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New Hampshire
Hundreds gather in Concord to talk about a diversifying New Hampshire | Manchester Ink Link
CONCORD, NH — Dwight Davis went straight to the point when he spoke at The Barn at Bull Meadow on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 30.
“The New Hampshire Center for Justice and Equity is making it possible to have a seat at the table of decision-making,” said Davis, chair of the NHCJE’s board, to the more than 150 activists, business leaders, educators, labor organizers, and politicians in attendance. “Because if you don’t have a seat at the table, you might be on the menu.”
Davis’ remarks opened the Second Annual Meeting for the NHCJE. Launched in September 2022, NHCJE seeks to elevate and empower people of color in New Hampshire by fostering connections, changing systems, and meeting community needs to make a better Granite State where all belong. In his opening remarks, NHCJE founding President and CEO Anthony Poore made sure to thank all those who contributed toward advancing the center and its goals.
“We have a lot to be thankful for,” he said. “Let’s be clear: This work is hard. We recognize that making progress on these issues will take work.”
He went on to say the work will continue to become more challenging but of crucial importance as New Hampshire’s population continues to diversify. As of the 2020 Census, 13% of the state’s population identified as people of color, the first time this proportion hit double digits in NH in Census history.
Though changing, the Granite State’s long history and narrative of a largely racially homogeneous population means that there will be challenges moving forward in the eyes of many participants.
“A lot of the culture in New Hampshire is the lack of diversity,” said Jason Green, Deputy Director of the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), adding that Granite Staters must learn to live with a more diverse population.
In counting off NHCJE’s successes, Poore highlighted NHCJE’s Implicit Bias and Tactical Mindset Training for law enforcement. The program — which has already trained 200 public safety officers in multiple jurisdictions across the state — looks to mitigate the harm caused by racially biased policing. Poore said NHCJE hopes to expand the program and work with more agencies soon.
He added to the list of wins the increasing number of visitors to the NHCJE website, saying that in 2023, there were 15,000 unique visitors from 49 states and about 42,000 page views.
Bringing NHCJE’s Policy Platform to Life
The opening speakers did not allow themselves to go on for too long. They swiftly moved the event toward collaboration and advocacy.
“Who likes to be talked at for three hours?” said Jamal Downey, the event’s MC and NHCJE board member. “Let’s take a minute to look at how [activism] is supposed to work in an ideal setting.”
In that spirit, attendees were split into six groups focused on each of NHCJE’s Sectors of Effort — Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Government, Education, Health, Economic Development, and Civic Engagement. The groups were encouraged to discuss NHCJE’s Policy Platform, exploring the strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots of each pillar.
The Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice table had a particularly lively conversation focused on the availability of demographic incarceration data, re-entry after leaving prison, and combatting stigma.
“What’s missing [from the policy platform] is recognition of an omnipresent stigma,” said Anna Adachi-Mejia, a coach, founder of Adachi Labs, LLC, and activist for prisoner reintegration. “Stigma applies to everything.”
Jason Green of the New Hampshire ACLU added that stigma directed at returning prisoners from the general public is not the only type of stigma that needs to be addressed. “Stigma is not just external,” he said. “It’s about feeling worthy and about dignity.”
The group agreed with the NHCJE Policy Platform in its call for greater detail from authorities in reporting the demographics of their incarcerated populations in the hope it may reveal the information needed to help create programs for issues like reintegration into society.
“Thinking about data is nuanced,” said Adachi-Mejia. “But it helps to understand which pathways are associated with different experiences.”
In the ensuing discussion between all groups, it became clear that all present needed to look at the big picture because all the issues NHCJE hopes to confront are connected.
“We can’t afford to not take a systems approach to our problems here,” said Woullard Lett, Education Chair of the Manchester Chapter of the NAACP.
Taking Stock
Afterward, the groups reconvened for panel discussions about policy activism and government.
The first panel focused on efforts to make permanent the Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act and combating the 2021 Divisive Concepts Law.
“We defended some things that were very good,” said Josephine ‘Jo’ Porter, panel moderator and Chief Strategy Officer at NHCJE. “And we went after some things that were very bad.”
