The newly formed Racial Equity Study Group will strive to understand the perceptions of the town by people of color and recommend ways it can do a better job creating an inclusive community for all.

The group plans “to create a data-driven systematic approach to identify and examine race relations in Ashland to improve policies town-wide.” Town Manager Michael Herbert introduced the group during an August Select Board meeting. The group is comprised of Herbert, Assistant Town Manager Jenn Ball, Makeda Keegan, KG Naryana, Rabbi Eric Gurvis and recent high school graduate EJ Smithers.

The group wants to create a data-driven systematic approach to identify and examine race relations in Ashland to improve policies town-wide. “Specific problems need systematic responses, and anecdotal perceptions do not work for generating systematic change,” Keegan said.

Keegan reached out to Herbert with the idea of forming the group. “As a group of Ashland stakeholders that strives to reflect the breadth and diversity of community, we hope to root out racism in all of its forms: systemic and overt, conscious and subconscious,” she said. “Through sound analytical practices and innovative solutions, we seek to drive policy changes that truly reflect a commitment to ensuring that Ashland is an equitable and fair community for all.”

The group is identifying what the Ashland community is already doing to create a welcoming community and how it can better create a more equitable one. According to a town report, they have no specific timeline. They are working on how to collect and analyze data and plan to present their findings to the community. Next steps include implementing their findings by creating policies for actionable change.

“Ashland is a dynamic, beautiful town full of people who deeply care about their friends and neighbors,” Keegan noted. “By working on these issues together, we’ll be an even stronger community and will continue to make Ashland an amazing place to live, work, or raise a family.”