Many notable Arlingtonians were in Town Hall last Saturday night for the event, “ Unequal Justice: Consequences of Race and Class in Our Criminal Justice System”, which was organized by Arlington Diversity Task Group. In attendance were, to name a few, State Representatives Dave Rogers and Sean Garballey; Arlington’s School Superintendent Kathleen Bodie; Neil Osborne, President of the Mystic Valley Area Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and several faith and spiritual leaders.
A group of Arlington High School students took on the important role of helping with set up and logistics during the event. In addition, the Peacemakers, a group of High School sophomore took active part alongside the 24 co-sponsors of the event. The Peacemakers have been meeting regularly since Kindergarten! “When we first started, we kind of focused more on virtues and bettering ourselves as people and now our mission is more to help others […] [ Unequal Justice] is a topic that has been in the news a lot, but I feel like it is especially important for us to [get involved] because we feel like in the suburbs and in the northeast, we don’t get to have this conversation as much, so it is important that we do,” said Sana Mohdati.
After the two-hour event, people lingered in the hallway, continuing the discussion with several panelists and networking. When questioned about what she would like people to walk out with, Bonie Bagchi Williamson, Co-Chair of Arlington Diversity Task Force said “ it is really understanding how the criminal justice system works, then spreading the information[…] and try to bring change about by organizing, by joining groups like Arlington Diversity Task Group […] and really create a movement towards social justice. ”
