New London — When accusations of discrimination against the board of directors of the New London Community Meal Center first surfaced in June, board President Linda Berard said she and others were shocked and dismayed.
The allegations came from longtime board member and former vice president Debbie Basnight, who until recently was the only Black member on the board and one of only two board members from New London.
Basnight’s accusations, which include racial bias, arose after the board’s annual meeting in June where she lost her seat as vice president to Dean Panayotakis in a 9-1 vote. Basnight was unanimously elected to serve another three-year term on the board and Berard was elected to serve her fourth one-year term as president.
Berard and Panayotakis, in a recent interview, adamantly denied allegations of impropriety or bias.
“It had nothing to do with Debbie personally,” Berard said of the election.
The vote, Berard argues, reflected a desire by the board to see a shift toward continuity in leadership. Panayotakis had expressed his willingness to run for vice president and later for president, which would be a natural succession. Berard said Basnight expressed her intention to carry on her in role as vice president.
“That’s an excuse. They’re trying to make it out as though that is a policy. There’s no policy,” said Basnight, who argues the vote was “stacked” against her and claims her allegations of racial bias extend beyond the election.
Basnight said she has been sidelined from some discussions about the future of the board, in part, because of an existing medical condition and her unwillingness to attend in-person meetings. She claims to have been called “disruptive” when raising concerns about finances, calling for an audit and questioning the hiring of an attorney.
She said she also is concerned about the proliferation of out-of-towners on the board and has a big problem with the attempt by the board to change the name of the meal center to honor the longtime kitchen manager Peta Madry.
While Basnight said she holds no personal animosity towards Madry, who is white, a proposed name change to “Peta’s Place,” shows disrespect to the origin of the meal center, which was started by two Black women, Annie Laurie Bellinger and Lucille Smith, in the basement of the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Linden Street.
Peta’s Place was one of several name change options being mulled by the board.
The real spark that led to Basnight’s recent allegations of bias remains the June elections — and not just the outcome.
Because of health concerns, she was not able to attend the annual meeting. She instead sent a proxy — someone to be her representative — and let Berard know about it. Berard was initially fine with the plan, according to both women.
New London NAACP President Jean Jordan, Basnight’s proxy, arrived at the meeting but was not allowed to cast a vote on Basnight’s behalf because she was told bylaws forbid it.
Berard said she did not know about the rule before the meeting, felt bad about it and apologized to Jordan.
Jordan said the scene was an uncomfortable one with Berard hovering over her at her seat to announce she would not have a vote.
“She stood over me in front of everyone and said this instead of taking me aside,” Jordan said. “It was an attempt to humiliate me…taking a position of of power. I’m not one to be intimidated.”
Basnight said the bylaws don’t mention proxies, and she believes it was another excuse to silence her voice.
Berard, in a written response to questions posed by The Day, called the incident an unfortunate misunderstanding.
“The board bylaws specifically require that a board member attend in person and a proxy is not allowed for a board member,” she said. “The board deeply regrets any feelings of disrespect felt by Ms. Jordan. It was simply a function of making sure the meeting was held properly.”
Berard continued by saying “there exists no evidence of any racial motivation in any of the votes or actions of the board that night or at any other time.”
“Simply put, the Meal Center needed a succession plan for future leadership. Ms. Basnight, by her own admission on more than one occasion, expressed that she had no interest in the presidency,” Berard said.
Basnight says she only expressed her desire to remain as vice president this year and did not have a discussion about future years. She claims she was told she was not “the right fit,” a phrase she took to be derisive.
“This was racial discrimination and discrimination against my health. They know they were wrong. (The election) was their chance to go ahead and do what they wanted to do,” Basnight said. “They’re treating me as something less than a member of the board.”
After the meeting, Basnight brought her concerns to city officials, city councilors, state Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London, and anyone else who would listen.
The result of her complaints was a meeting arranged with the help of Mayor Michael Passero.
