The Governor's Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion held its fourth listening session Thursday night. These public forums are organized to collect stories and concerns from the community so they can inform future policy and increase equity in the state.
This time the council visited the cafeteria of Nashua High School South. Participant Paul Janampa went to high school there and recalled interactions with other students.
"Sometimes they would tell me, 'You're one of the good ones,' meaning I was an immigrant -- a hispanic, latino man -- that was actually not getting into trouble, not getting suspended, actually doing something for himself,” Janampa said. “Well, that statement didn't represent the struggle that my people faced or that I faced."
Janampa said the turnout and enthusiasm of people at the forum gave him hope for a more inclusive New Hampshire.
Council Chair Rogers Johnson says coordinating this effort has proven no small task as they hold these sessions across the Granite State.
"It's daunting mainly because, you hear different things from different regions of the state,” Johnson said. “And you start to try to focus on those things that you find as a common element throughout."
Johnson added that the information they are gathering will be invaluable when it comes to changing existing laws or guiding new ones.
About 50 people participated in the event. The council says its next stop will be Manchester in August.
