2018-06-01-LHRC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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comments. Given the sensitivity of some issues, it is understood that commenters may have personal and historic reasons to remain anonymous. Regardless, whether a comment may be personally attributed, the chain of response remains the same—the Town Manager is notified of town issues, the Superintendent is notified of school issues, and the Police Chief is notified of public safety issues. It is important for LHRC to deploy the chain of response in order to leverage the proper community resources for follow-up. Housing Discrimination Update—Two trainings are proposed for next year in order to secure LHRC's initial cohort of housing discrimination testers. A number of groups and institutions have expressed interest in participating in the training, and they will be notified when the training has been scheduled. LHRC Email Update—The LHRC has received multiple emails discussing discrimination within the public-school system, which have been shared with the heads of schools in question and sent to the Lexington School Committee. A discussion ensued with the Superintendent regarding the proper reciprocal sharing of information between the Superintendent and the LHRC in order to ensure that discrimination allegations are treated seriously and properly investigated, commenters' privacy and identities are respected, and that the Superintendent is ultimately held accountable. No resolution was reached. Meeting Attendance Review and Potential Removal. Committee member Mr. Khasnabish expressed that he would be formally resigning from the LHRC because he is traveling a lot for work and cannot attend regularly. He stated an interest in remaining involved in the Committee's work, but not as a formal member. The Committee expressed its understanding and thanked Mr. Khasnabish for his service. For the benefit of all present, LHRC membership nomination procedures were reviewed, and those interested are encouraged to apply through the BoS. Committee thanks Ms. Anton, who is moving, and Mr. Khasnabish who announced today he is stepping off, for their time, commitment, and volunteering to support our community. Human Rights Incidents—Library—Mrs. Stembridge attended the meeting at the invitation of LHRC, who invited her to attend the meeting and report. The Cary Library leadership and staff responded in a systematic and exemplary way to the following incidents: At a public meeting, in response to general community announcements, anti-LGBTQ comments were made. Staff as well as meeting attendees reported the incident. Library staff had all participated in a Training Active Bystander workshop and followed leadership guidelines to report incidents. One of the LexPride co-Chairs also was on hand to discuss the incident and appropriate response. Generally, these conversations and responses can take time, however this situation was handled quickly because of the excellent open line of communication within the library. What the Library has done in terms of culture and climate is excellent, and the Lexington community is fortunate. Though Mrs. Stembridge humbly explained that she operates one building and one staff, librarians tend to be activist by nature, her staff communicates well, and they care about each-other and library patrons, therefore she feels set up for success. She added, we do get things wrong. She mentioned the important distinction and difference between intent and impact. She went on to say that the library believes in equity and inclusion, and that this conversation is never done. 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE•LEXINGTON,MASSACHUSETTS 02420