AMHERST — Clear and concise values are a town’s best defense against racist events that may pop up locally, a pair of college professors told residents at the third of four community conversations last week.

Speaking at the Bangs Community Center following the recent discovery of a racist letter last month, the educators warned that vague mission statements are no longer enough to protect targeted community members.

Despite a tornado threat Thursday evening, 15 community members gathered around a table with pizza and grinders to discuss the impacts of the letter and how the town might respond to similar incidents in the future.

Dayna Campbell, co-executive director of the Women of Color Health Equity Collective and assistant professor of public health at American International College (AIC), looked around the table and asked, “What are Amherst’s values?”

A period of silence followed as no one could clearly articulate them.

If there were clear, articulated values within the community, Campbell said, there would be an expected response by town officials when racist incidents occur.

“Let’s say one of your values was belonging, then we would expect the town manager and the police chief and whomever else to respond in a way that talks about belonging,” she said.

On April 29, seven residents reported that racist letters had been placed on their cars. Addressed to “Amherst Residents” and signed by an organization referred to as the “Advancement of American Civilization,” the author of the letter has yet to be identified. Town staff were unable to locate any group associated with that name. They reviewed national organizations known for tracking hate groups, and none had the organization listed.

Town officials did not release the contents of the letter to the public. Town Manager Paul Bockelman told the Gazette to file a public records request to obtain a copy.

In a response issued shortly after the incident, town officials underscored the “harm” done in the community by the letter’s message.

“We condemn the racist and outright inaccurate statements made within the letter regarding Black people or those of African descent,” the statement read. “These statements are deeply upsetting and do not reflect the values of our Town, which are built on principles of inclusion and respect. Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe and respected. We remain committed to ensuring all members of our community feel welcomed, accepted, and celebrated in Amherst.”

While the statement mentioned Amherst’s values, Campbell stressed that cities and towns need to be intentional in formulating their values “in a contract kind of way.” She went on to say that community values cannot simply be mission statements that no one knows; they must also allow people to take action in constructive ways.

“What folks that are harmed want to see is action. It’s got to be action, it can’t just be on paper,” she said. “When you have clear direction, when you know what the mission is and it’s agreed upon, when you know what values are and how to show up within those values.”

In summary, community values should be written in a way that is clear, concise, agreed upon by the whole community and actionable.

Cultural humility, both Campbell and Holyoke Community College professor Vanessa Martinez explained, should be the guiding compass when it comes to these issues. Cultural humility entails asking questions to understand others, reflecting without being defensive and holding people accountable while building relationships.

“That approach involves self understanding and relationship building and then accountability,” said Campbell.

Following the presentation, Public Health Director Kiko Malin said, “I think it was so awesome when Dayna asked the question about what are the town of Amherst’s values, and we’re all sort of looking at each other like we should be able to answer that question.”

Malin added that the question prompted her to Google Amherst’s values. An artificial intelligence (AI) summary popped up, drawing information from many places on the town website. However, she said, no specific document came up that laid out the town’s values, and she is interested in creating one. That document would potentially be drawn up in collaboration between Town Council and department heads.

“I’m a white person, a lot of people in positions of power are white people,” she said. “They don’t really know what it feels like to know that a letter like that is circulating in your community because we see the world differently because of our experiences, and so it is important for us to, especially as people who don’t experience racism, to really try to understand and be attuned to what it might be like to experience racism, and to be attentive to people that are feeling upset, and to validate their experiences and do something about it.”

Rey Harp, director of recreation and a person of color, attended the meeting and noted that the night provided, “a great opportunity for thinking.”

The roundtable was one of several community conversations that focused on recent news in town, including domestic violence after the alleged murder of Emma MacDonald at UMass Amherst and a final session next Thursday, June 25, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., concerning the closure of Hampshire College.

The series is being hosted by the town’s unarmed police force, CRESS, alongside the Amherst Public Health and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Departments.