Trumbull diversity committee cancels meeting after half of members quit
Donald Eng
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Exterior of Trumbull Town Hall, in Trumbull, Conn. April 5, 2017.Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media
TRUMBULL Half of the town’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force members have quit in the past two months amid controversy over the group’s chairman.
The last time the eight-member group met was in January, shortly before social media blew up over chairman Tara Figueroa’s comments made in July calling the Blue Lives Matter flag a symbol of racial bigotry and comparing it to the Confederate flag.
The comments came to light in February. The February meeting was not held and now the March 18 meeting has been canceled because the group no longer has a quorum.
Chairman of Trumbull diversity committee will not resign despite calls for her removal
Donald Eng
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Tara FigueroaContributed
TRUMBULL The town’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force will continue with Tara Figueroa as its chair, despite an effort to shut the committee down until she resigns or is removed.
“I have not violated any ethical guidelines or codes of conduct,” Figueroa said. “This experience has really amplified to me why there needs to be such a thing as a diversity committee.”
Figueroa has been under fire on social media over comments she made in July calling the Blue Lives Matter flag a symbol of racial bigotry and comparing it to the Confederate flag. The town’s police union, Police Commission Chairman Ray Baldwin and scores of private citizens have called for her removal and social media comments have grown increasingly hostile.
Petition calls for removal of Trumbull diversity committee chairman over social media comments
Donald Eng
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Thin Blue Line flags are prominent at the Community of Unity rally in Trumbull Oct. 17, 2020. The gathering at Indian Ledge Park drew about 40 people.Donald Eng / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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TRUMBULL A petition urging the removal of the chairman of the Trumbull Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force for comments she made on social media has garnered more than 200 signatures in just a few days.
The controversy erupted after the Trumbull Police Union Facebook account shared a post put up by Chairman Tara Figueroa last July. It was shared on several Trumbull-oriented pages and the union demanded her resignation from the committee. Union President Sgt. Robert Coppola confirmed the page was run by the union executive board with approval from the members.
Trumbull diversity task force seeks feedback
Donald Eng
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Tara Figueroa speaks during the Oct. 22 meeting of the town’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.Zoom screen capture
TRUMBULL Since forming in September, the Trumbull Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force has began making plans to fulfill its mission of fostering “a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive Trumbull.” But the group also wants to hear from the community.
In the new group’s first three meetings members have begun planning an art contest and also have been looking into ways to celebrate the diversity that already exists within the town, according to Chairman Tara Figueroa.