This month, many people in Belmont have been seeking racial justice through standouts, virtual meetings and initiatives to diversify executive committees. The efforts follow the death of Henry Tapia, a Black and Latino man who was killed in what police called a racially motivated hit-and-run on Jan. 19.
Tapia was 34 when he was caught in a road rage incident involving Dean Kapsalis, 54. Kapsalis allegedly shouted racial slurs at Tapia before hitting and killing him with his car.
Anti-racist organizations like Belmont Against Racism and the Community Organized for Solidarity have scheduled activities and meetings that will run through the end of the month. They aim to continue the conversation that discrimination is unwelcome in the town and that the local councils should descriptively represent their constituents in office.
“I think there are a few really important things that need to happen in Belmont this year,” said Sarah Bilodeau from the COS. Bilodeau praised the town for its establishment of a Diversity Task Force last month.
“I would like to see a permanent position in the town government for a director of equity and inclusion,” she said. “And also, I mean, it’s absolutely 100 percent necessary that that happens in the schools as well, that there’s a position, a district-wide position for equity and inclusion.”
Belmont Against Racism, which works alongside Belmont’s Select Board, has proposed two women of color as potential candidates to fill the diversity role. President of the organization, Kathryn Bonfiglio, believes that the women are best suited for the job but has not provided further details.
One of the events organized by BAR since Tapia’s death was a program called “Race, Justice and the Law,” which will run in conjunction with Belmont Public Library on March 11. It involved a discussion on the history involving civil rights, restorative justice and the promotion of equity.
One of the events organized by BAR since Tapia’s death is a reading by E. Dolores Johnson, author of “Say I’m Dead: A Family Memoir of Race, Secrets, and Love.” Bonfiglio worked in conjunction with the Belmont Public Library to co-sponsor Johnson’s reading, set to take place on March 30.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan recently revealed the passing of Bill SD.721, An Act to Amend the Definition of Hate Crime. The new legislation was filed at the end of February to address issues involving the town’s security.
Meanwhile, COS and residents have met for biweekly standouts supporting Black lives since last September. They are currently scheduling a speaker series and community conversations to begin next month which will, “represent many different parts of [the] development community,” said Bilodeau.
In May 2017, Belmont Town Meeting passed a Welcoming Town article to reaffirm support for its immigrant population.
Three days after Tapia’s death, a meal train was set up by Belmont Helps to assist his partner, Courtney, and three children. Additionally, the initial $10,000 goal for a GoFundMe page, was surpassed, and the family received $168,656.
“I think that the rest of the community wants people to know that [racism] isn’t tolerated here,” stated Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac. “We take [any kind of violence or threat] very seriously.”
In late January, Kapsalis was charged with a civil hate crime in addition to murder. However, Bilodeau believes Belmont can still push further.
“It’s been impressive to see how Henry Tapia’s death helped to bring the necessity for this work to light for us in Belmont,” she said. “Hopefully, we, as a community, can come together to, you know, keep his memory going for the greater good as I think he would want us to.”
Kapsalis’s next court date is March 31, according to the District Attorney.
Youmna Sukkar is a Boston University journalism student reporting as part of a collaboration between the Belmont-Citizen Herald, The Watertown Tab and the Boston University News Service. Boston University Professor Tina Martin oversees the program, collaborating with Wicked Local Senior Multimedia Journalist Joanna Tzouvelis.
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