Bias prevention must be proactive to be effective

A task force created to confront bias cannot do so in silence. I am deeply troubled by reports in RiverheadLOCAL that members of the Riverhead Town Anti-Bias Task Force were instructed to remain silent on the very issues they were created to address, and that its mandate was narrowed from proactive education and outreach down to a purely reactive role. 

The work of bias prevention must be proactive to be effective. We can’t just treat the symptoms, we must treat the disease. Education, outreach, and prevention are the core of its mission. When community members come forward with concerns about bias, profiling, or federal enforcement activity in our neighborhoods, they deserve to be heard, not silenced.

The former chair’s claim that he was told to stay silent when residents and volunteer firefighters raised concerns about federal immigration enforcement activities in our community is especially troubling. Our first responders put their lives on the line for all of us, regardless of who they are or where they come from. When immigration enforcement creates fear in the ranks of the people we depend on to keep us safe, it goes beyond being simply an immigration issue. As I’ve said repeatedly, the escalation of immigration enforcement operations and tactics makes us all less safe, citizens, noncitizens, civilians and local law enforcement personnel alike. 

The racist online attack on the Butterfly Effect Project last year should have been a defining moment for the task force. Instead, the people who came forward seeking support felt dismissed. When someone musters the courage to share their pain and is met with indifference, that sends a message to the entire community about whose experiences matter.

Silence and avoidance will not make bias go away, instead they provide fertile ground for hate to grow. That’s exactly why proactive education and outreach are essential; to confront prejudice before it festers, not just reacting once the damage is done. 

Local institutions like the Riverhead Town Anti-Bias Task Force should be a bridge between government and the people it serves, especially in moments of uncertainty and fear. Silence protects the wrong people