IDEA Project Director Bishop Leecroft Clarke said there are now 40 organizations and businesses part of the coalition, all aimed at pursuing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (I.D.E.A.) strategies in the community.

He said the coalition’s goal is to address, prioritize, and to give a voice to the historically marginalized in the county, as well as serving as a bridge between that impacted population and various organizations that provide services to that population, “Essentially, what we’re doing, if you may think about it this way, is you have the community understanding what the concerns and barriers are for the community. And develop a process to identify solutions for those concerns. And being able to help Coalition members, who are organizations and agencies that serve the community, to better understand how to serve that population.”

Clarke said six town hall meetings were held in north and south county with the Black and Latino communities to hear concerns and identify barriers. He said there were thirteen categories defined by the 200 community members who participated in the town halls, “So the three categories we have prioritized everything down to, to work on, relative to our next step, is educational system, employment/business, and community/social activities. Now, the interesting part about it is this – woven in all three of these are racial and discriminative scenarios.”

Clarke said the next step will be to form three solution teams around these categories of concern that will be made up of coalition members, community members, and other key stakeholders.

He said the next full IDEA Coalition meeting will be held on September 21.

For more information about the IDEA Coalition, visit https://www.uwayscc.org/ideacoalition or to get involved, email Bishop Clarke at idea-director@uwayscc.org

The meeting will take place at 6:00 p.m. at Love Elementary School and is open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

This is the second of two communities meeting held in the south county by the Coalition. Last month, over 70 people attended a meeting to discuss issues faced by the Black/African American community.

I.D.E.A. Project Director Bishop Leecroft Clarke said the meeting is meant to provide “opportunities to engage directly with members of marginalized populations to understand the barriers that keep them from feeling fully part of our community.”

Input from the community meetings will help determine and prioritize next steps toward the I.D.E.A. Coalition membership’s ultimate goal of providing solutions to address identified barriers and concerns

The I.D.E.A. Coalition, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, was founded in 2022 with the goal of making Chautauqua County a place where everyone belongs and has opportunities to thrive, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

For more information, visit https://www.uwayscc.org/ideacoalition

Chautauqua County I.D.E.A. Coalition Community Engagement Liaison Patricia Graves speaks at Black/African American Community Meeting (January 26, 2023)

Frustrations over being under-represented and experiences of racism were top concerns expressed by members of the Black and African American community at a meeting Thursday night.

Over 70 people attended the meeting hosted by the Chautauqua County I.D.E.A. Coalition. It is one of several being held in Chautauqua County with the Black and African American community as well as the Latino-Hispanic community.

I.D.E.A. Project Director Bishop Leecroft Clarke said the event went very well and that this may be one of the first times the community has really heard the Black community and how they feel, “Focusing on a lot of different segments, whether it’s elected officials, politicians, school system, housing, law enforcement, racism was another big topic that was talked about, discrimination, the underlying factor that germinates the conversation.”

Clarke said the coalition is holding the meetings as a way to understand the barriers that keep those from feeling fully part of the community.

He said the next step is to prioritize all the concerns by the community into categories that will be taken to a focus group of 10 to 15 individuals, “And then we’re going to do a physical interview with each of those candidates and get their stories and more details. And then we’re going to put together all of the concerns relative to that topic, and put together the story, develop some solutions; and then work with some coalition members relative to that topic to see if we can utilize the solution that we’re giving them in the system to better serve the community.”

The I.D.E.A. Coalition will hold another public meeting April 20 to begin the prioritization steps. Clarke said this is a 12 month process that will start all over again in 2024.

The I.D.E.A. Coalition, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, was founded in 2022 with the goal of making Chautauqua County a place where everyone belongs and has opportunities to thrive, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

The next south county community meeting will be for the Latino/Hispanic Community and will take place at 6:00 p.m., Thursday, March 2 at Love Elementary School.

For more information, visit https://www.uwayscc.org/ideacoalition

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a point of transparency and disclosure to our audience, United Way of Southern Chautauqua County is a corporate underwriter for WRFA and has provided a financial contribution for the general operations of the station within the past year. Funding we receive for General Operations is not used to fund our coverage of local news in the community. That is only made possible through a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

The meeting will take place at 6:00 p.m. at Love Elementary School and is open to the public.

I.D.E.A. Project Director Bishop Leecroft Clarke said the meeting is one of several being held in Chautauqua County to provide “opportunities to engage directly with members of marginalized populations to understand the barriers that keep them from feeling fully part of our community.”

The Coalition has chosen to focus its attention initially on issues specific to the Black/African American and Latino/Hispanic communities. Refreshments will be provided. Input from the community meetings will help determine and prioritize next steps toward the I.D.E.A. Coalition membership’s ultimate goal of providing solutions to address identified barriers and concerns

The community meetings will be led by Clarke and the I.D.E.A. Coalition’s Community Engagement Liaisons, who serve as trust brokers and accountability partners with the communities directly impacted by the work of the Coalition.

The IDEA Coalition, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, was founded in 2022 with the goal of making Chautauqua County a place where everyone belongs and has opportunities to thrive, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

Future community meeting dates and locations are:

• 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 26 – Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting, Dunkirk High School Cafeteria
• 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 2 – Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting, Love Elementary School

For more information, visit https://www.uwayscc.org/ideacoalition

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a point of transparency and disclosure to our audience, United Way of Southern Chautauqua County is a corporate underwriter for WRFA and has provided a financial contribution for the general operations of the station within the past year. Funding we receive for General Operations is not used to fund our coverage of local news in the community. That is only made possible through a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

Bishop Leecroft Clarke

The formation of the Chautauqua County I.D.E.A. Coalition was announced at this weekend’s Juneteenth celebrations.