Aram deKoven, the Coast Guard Academy’s chief diversity officer and director of the Academy’s Office of Inclusion and Diversity, served as a mediator and met with meal center board members as well as representatives from the New London NAACP.
Berard and Panayotakis, in a recent interview, said the board agreed to the meeting to be transparent. They said the meeting quickly turned uncomfortable and at times hostile toward them despite their efforts to explain their position.
Jordan, who attended the meeting, said the pair didn’t understand the claims being made of racial bias.
“They’re so out of touch. I got the satisfaction of telling them how I felt, but I didn’t get an apology. An apology goes a long way,” she said.
In a brief followup email to board members, deKoven listed several areas that could help lead to a path forward: Think carefully about the makeup of the board, ensure bylaws are followed and equitable, revisit the election and address racial discrimination and/or racial disparity.
Berard said the board recognizes the need to represent the community and the board continues to welcome any new members willing to put in the work. A meeting last month brought in four new board members, including two people of color and two New London residents.
Basnight had been one of two board members from New London. She said she remains irritated by the makeup of the board, people “mostly from Mystic, East Lyme and Waterford.
Berard maintains that living in the city alone is not a requirement, nor should it be, and all are welcome.
“It’s about choosing the right board member, that’s where we’ve struggled to get members. It’s a lot of work,” Berard said.
“There’s no point in filling a seat with someone who can’t contribute to the overall cause,” Panayotakis said.
Despite past years of financial distress, Berard said there is now a plan in place to have enough money to fund future capital improvements at its Montauk Avenue building and perhaps hire an executive director.
Meanwhile, the meal center has continued to hum along through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, successfully transitioning the Montauk Avenue meal center into a free takeout service and handling an increase in numbers of people being served. The board was also moving toward goals set out in a strategic plan begun in February — a plan that had included initiatives such as a push for better diversity on the board and better branding in an effort to boost donations and achieve sustainability.
The board is now composed of 14 people — five men and nine women, of whom nine are white and five are of color or mixed race. One vacancy remains.
“All members bring different experiences and skill sets coming from health care, business, law, banking and government service. As importantly, all come from the greater New London community with four being New London residents, and the remainder living or working in surrounding towns,” Berard said.
Berard said she remains concerned that what she considers to be unfounded accusations could prove to hurt the reputation of the meal center. The work there is constant, and Berard said one of the reasons to have a strategic plan is to have to someday hire an executive director, who can assume the current responsibilities of board members who also have jobs and families.
Mayor Michael Passero and City Councilor Curtis Goodwin, contacted for this story, said they were holding out hope that the mediation would lead to a resolution to the situation or a compromise.
“I think there are good people who think they are doing the right thing. They need to be reasonable and come to a compromise,” Passero said. “It’s a difficult situation.”
Goodwin said he thinks the board needs to take a critical look at representation on the board, including the racial makeup. He has offered to help locating people willing to serve on the board. He said the situation with Basnight deserves more conversation.
Sara Chaney, a former longtime member of the board, said she was disturbed to hear of Basnight’s allegations, the treatment of Jordan and a proposed name change.
Her take on the current board is that there is perhaps an unconscious bias and the name change that omits the people who are at the root of the creation of the meal center is just one example.
“We shouldn’t just think about race but you’ve got to remember about how it started and have some representation of who started it. If it wasn’t for these Black women, that soup kitchen wouldn’t be here now,” she said.
Chaney said the makeup of the board “should reflect the people that come into that soup kitchen,” and can’t understand why people from surrounding communities, and not more people from New London, are filling slots on the board.
“I do hope that they come to a pleasant or positive solution to that soup kitchen. It’s needed. I do hope that the soup kitchen survives all of this,” she said.
Of the plans for changes, Berard said, “we want to be connected to our past, but we want to move forward.”
“It is our fear that misinformation will harm the ability of the meal center to continue to raise money it needs to continue its mission — at a time when it is needed most.”
Basnight said she will continue her fight.
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