We write to express our dismay and sadness about Zachary Cooper’s letter to the editor in the July 16 Bristol Phoenix.

In his letter, Cooper viciously and personally attacks three of our neighbors in the East Bay:  Lisa Peterson, Stephan Brigidi and Dyshell Palmer. We know Lisa for her ongoing advocacy for those suffering from substance use disorder and mental illness. And we know her too from her frequent letters to the editor regarding a range of issues in our community.

We know Stephan for his letters as well, including several to the Providence Journal. And we know him for his small business in downtown Bristol and his commitment to supporting a vibrant downtown.

And we know Dyshell Palmer of Warren only since late May because of her courageous leadership in our East Bay communities as she organized a peaceful march in solidarity with millions of other Americans protesting police violence, and as she advocated, along with others, for the raising of the Black Lives Matter flag in Bristol and Warren. 

We met Dyshell in part through social media, but also through the Warren Times-Gazette and the Bristol Phoenix, which offered comprehensive and positive coverage of these events. Take a look, for example, at Ted Hayes’s story of July 10 and click through Rich Dionne’s photos to see Dyshell, her family and her supporters.

Why does Mr. Cooper react to those stories and to Ms. Peterson and Mr. Brigidi with such racist, sexist, juvenile language and such absurd commentary? Who knows? But now readers know that people with these views exist among us. It is important that the community respond to these vile attacks with words of our own — words that reflect the goodness of our community and our shared commitment to justice for all people. 

The Bristol Phoenix has a role and responsibility here as well.

In the book, “The Race Beat,” about the crucial role that the media played in revealing the racism of the 1960s, the authors offer John Lewis’s thoughts on how the media furthered the cause of civil rights in that troubled decade: “If it hadn’t been for the media — print media and television — the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings, a choir without a song.”

In our own troubled decade, the media — including our own local newspaper — can serve that role of revealing the ugly, racist, hate-filled voices of some of our neighbors, and uplifting and amplifying the voices of those who work for justice with compassion and humanity. 

In honor of Representative Lewis’s memory and his work, we ask our local publishers to make their own statement against hate in their pages, and to reassess the standards they use to determine if a letter is worthy of space on those pages.

Susan Donovan
Representative, District 69

Jason Knight
Representative, District 67

June Speakman
Representative, District 68