Answering the Call for Racial Justice

The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have added to the most compelling call for racial justice in a generation, and Newton has an obligation to help answer that call.

Bryan has supported Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ) and the work they have done in our schools and our community since he moved to Newton, and is a longtime advocate for anti-racist policies. In the state senate, he helped craft legislation reforming the criminal justice system and police policy. 

One of the most important tasks the city council will perform in the remainder of the term he hopes to fill will be reviewing and implementing the recommendations of the Police Reform Task Force. Bryan knows that we must acknowledge that systemic racism is real and exists in our community just as it does everywhere else. We must speak up about the incidents that people of color have experienced here in Newton and demand evidence-based solutions that ensure public safety for all of our residents. Bryan supports establishing an independent police oversight commission, and the adoption of evidence-based practices to make sure our public safety system is equitable and protects everyone. Bryan supports reforms like the 8 Can't Wait policies that would ban chokeholds, require de-escalation, create comprehensive use of force standards, and more. We need to to embrace policies like body cameras that allow us to review incidents after they happen. We need a renewed focus on hiring people of color throughout city government, especially in our police force. We must integrate mental health and substance abuse professionals into every level of the emergency response process, and review whether there are functions outside of the core police mission that would be better performed by other government agencies.

However, the call for racial justice goes beyond policing. In the wake of the death’s of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others, Bryan wrote the Newton Human Rights Commission resolution to call for racism to be declared a public health emergency, and worked for months to see it passed unanimously. As a member of the Newton Democratic City Committee, Bryan was one of the first to call for Newton to become a sanctuary city, and Bryan is proud to be supporting School Committee Member Tamika Olszewski’s push to create protocols for all departments in city government to improve their response to incidents of hate or bias. Bryan is also a strong supporter of Indigenous rights. He was deeply involved in the advocacy effort to create an Indigenous Peoples Day in Newton and supports changing the city's seal to remove racist imagery of Indigenous Peoples.

The history of racial segregation and housing discrimination, including the construction of the MassPike, which destroyed a historically Black neighborhood in West Newton, has created generational barriers to greater racial diversity here in Newton. In order to move forward and embrace a more diverse future, we must recognize that greater racial diversity in Newton will require greater economic diversity. We must create more opportunities for people of varying income levels to live in Newton. For example, the on-going zoning redesign process could be a significant opportunity to promote affordability and diversity in our community. Read more about how Bryan plans to bring affordable housing to Newton.

There is so much more we can do. We must support and uplift minority owned businesses, and encourage developers to include investors and contractors of color. When the city hires outside contractors or consultants, we must make an effort to include minority, female, and LGBTQ+ owned businesses. Bryan knows that reforming our city around anti-racist policy is a long road, but progress is achievable and necessary.