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Home My WebLink About2022-04-14-LHRC-min Town of Lexington, Human Rights Committee Meeting Thursday, April 14, 2022 Virtual 8:32 a.m.-9:53 a.m. Present Members: Tanya Gisolfi [TG] (Chair), Monami D. Roy [MDR] (Vice Chair,) Stephanie Hsu [SH] (Clerk), Cleveland Coates [CC], Christina Lin [CL], Cleveland Coates [CC], Christopher Barry [CB], (Police), Larry Freeman [LF] (LPS Representative) Meeting called to order at 8:32 AM, Quorum was present at 8:30 AM 1. Intro – Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month 2. Minutes, a. February Motion to approve with/out changes made by MDR Seconded by CC Voted Unanimously b. March Motion to approve with/out changes made by SH, Seconded by MDR Voted Unanimously 3. Co-Sponsorship Request for My American Story CALex Discussion: Cosponsored last year Motion to approve with/out changes made by TG, Seconded by CL, Voted Unanimously 4. Report 2022 MLK Day Community Conversation on Race – The Purpose of Education Presentation a. Presented by Christina Lin and Gwen Wong b. 2021 – LHRC Declared Racism is a Public Health Crisis c. Honoring Dr. King’s Legacy by advocating for Racially Inclusive Curriculum d. Dr. Jackson – (https://www.wpi.edu/people/faculty/djackson2) was a force in both oration and substance i. “An education system that results in a marginalized people with subordinated sense of self or inflated elitism by those in the majority must be regarded as immoral.” - Rev. Dr. Jackson ii. Small example of a pervasive lie -- George Washington’s replacement teeth were from enslaved people, not wood as we were all taught. iii. Important to add in diversity of perspectives and lived experiences iv. Discussion of Pedagogy of “Problem Posing Education” – Freire where the students are not merely fed information but part of the teaching (e.g., comparison of Boston Tea Party and today’s protests) v. Myriad of one-word reactions (negative to positive) to Dr. Jackson’s talk. This reflects the diversity of audience that attends the Conversation on Race which vi. Range of comments of what and how students are learning -- I think the “banking method” and how that method of learning can move from generation to generation was really interesting vii. Impact of this system on students -- How has learning about the lack of representation of traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic groups affected your views of the ways in which US education institutions and systems uphold racism? e. Some Key Breakout room thoughts i. REPRESENTATION MATTERS in our curriculum – disproportionate representation of European (e.g., in exploration); Whose stories are told and who gets to tell the stories. Why are some stories and people marginalized? ii. Awareness - individual LEARNING – interest in more community conversations on this and associated issues iii. Awareness - institutional CHANGES -- how do we diversify the “sage on the stage” iv. Access to education 1) Under resourced community 2) But in other privileged communities like Lexington, lack of access to AP courses f. Discussion on what individuals can do to move the needle – advocate for: i. How will you ensure you are held accountable? ii. Increase BIPOC/ALANA voices iii. What obstacles might interfere with you achieving your goal? – One teacher highlighted limitation of time iv. Listening and respecting and removing barriers to BIPOC/ALANA students voices v. Too much segregation in social groups vi. More diverse authors vii. Need continuous advocacy for accountability and change g. Student feedback i. “I hadn't really thought about how racism affected my education, so the conversation was eye-opening. “ ii. “I am learning U.S history is very Eurocentric.” iii. BIPOC student feedback – “We did Asian book, Indigenous book, Black book, but these units are disparate. White student says “I don’t see myself anymore” h. Evolution of Community Conversation on Race – 10 years i. 10 years ago – being there to be seen ii. Now CCR the MLK event with the highest attendance iii. Anchor point – people look forward to it iv. Community investment in the event i. Organizing team Value i. 10 years of operational knowledge ii. Facilitator community trained iii. Impact of LHRC – grabbed a group of very engaged people in town to ask questions and how to listen to answers gone from fear zone and going towards to growth zone https://www.surgeryredesign.com/#contact-section iv. No one was afraid to talk – that is a lot of progress v. Lots of interest of advocacy and investment vi. Important to continue to build on that investment and engagement j. Noted learning resources will be on LHRC website k. Lots of Town Depts (library, human services, etc..) engaging in this work l. Huge # of volunteer hours over many months to present this program m. Shout out to LPS work on this topic n. LHRC Membership Comments on presentation i. TG gives shoutout to CL and Gwen Wong as key lights on this work ii. LF – really enjoyed the conversation on race, and topic was unique, loved student involvement, was a table facilitator, students were vocal and added a lot iii. TG suggested that we need to think about childcare so more people can attend iv. SH – appreciated the presentation; amazing facilitator training; also appreciated student involvement; overlap with student perspectives from No Hate November; sparked something in her own son who attended v. CL – noted Fair Housing Month – not about economics but about demographics vi. MDR expressed gratitude for presentation, presenters and progress and noted that her son who attended also appreciated this presentation and the larger work vii. Eileen Jay (SC liaison) – loved the presentation, appreciated moving from fear into learning and was still waiting for growth. On the education side, what’s wonderful is that the students are asking for this. LPS is doing the work on the curriculum. We need a way for the cultural groups to ensure work with LPS to ensure that curriculum is authentic. 5. Member Updates a. CC – attended SB, Minuteman Cane committee, White Tricorn selection committee; awards given on Patriots Day b. SH – SEPAC - -Cracking the Code on reading (https://lexsepta.org/event- 4782421) ; In line with Fair Housing Month – along with Housing Partnership Board to highlight a recent conference (https://lexsepta.org/event-4782421); Noting progress on working groups on Effects of Pandemic on Persons with Disabilities and c. LF – mentioned change in afterschool providers and people may want to attend School Committee meetings d. CL – Attended SEPAC presentation A Different Key – movie on autism acceptance, highlighted massive spectrum, we need to be more accepting of people to make the space for ASD; we are denying ourselves the opportunity to learn e. CB talked about Autism Patches are now available at the Lexington Police Station. All proceeds collected will go to Verge Inclusive Athletics’; LPD Officer Chaisson attended the SEPAC Resource Fair to connect with the Special Education community f. MDR noted with appreciation LPD’s engagement but expressed disappointment at the overall community’s recurring lack of sensitivity to the struggles of families who want their kids with disabilities to be included. Noted specifically that comments on Facebook and by public commenters at School Committee meetings showed a disregard for the feelings and experiences of those families and a lack of interest in supporting inclusion of all children 6. Possible Time Change Discussion TG - Put off until in person vs hybrid is decided but noted that later meetings may give access to elementary school parents, but earlier meetings may give more access to people who go to the office 7. Logo Discussion a. TG – Do we need logo and MI mentioned a service to determine a logo b. SH – says yes c. MDR – need to follow legal rules and also look at what Human Services did, and we should think about next steps if others want this. 8. In Person Meeting Discussion a. Final discussion put off b. Keep May remote c. LF – OWL system for hybrid meetings used at School Committee– good experience; continued hybrid is another level of inclusion; suggested to having afternoon meetings for those who cannot access morning meetings d. Chair + quorum must be in person for hybrid meetings e. SH – thinks that we should meet in person – perhaps June f. Eileen Jay (SC liaison) noted to check the use of OWL at the Community Center as so far, they have only used it at the Select Board meeting room. 9. No Unexpected Items Not Reasonably Anticipated in Advance 10. Next Meeting May 12, 2022, on Zoom, 8:30 am 11. Adjourn SH motioned, CC seconded 12. Public Comments for Items Not on the Agenda Public comments are allowed for up to 6 minutes. Each speaker is limited to 2 minutes for comment. Members of the Committee will neither comment nor respond, other than to ask questions of clarification. Attachments: CALex request for co-sponsorship