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Berkshire NAACP throws support behind Pittsfield’s new Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Kamaar Taliaferro at the February 22nd, 2022, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, city council meeting.
Josh Landes
/
PCTV
Kamaar Taliaferro at the February 22nd, 2022, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, city council meeting.

A representative of the Berkshire County Chapter of the NAACP appeared at Tuesday night’s Pittsfield, Massachusetts city council meeting to endorse the city’s new Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The swearing in of the first Chief Diversity Officer, Michael Obasohan, at the February 8th city council meeting prompted an emotional debate after some councilors questioned the need for the office.

Berkshire County NAACP executive committee member Kamaar Taliaferro conveyed the group’s support for the office to the 11-member body Tuesday.

“Too often the work of promoting equity and justice has been left to volunteerism," said Taliaferro. "And as kind, caring, compassionate and indefatigable as those volunteers may be, it's just common sense that when a task is a person's job, they are more likely to be effective in accomplishing the task.”

Taliaferro implored the city council to move forward together with “an openness to learn and be self-reflective on this Herculean journey of cultivating an environment of acceptance and appreciation for individuals no matter their beliefs, backgrounds and experiences.”

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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