Representatives of various cultures, colors, faiths, abilities, and orientations bring a diverse palette of possibility and promise to communities like Newtown.

And we should strive to open our collective arms and welcome each and every one of you.

Unfortunately, there are some among our local population of 27,000-plus who are less welcoming to those who may look, speak, dress, worship, and in other ways present as a person who doesn’t share their own heritage, lifestyle, practices, or beliefs.

So your Newtown Bee is going to work on that with renewed energy and perspectives we look forward to gaining in collaboration with colleagues across the nation.

Last month, Bee Editor John Voket and Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck were accepted into an initiative called “Trust 101” from an organization called Trusting News. Trusting News is a research and training project of The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) at the Missouri School of Journalism and The American Press Institute that empowers journalists to demonstrate credibility and earn trust.

The organization believes journalists must work to actively demonstrate credibility and earn trust, and that’s especially crucial with communities that have had historically low trust — often for good reason. We expect this course from Trusting News will give The Newtown Bee’s reporters and editors research-backed strategies for earning trust with communities of color.

Over the course of four weeks involving about six hours of concentrated work each week, we endeavor to:

*Identify past and present barriers to trust with communities of color in Newtown and beyond;

*Work through coverage areas that are often especially problematic;

*Learn strategies for effective outreach;

Talk about how to measure improvement, and;

*Get individual coaching as we outline specific problem areas, coverage ideas, and next steps for our own newsroom.

As part of this class, The Bee is creating an action plan for our newsroom. This could be an outreach plan, a new product, new sourcing goals, a community partnership, or something different. And we will be looking for representatives from our communities of color for your input, guidance, and constructive advice as well.

During a recent virtual panel hosted by C.H. Booth Library branded as “More Than A Conversation About Race” — weeks before The Bee was even invited to apply to be part of “Trust 101” — our editor, who was part of that webcast, pledged to find ways and places to convene with residents with the goal of learning how to better engage and highlight people of color and others who may be marginalized, victimized, or discriminated against.

One of the simplest ways we believe this can be achieved is by everyone in town simply getting out and getting to know their most immediate neighbors. Numerous individuals have been quoted saying it, and we fully embrace the notion that “it’s hard to hate someone you know.”

So in the coming weeks and months, as your local news organization begins to apply its training, readers and online visitors will be seeing expanding coverage highlighting more of the diverse individuals who call Newtown home, with the hope of bringing all of us closer together.