Brian Hawkins, Director of Government Relations for the National Education Association’s NH chapter, spoke about the fight against HB544 — the Divisive Concepts Law. The law, now in effect in the Granite State was passed despite overwhelming public testimony in opposition during the 2021 legislative session.
“As much as we think of ourselves as a homogeneous state, we are diversifying,” Hawkins said. He added the law’s vagueness effectively stopped many classroom conversations about issues of identity.
“That is the point,” Hawkins said. “The point is to write something so vague that it would chill discussion in the classroom.”
Hawkins added that, at first, they thought there was no chance the bill could pass, but events quickly dispelled that notion.
“So, what can we do?” asked Lisa Vásquez, a Behavioral Health Strategist at the City of Nashua’s Division of Public Health, in response to Hawkins’s presentation. “What else could have been done to prevent that from becoming a law?”
“By taking even the things that are really out there seriously,” Hawkins responded. “You have to take it all seriously now.”
Jake Berry, the Vice President of Policy at New Futures, Inc., a public health advocacy non-profit, followed with a talk about the successful push for continuing Medicaid Expansion.
Initially passed as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Medicaid Expansion means that those with incomes 138% or more below the Federal Poverty Line can access the program for low-income Americans.
Berry said that, though it faced considerable opposition in the state, the secret to their success was building a coalition of advocates for children, the elderly, veterans, the impoverished, businesses, and others.
“This is a multi-year process,” Berry said. “We have to keep our heads up and keep going forward.”
Effective Lobbying
The day’s second panel featured Jim Monahan, Managing Partner for government relations firm The Dupont Group; Abigail Rogers, Legislative Liaison for the Division of Public Health at the NH Department of Health and Human Services; and NH House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep. Matthew Wilhelm, D-Manchester.
Moderator Ben Frost, the Deputy Executive Director at New Hampshire Housing, opened the panel with a question about handling diverse viewpoints in the General Court.
“I feel like I learn every day more and more how to do that,” Wilhelm said. Wilhelm continued that one of the biggest difficulties in getting progressive change through the General Court was the constitutionally mandated pay rate for legislators of $100 a year.
Wilhelm said the pay rate means the legislature tends to skew towards older and wealthier individuals. With the size of the legislature (over 400 legislators) and frequent turn-over of many legislators “because of that, change moves a little slow”.
Frost later asked when it would be best to contact a department head directly rather than a legislator. Rogers said legislative agency leaders can help develop strategies to tackle New Hampshire’s social issues.
“We’re subject matter experts,” said Rogers, adding that contacts in the General Court were necessary too, since many decisions come down to the availability of funds.
Frost then asked Monahan — a lobbyist — for his thoughts. He recommended that those gathered take advantage of election season and invite legislative candidates to visit their respective organizations to give them an idea of what the group is about. In this way, he said, they could build relationships for change.
Building on that concept, Wilhelm emphasized the role of clarity in effective advocacy.
“We need to be clear about our values,” he said. “About where we can compromise and where the line is.”
Vásquez, from the audience, noted the session passed on some important lessons about NHCJE’s chief mission, elevating marginalized voices.
“I think it’s important to highlight [marginalized] voices because of the lack of diversity at our state house,” she said. “We need to make it clear that lifting people up doesn’t mean pushing someone else down.”
That was exactly the type of takeaway Poore hoped for.
“We recognize progress on our public policy priorities will require a sustained and consistent focus as well as collaboration and cooperation across a myriad of sectors, geographies, and interests,” he said. “NHCJE stands prepared to lead when necessary and offer support when that is the best approach.
We look forward to sharing the results of our collective efforts soon.”
New Hampshire
N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black
Local News
Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
Streets of Portsmouth after snow storm
The streets of Portsmouth are still in the process of being cleaned up, as seen the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, following a huge snow storm.
It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.
The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.
Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.
When will it snow in NH tonight?
According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.
Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.
Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.
How much snow will NH get tonight?
New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.
In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.
The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.
NH weather watches and warnings
The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.
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