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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-01-LHRC-min Town of Lexington, Human Rights Committee Meeting Friday, November 1, 2019 Lexington Community Center 8:17-9:42 Minutes for November 1, 2019 Meeting Present: Committee Members: Monami D. Roy (Chair), Tanya Gisolfi (Vice Chair), Georgia Swann (Clerk), Fuang Ying Huang, Jeffrey Toronto, James Batty (Police Department), Melissa Interess (Town Manager's Office Member/Human Services Department), Johnny Cole (School Department Member/School Civil Rights Officer) Liaisons and Guests: Scott Bokun (School Committee Liaison), Valerie Overton (LexPride Liaison), Mark Corr (Chief of Police), Anthony Serio (Human Services Department), Aidan Evelyn (Police Department Liaison), Melissa Bevy (Guest) Meeting called to order at 8:17 AM, Quorum was present at 8:17 AM. Motion to Approve Minutes from October Meeting. Motion made by TG, Seconded by MI, all in favor. Chair Report: 1) Expectations of the LHRC members a. Be connected to the community at large and bring back any relevant concerns from the community to the LHRC b. Attend/Promote/Support LHRC community events when possible c. Encourage community members to engage with the LHRC 2) Updates since last meeting a. Met with BOS and SC liaison b. Continuing on website update now includes sponsorship request guidelines and commenting guidelines. We will be adding in presentations, links to proclamations, link to request to be put on our mailing list to get the monthly packet, other helpful links. c. Continuing to review LHRC charge to make it accessible and in plain language d. Met with LICA and Grace Chapel e. Vice Chair attended Tommy Orange Talk f. Met with Town Celebrations MLK Day Sub-Committee g. Attended Dyslexia and ADHD awareness events 3) Work that others are doing around town/Events of Interest a. SEPAC (https-.//Iexsepta,org)has launched its parent survey with a completion deadline of November 15,1. b. Deeper Than the Skin: A Musical Presentation on Race Saturday, November 2, 2019, 7:30pm Follen Church, 755 Mass. Ave. Lexington, MA htt-ps-Hfollen.org/deeper than skip/or h11.p5.-.//d��per�hant�eskin.com� c. Reading White Fragility with the Lexington Community Coalition,November 3, 2019 and November 7, 2019 ( uoorg/twhite--fragilit:y) d. LICA Interfaith Thanksgiving, Tuesday,November 26, 2019 at 7:30 PM— 9:30 PM at St Brigids e. November 9°,2:30-4:30 Embracing Diversity: Gaining Insight— Dr. Karen Suyemoto f. The Cherokee Word for Water, Saturday, November 9 7:30 pm, Christ Revolution Church g. Transgender Day of Remembrance, Sunday,November 17, 2019 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM,First Parish in Lexington 4) Encourage community to apply for co-sponsorship of community events for interesting events 5) LHRC acknowledges recent anti-Semitic incidents in Framingham and stands with the people of Framingham against hate. 6) LHRC also acknowledges recent suicides of transgender persons in surrounding communities and wishes to encourage members of the community to stand up to hate and intervene in any hateful behavior they encounter. Committee Members Reports and Liaison Updates • Vice Chair and Johnny Cole note success of the Tommy Orange event which they both attended Update: Joint Meeting with Board of Selectman and School Committee on Diversity Task Force 10/29/2019 • The published charge of the Diversity Advisory Task Force included the task to advise the Town Manager and Superintendent of School regarding the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Asian Communities report, Lessons on Integration of Residents of Asian Ancestry Offered by California and New Jersey Communities (December 16, 2016) and identify 1-2 priority actions for the coming year. The charge also noted that the Task Force will seek the advice of the HRC cI t 7s( xi • During the joint meeting with BOS and SC, Dr. Hackett noted the work of the Diversity Advisory Task Force (DATF) originally was specific to Asian populations, it was later broadened. Plans detailed in Dr. Hackett's letter in the packet. Task Force will sunset June 2020. • TG: Noted her membership on the Subcommittee on Asian Communities; while estimated statistics on the demographics of residents is comparable to the demographics of those employed by the town in most categories the most obvious disparity was between the number of Asians living in Lexington vs the number of Asians employed by the town. Should we be happy with these results and if not, what are our next steps. • JC: We should not and there is room to increase the diversity within the school system and what roles the different populations work in is important, whether the teachers or the administration reflects the student body population. Noted disparity proportion in schools between Asian students vs staff. More representation needed and should not stop. Noted that it makes a positive impact on children to see teachers of the same race and of different races in their school career. • TG: Raised concern about retention of POC LPS staff and having POC role models for kids • JT: Was glad to hear that there are people working for the Town of Lexington who have disabilities. • GS: Asked how persons with disabilities was measured • MI noted that the demographic data was self-reported (e.g. the resident or employee would have to self-identify) • Discussion on to what extent people self-report accurately • FYH: Recognizes the Lexington Police Department for making efforts towards a diverse staff that includes Asians. Noted that there are known instances of Asians applying to town jobs and not being given the chance to interview even though they are well qualified. And after 30 years of residence and not having seen changes does not want the town to have a reputation of giving only "Lip Service". Recalls the issue of the reporting the demographics of applicants to Town of Lexington employment opportunities has been an issue brought up by CAAL