City administration slammed over recent high-profile departure

• Posted by Worcester News March 7, 2022 - Filed in News - #Worcester branch NAACP  #Fred Taylor  #Stephanie Williams  - 6,269 views

  Departure of 3rd chief diversity officer in 6 years "jeopardizes any and all efforts to dismantle institutional racism in Worcester," writes President Fred Taylor

  Saying the Black and Brown community's hopes "are once again being frustrated, denied, and delayed until another time," the head of Worcester's NAACP branch slammed the administration over the departure of the city's 3rd chief diversity officer in 6 years.

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  Worcester city manager responds to NAACP pulling out of anniversary celebration

  Radio Worcester (13:17): Worcester NAACP President Fred Taylor on the departure of Chief Diversity Officer Stephanie Williams

  Earlier: City of Worcester seeks new chief diversity officer as Stephanie Williams leaves

  In an statement posted Sunday on letterhead of the Worcester NAACP, President Fred Taylor wrote that with the latest departure, the people he represents "are now left wondering why these smart, intelligent, and dedicated women hired with glowing qualifications leaving after such a short time?"

  As a result, Taylor wrote, his organization is withdrawing as an institutional member of Worcester’s Tercentenary Committee in charge of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the city's founding.

   

  "Worcester’s first CDO, Malika Carter, was hired January 2016 in response to the Department of Justice listening sessions on race," the statement continues. "She left just over a year later in July 2017. She was quickly replaced by Suja Chacko, an insider from the Human Resources Department, in March 2018, but she also left after less than 2 years. Then the city hired Stefanie(sic) Williams, a Worcester native." 

  "This departure raises so many questions," the statement reads. "Why did Ms. Williams leave? Did she feel unsupported? undervalued? ignored? marginalized? Are we serious about diversity and equity in Worcester? Why is there such difficulty keeping someone in this position? Is the position a smoke screen? The city administration should do some genuine and humble self-assessment. How can you tell Black and Brown people you are serious about diversity, yet not one diversity officer has stayed in the position for two years? As a community, we are calling for answers and transparency."

  Williams appeared on WCCA-TV's "Daily Breaking" on April 7, 2021.

  "Ms. Williams’s departure shines a bright light directly onto City Hall, raising serious institutional issues," Taylor wrote in his statement. "Ms. Williams’s departure jeopardizes any and all efforts to dismantle institutional racism in Worcester and loudly raises one unavoidable question, 'Why aren’t we making progress?' "

  Lastly, Taylor criticized the news being included in a Friday afternoon news dump, a common public relations tactic meant to minimize the impact of bad or unflattering news. "This is serious, and serious issues deserve much, much more than a quiet press release at the end of the day on a Friday."

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