall quality of life in Wallingford. Those reading the accounts are left to reach their own conclusions about one of many communities trying to bring its municipal work force more in line with its population. Since Wallingford has been involved in some unpleasant racial issues in recent years, the town needs to make a special effort to win over potential applicants who have labeled the town as racist. The booklet should help change some minds about a town that has been generally welcoming to a burgeoning Latino community. Of course words on a page are not enough, especially when it comes to something as pernicious as prejudice. For more than a year, the Commission on Diversity and Equal Opportunity has been studying whether the town's hiring process is fair to underrepresented groups such as women and minorities. That work needs to continue. The Commission on Diversity, the Coalition for Unity, officials, clergy and other citizens have been involved in a sustained campaign to bring issues of race, ethnicity and equal opportunity out into the open. This new booklet is just one part of the ongoing effort to make Wallingford a better place to live and work for those of all backgrounds. |
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