Civil & Human Rights Commission

Mission Statement:

The Bloomfield Commission on Civil Rights is an organization designed to foster goodwill and cooperation within the community by holding events, educational programs, education campaigns, recommending policy initiatives to the mayor and town council, and like-minded activities.

Members:

  • CL: Monica Charris Tabares
  • Nathaniel Bailey Sr
  • Caitlin Zanoni
  • Andrea Palacios
  • Simon Palacios
  • D Wolfe
  • Hasanah Gray
  • Police Department: Ian Brundage

Meetings

The Civil & Human Rights Commission will meet on every 2nd Thursday, of the month, at 7:00 p.m. in the Mayor's Conference Room.

The 2024 BCRC Essay Competition

winner-of-the-essay-writing-competition

Sophia Price

Essay Title: See My Hands, Feel My Words 

Carteret School

Sophia’s essay focused on experiencing discrimination as a child of a deaf adult. She asked the community for more equity and respect.

2nd place - Victoria Febus; Essay Title: Each Day Means More Discrimination; Berkeley School. Victoria’s essay asked us also to have a more equitable future, including equity for recent immigrants.

3rd place - Kaylee Toribio; Essay Title: For Our Community To Change; Berkeley. Kaylee’s essay demanded more communication in our community and suggested having a teen moderator during community meetings.

Honorable Mentions:

• Mathyo Abdalla; Essay Title: "Change"; Carteret School

• Ismael Lopez; Understanding Bullying; Berkeley School

• Robyn Patterson; My Dream for Change; Carteret School

All winners received a certificate award. Additionally, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners received a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card, and our honorable mentions received a $10 gift card.

Congratulations to our 2024 essay competition winners!

Participating Teachers:

Janell Brown - Berkeley Elementary School,

Marissa Calderon – Oakview Elementary School,

Kara Cavello – Carteret Elementary School

Kayla Drust - Berkeley Elementary School

We know that teachers include this essay contest as an additional assignment – on top of teaching an engaged, standards-based curriculum. Bloomfield educators go above and beyond their curriculum to incorporate aspects of Dr. King’s life and context. We appreciate their continued efforts. Berkeley Elementary sixth grade English/Language Arts teacher, Janelle Brown, was honored this year with the BCRC Inspire Award for her efforts in teaching for a better future and for actively encouraging her students to participate in the contest each year.