The coalition is made up of 17 organizations and businesses and is aimed at pursuing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (I.D.E.A.) strategies in the community. The I.D.E.A. Coalition’s goal is to make Chautauqua County a place where everyone belongs and has opportunities to thrive, especially those who have been historically marginalized. They are committed to addressing, prioritizing, and giving voice to those directly impacted by racism and social injustice in the community.

United Way of Southern Chautauqua County Executive Director Amy Rohler said in a press release, “After the George Floyd murder in 2020, we knew there was a need to proactively address racism in our community”

Rohler added that the incident prompted several informal conversations with individuals from educational institutions, law enforcement, local businesses, and nonprofits across the county.

The United Way is serving as the backbone agency for the I.D.E.A. Coalition. In May 2022, the United Way hired Bishop Leecroft Clarke to be the Project Director for the I.D.E.A. Coalition. He is currently the lead pastor of Healing Word Ministries. His extensive community service includes his roles as the chairperson of the Addiction Response Ministry of Chautauqua County, co-chairperson of the Racial Reconciliation Taskforce of Chautauqua County, past board member for the HOPE Chautauqua Coalition, and a past member of the ESPRI Taskforce.

The Coalition’s initial efforts would start with engaging the African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino communities, expanding efforts and conversations to other historically marginalized populations in the county.

Membership in the I.D.E.A. Coalition is open to any organization interested in supporting its initiatives and signing the membership agreement.

In addition to United Way of Southern Chautauqua County’s investment, the I.D.E.A. Coalition has received grants to fund its work through Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, and the Cummins Foundation.

More information about the Coalition can be found at www.uwayscc.org/ideacoalition. Organizations and businesses interested in becoming a member can contact Leecroft Clarke at IDEA-Director@uwayscc.org.

‘Love Thy Neighbor’ Rally held in Jamestown City Hall (May 27, 2022)

Over 60 people attended a “Love Thy Neighbor” rally in City Hall to honor the memory of those killed and injured in the Buffalo mass shooting on May 14th and those killed in the elementary school shooting on May 24.

The event was organized by the African American Ministers of Jamestown

Mayor Eddie Sundquist told those gathered that the racism and White supremacy that motivated the shooter in Buffalo must be called out, “We must oppose anyone trying to make these White supremacist views mainstream. And for too long, our popular, celebrity cable hosts and even some of our own politicians have spouted these anti-American views for shock and awe. All it has accomplished is fostering hatred of those who are different and encouraging the worst and most base instincts of people.”

Sheriff Jim Quattrone said members of the Black community came to meet with him in his office at one time to talk about issues and that it wasn’t the most comfortable meeting, “But I learned a lot. I learned different things, different issues that go on that I was unaware of because I haven’t had to experience them. So when we’re open, when we’re vulnerable, when we’re willing to listen, to learn about others, to open our hearts, to volunteer, and then empower others that’s where we can see some change. Love isn’t enough. We need action. We have to have deeds.”

Bishop Leecroft Clarke spoke on the topic of “Love Thy Neighbor” and asked what kind of legacy do we want to pass on to the next generation, “We as a society have the power and the ability within us to change the course from racism to love and equity for all. But we must choose to change and change to do it collectively where everyone is involved – churches, schools, local government, agencies, law enforcement, local companies, all citizens regardless of race within our community.”

Music by parishioners from Blackwell Chapel began and closed the rally.

Bishop Leecroft Clarke presents to Jamestown School Board, April 19, 2022

The Jamestown School Board approved the 2022-23 School District Budget at its meeting Tuesday night.

The $93,893,354 budget, which has no tax levy increase, now goes before voters for approval at the polls on Tuesday, May 17.

Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker said there are three big themes in the budget with the first one being learning loss recovery, “Our kids have suffered a great harm over the course of the past two years with this Pandemic and all the things that came with it, both in academics, this is why we have things that addresses learning loss – additional teachers, AIS teachers, additional staff for students, social workers, counselors are also there.”

Whitaker said the addition of those staff also help with mental health support for students. The budget adds a total of 40 new student support staff.

The third theme of the budget, Whitaker said, is the ability to add those positions with no property tax increase, “Connected to that with our reserve funds, we are trying to maintain that tax impact reduction across the next five to ten years. So with those reserves, our aim is to smooth out any future dips in state aid so we don’t have to go to the taxpayers and increase taxes in order to get needed equipment or capital project repairs or anything in the future.”

A group of citizens led by Bishop Leecroft Clarke who had previously spoke before the school board on the need for a Community Navigator for the African-American community were in attendance Tuesday night.

Clarke said there were three emerging facts when studying data about demographics and education in Jamestown, “The first one is, 72% of our student population are from low-income families. It’s telling us something. The second thing is, the drop-out rate for Jamestown High School is twice that, in terms of percentage, double compared to New York State. And more notable, students of color have a higher drop out rate.”

He said the third fact is that students of color had a lower success rate for passing Regents exams. Clarke and the citizen group thanked the board for including that navigator position in budget.

A public hearing on the budget will be held at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 10 at the Jamestown High School Auditorium.

The School Board also recognized former Jamestown School Superintendent Dr. Bret Apthorpe with the unveiling of his photograph in the Board of Education Board Room. Dr. Apthorpe retired from the district at the end of the 2019-2020 school year.