CANFIELD — Canfield’s perception by minorities — real or not — is something that a new Canfield Racial Equality and Diversity organization will work to determine throughout next year.

Ashley Kanotz, R.E.D. chairman, said it will declare 2022 as a year of learning about racial injustice. She said it will be a time to learn about where Canfield has come from and where it is right now.

Where it is right now was a matter of some debate Monday evening.

The R.E.D. Committee’s first session took place before a packed house at the Canfield library. The meeting was designed to introduce the group to the community and get input on how residents feel about various issues.

Mayor Richard Duffett led the speakers and provided background up to this point.

“We are known as the City That Cares, but that is not true,” Duffett said. “It is the people who care. We have an outstanding city, and we want all people to know and share that. I believe Canfield R.E.D. will blaze a path forward towards a more perfect city.”

Committee member Sally Ifill spoke on learning the areaás history, noting how the past has a lot of Ku Klux Klan activity because Canfield was the center of the county ä and was once the county seat. She said Klan members considered themselves religious and patriotic, but were known to be prejudiced against nonwhite races and Catholics.

Though the area does have a strong KKK past, it also was noted that Canfield was a key stop on the Underground Railroad, assisting escaping slaves as they journeyed north.

Committee member Chuck Coleman spoke on the need to get a picture of the Canfield community first. He mentioned a reputation many say the Canfield police have.

“Many say they donát want to come through Canfield because of interaction with the police,” Coleman said.

Statistics show that police interaction with blacks is at 11 percent while interaction with whites is at 84 percent. In spite of these figures, Duffett said there is talk that Canfield is all about racial profiling.

But he said: “I hear all kinds of things in mayor’s court, but nothing on racial profiling.”

Like others, Duffett said he is not sure from where such talk comes.

Another point that Coleman brought up involved housing. He said the average median price of a home in Canfield is $247,000.

“To attract more black people to our community, we need to come up with a way to have more affordable housing,” he said.

That comment was not well received by some in attendance. They said they felt Coleman wanted to devalue their homes — to which Coleman said it is all about making homes affordable.

There was time at the end of the committee’s presentation for questions and comments. One that brought applause was from resident Ted Miller said: “I wonder why we are here focusing on people of color. I thought we were all Americans.”

A final comment was made by Jeff Green, associate pastor from the Touch of Heaven Church in Canfield. He said the church is half black and half white, but he does understand the way some feel about Canfield.

“I live on the border of Canfield,ã he said. âI have never been stopped or had a problem in Canfield. It is a cultural thing we are dealing with here. African Americans donát want to live too far from the inner city because they donát feel it is safe. I have relatives who wonát come through Canfield.”

Green said: “It is going to take changing peopleás hearts first ä otherwise no one is going to change prejudice.”

Kanotz said anyone wanting to follow Canfield R.E.D. can do so by visiting canfieldred.weebly.com. Comments and questions also can be submitted there.

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