NORTHAMPTON — Though the June 10 City Council meeting was held remotely via Zoom and not in person, an air of tension could be felt amid discussion over the Northampton Reparations Study Commission.
The commission, tasked with delivering a report on how the city can redress historical racial injustices for Black residents and workers in Northampton, last met on June 10, releasing a final report but also voting to ask the council for an extension to continue its work for another year and to submit its report to the council with the caveat that the recommendations are subject to “appropriate edits if needed.”
But since then the 10-member commission has suddenly seen the abrupt resignation of its chair, Ousmane Power-Greene, and the firing of Anthony Arena-DeRosa, an administrative assistant for the commission, by the city after he used a city email address to advocate for a public hearing for the commission to city residents. Their departures mean that the commission currently cannot hold a meeting, according to commission member Renika Montgomery-Tamakloe, who spoke during the public comment period at Thursday’s council meeting.
“These two things together look like a constructive dismissal of the commission,” Montgomery-Tamakloe told the council.
Marsha Morris, another commission member, said during the public comments period that because the chair had resigned, the commission had been told it could not select someone to speak on its behalf during the council’s discussion on whether to allow the commission to continue its work.
“I don’t understand when we’ve spoken before, whether we had a chair there or not, so I don’t quite understand why that right has been taken away from us,” Morris said.
Ward 3 Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg, in whose ward Montgomery-Tamakloe and Morris reside, also voiced strong support for the commission to continue its work.
“I can’t imagine where it would be culturally appropriate for us to go against this commission’s wish to continue,” Rothenberg said. “The reason we’re doing this kind of work or asking them to do this kind of work is because for too long, there wasn’t enough autonomy, there wasn’t enough literal freedom. So I just cannot imagine not honoring this request to extend.”
Two members of the City Council, Garrick Perry and Marissa Elkins, are also on the reparations commission and both had voted to ask for the extension. When Perry began to speak on the matter, noting that he spoke “not only a counselor, but as a commissioner,” he was interrupted by Rothenberg, who called a point of order and asked why Perry was allowed to speak but other members of the commission were not.
“I just raised this respectfully on behalf of your fellow commissioners, who are my constituents, who are very concerned about the fact that Councilor Elkins and Councilor Perry would have an opportunity to speak tonight when they do not,” Rothenberg said.
Allowed to continue by Council President Alex Jarrett, Perry said that the council should check in with other members of the commission on whether they had enough members for a quorum.
“If we have not done that, I believe that it is just due diligence to check in with people, and how they feel after doing the work we’ve done,” Perry said. “I’ll leave it at that until my next time.”
Elkins said a vote on extending the commission would be “premature” given the commission’s current status.
“It has to include what [the commission] is going to look like going forward, not just a year,” Elkins said. “I also share concerns about the quorum going forward, just as a point of process if this shifts to something that’s more standing or extended.”
Rothenberg continued to interrupt other councilors to express her dissatisfaction with their points of view. When Ward 1 Councilor Stan Moulton said attempts to “muzzle” Perry and Elkins were “very unfortunate,” Rothenberg replied “yes, only the Planning Board should be totally supported to do whatever they want to do,” a reference to her opposition to the recent approval by the board of the construction of a large apartment complex in Ward 3. When Elkins took issue with how Rothenberg interpreted the “intentions and the meaning” of the commission’s vote, Rothenberg interjected by saying “it would be so great if they could speak,” referring to other commission members.
Rothenberg went so far as to accuse the council of misogyny for not allowing Morris or Montgomery-Tamakloe to speak on behalf of the commission during the meeting.
“The way that you treat young women is not good, the way that you treat Black women is worse, and if there’s a time to be out of order, it is in defense of those women who are my constituents,” Rothenberg said.
In response, Perry accused Rothenberg of spreading “misinformation.”
“I believe right now we are wading into a back and forth that does not benefit the movement. It does not benefit what our work is supposed to be on this commission,” Perry said. “Misinformation is my enemy, and I will continue to stand up against that.”
Perry also asked why Rothenberg only wanted to recognize Morris and Montgomery-Tamakloe and not other members of the commission. In response, Rothenberg said “because they are my constituents.”
A sign of how fraught the situation had become came during a recess of the council, when Ward 6 councilor Marianne LaBarge could be heard saying, “She is a [expletive] disgrace … I’m furious with her.”
The council ultimately voted to postpone the vote until their next meeting on Aug. 21. Jarrett also stated he and Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra would meet with the remaining members of the commission on Friday so that they may elect a new chair and subsequently be represented in upcoming council meetings.
Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