in the past. • Discussion on multiple requests made for applicant data and hiring statistics for the town and LPS. Previous Lexington Human Services person confirmed that this data is not collected and the need for a town equivalent of JC's position. Also noted that it seemed that many years had been wasted between the report and what sort of message does this send to the Asian community. A new task force may be created in the fall of 2020 and have a more targeted focus but committee members question how to ensure that these concerns are addressed. Agrees that this discussion needs to be longer and will be continued to a future meeting. • Police Chief: Lexington Police Department makes a strong effort to advertise their employment opportunities to a diverse pool of applicants and ending the Civil Service hiring rules will help LPD achieve more diversity in hiring. • LPD Liaison: The LPD has several opportunities for Lexington students to participate in LPD camps and educational programs with the hopes that they will consider a career in law enforcement and there are also paid part time opportunities for people with language skills that are in demand. • Discussion on supporting LPD on its recruiting efforts and also how Human Services is very diverse and also is proactive in connecting with multiple demographics. Reporting Discrimination/Hate Incidents • Clarification by LRHC on distinction between Discrimination/Hate Incidents/Hate Crimes: • Discussion confidentiality: Emails sent to the LHRC should be considered discoverable and potentially a public document. The LHRC is here to serve the public and listen to the individual concerns as well as general concerns. If a community member wants to have a confidential conversation they should reach out to the Chair, Vice Chair. Human Services notes that there are cases where if there is a need or redaction due to privacy it can happen after the fact and that Human Services is available to community for confidential services. Police notes that they are available 24/7. • There are ongoing discussions on the mechanics of reporting hate incidents and how they are shared between LPS, LPD and LHRC. Every disciplinary action is complex. LPD, LPS and LHRC are in the process of developing a decision tree on when data will be shared so everyone is on the same page. LPS is developing, refining and will eventually publish protocols for even more transparency and in due course, report outs on data. No Hate November Workgroup Update (Toronto, Huang) • Family friendly event, screening of`Wonder" and the kindness project are ready to go on as scheduled. Slide show is in the process of being completed, speakers are preparing for the second event. MLK Day Community Conversation on Race—How We Benefit from Discussing Race at Home Workgroup Update (Swann, Roy) • Volunteers will be requested in mid-November and more information about opportunities for community members will be broadcast on social media. Requests for funding have been made and the search for qualified speakers continues. School Discipline Disparity Workgroup Update (Roy, Gisolfr, Cole) • A document to request feedback from different affinity groups will be created and distributed by Lexington Public Schools. There is a desire is to be in compliance with the law around discipline and move to a model where exclusion is used as a last resort. LPS is updating mandatory trainings for staff and those responsible for discipline. There is an internal LPS group working to look at positive discipline and restorative justice. There is also work going on with how parents are notified of exclusion, making sure they know their rights. A reporting system with varying degrees of anonymity is being created individuals are being identified who can be contact officers for anyone with a civil rights complaint and still more work around reporting of bullying. More documentation expected in late November. • Discussion within committee expressing concern on timeline for opportunity for public feedback; where that leaves children at this moment; follow up for suspensions that did not happen but where a student from one of the identified discipline disparity groups was accused; discussion on how students come to be accused, concerns on implicit bias. JC noted LPS is working on how understanding how the administrators are getting to suspension and there is a desire to get feedback to the community. JC also noted that written notification to parents is required by law and LPS is working on compliance. Concerns expressed that there needs to be a place for parents to safely discuss that something that happened to their kids and next steps. JC noted that LPS is being thoughtful about what is in place at the different schools. Not In Our Schools Workgroup Update (Roy, Gisolfi) • TG in process of setting up appointment with WDMS to discuss next steps Understanding our Town Workgroup Update (Huang, Coats, Interess) • No updates Race Amity Day Workgroup Update (Gisolfi, Coats) 0 No updates. Upcoming Events from LHRC a. No Hate November Family Movie: Wonder, Saturday, November 2nd at 1 pm Community Center b. No Hate November Panel Discussion, November 18th, Library, 7 pm. Public Comments Valerie Overton: Suggests using www.massachusettsdiversity.com to get a more diverse applicant pool. Suggests if possible inviting someone from the Diversity Advisory Task Force to future meetings if their work is going to be on the agenda. Motion to Adjourn: MI Seconded: JB Meeting Adjourned 9:42 Next Meeting Date and Time December 12/6 at 8:15 am. LIST OF DOCUMENTS LHRC Chair Report No Hate November flyer Town of Lexington Diversity Summary as of Fall 2019 from BOS/SC/LHRC meeting of October 29, 2019 October 27, 2019 Letter from Dr. Hackett to BOS, SC, and LHRC Lessons on Integration of Residents of Asian Ancestry Offered by California and New Jersey Communities with Large Asian Populations Diversity Advisory Task Force Charge August 28, 2017 Jewish Family and Children's Services Flyer