An Equity Task Force aimed at having honest discussions about racial issues has been created for Owensboro Public Schools, and it will be led by Superintendent Matthew Constant and other local leaders.
Constant released a statement last week regarding racial tensions, and he said more than 100 people reached out to him afterward to ask how they could help.
“There are 105 people right now in our district who want to be part of a solution we come up with,” he said, calling the high number of volunteers “amazing.”
Constant said he knew facilitating conversations about racial issues and equity had to happen, but that he couldn’t do it without the guidance of local leaders who’d faced those challenges head-on.
So, Constant reached out to the Rev. Rhondalyn Randolph — president of NAACP Owensboro branch — as well as OPS board member Michael Johnson — who helped spearhead the My Brother’s Keeper nonprofit in 2019 in the wake of several City-based shootings.
“[These conversations] are going to be hard,” Constant said. “I’m not African American, so I asked them to help me have these conversations.”
Creating the OPS Equity Task Force was an unexpected move but a much-needed one, Constant added.
“I felt like we couldn’t just sit back and watch without a statement for all of our folks, but especially our African American folks who have been through so much,” he said.
There are no specific plans in place for the task force yet. Constant said listening was the first and most important step toward coming up with a solution.
“We need to listen first, before we act,” he said.
