Incidents involving slurs lead to community forum
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Local residents gathered at Presbyterian New England Congregational Church on Friday afternoon to discuss what to do about a couple of recent incidents where a white man hurled racial slurs toward city residents.
Two black women, Carol Daggs and Henrietta Jackson, told stories about a dusty black Chevrolet pickup truck driven by a young white male. The unidentified white male allegedly cursed at the women, including using the N word, followed by the raising of his middle finger.
Daggs said it happened as she was walking with her nearly 87-year-old mother at the corner of Lincoln and Vanderbilt avenues. She said they, “were shocked, unsettled and scared” after what happened.
Daggs said she believes the approach has been racially motivated because in the bed of the truck stands a Confederate flag on the driver’s side. Jackson said the incident happened on Doten Avenue. The pickup truck has made several trips on Doten Street, sometimes more than 10 times in a day, according to one neighbor.
That neighbor witnessed the man driving over 45 miles per hour down the street last Sunday, while the neighbor was hanging out with his parents and his young children. The neighbor worries about the safety of his children.
About 40 citizens, including elected officials and religious leaders attended Friday’s meeting.
Police Lt. Sean Briscoe attended Friday’s meeting, representing the department. Briscoe apologized to both women about the incident, urging the public to call the police as soon as an event similar to the one Daggs, Jackson and the neighbor identified occurs.
But Briscoe said hate speech is protected by the first amendment, so unless a behavior pattern by the man has been established, or an immediate threat is present, there’s not much that can be done — which is why he stressed the necessity to call po-
lice if an incident occurs.
“I find hate speech to be absolutely deplorable, but these forms of speech are allowable in the United States, because we have a freedom of speech. But what we also have are communities,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Peter Martin. “We have communities likes those gathered right now to make sure we let those who engage in that type of hate speech, engage in that type of rhetoric know that’s not acceptable in our community, because we’re going to stand up and we’re going to make them feel uncomfortable, make sure they understand that those actions are unwelcome in our community.” Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner called the events disappointing to see in Saratoga Springs, but she believes the community members gathered Friday could come together to help solve the problem.
Kathy Johnson, Daggs’s neighbor and friend, organized Friday’s event. She saw Daggs’s Facebook post about the incident, visiting her after seeing it, which is when the two brainstormed about what to do.
Friday’s meeting for the yet to be named organization featured a brainstorming session with ideas on next steps.
“I want this violence to stop. This is my neighborhood also, but these are my friends and they don’t deserve this kind of treatment,” said Johnson. “The ultimate thing I want is for the hate in these men’s hearts to be turned into love.”
The organization plans to re-gather for another meeting in a couple of weeks.