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Home My WebLink About2020-03-06-LHRC-min Town of Lexington, Human Rights Committee Meeting Friday, March 6, 2020 Lexington Community Center 8:16-9:42 Present: Committee Members: Monami D. Roy (Chair), Tanya Gisolfi (Vice Chair), Georgia Swann (Clerk), Fuang Ying Huang (Community Member), Jeffrey Toronto (Community Member), Cleve Coats (Community Member), Melissa Interess (Town Manager's Office Member/Human Services Department), Scott Bokun (LPS Representative), Lt. James Barry (LPD Representative), Liaisons and Guests: Mark Corr (Chief of Police), Aidan Evelyn (Police Department Liaison), Jill Hai (Select Board) Tahir Chaudhry (LICA Liaison), Valerie Overton (LexPride), Tony Serio (Human Services), Christina Lin (LHS PTO/PPC), Mabel Amar (Guest) Meeting called to order at 8:16 AM, Quorum was present at 8:16 AM. 1. Approval of February Minutes -- Motion made by MI, Seconded by JB, all in favor. 2. LexPride Co-Sponsorship Request for Pride Day in Lexington Activities -- Motion made by TG, Seconded by LT, All in favor. 3. LHS PTO Co-Sponsorship Request for movie I'm Not Racist, am I? (ILttp-//www.notracistmovie.com) -- Motion made by JT, Seconded by GS, All in favor. 4. Role of the LHRC a. Responding/supporting response to incidents of hate, bias and discrimination b. Educating the community on issues through programming c. Community Building 5. Chair Report • Attended School Committee meeting • Attended KoLex meeting • Attended IAL meeting • Attended ABCL meeting • Attended LexPride meeting • Attended SEPAC meeting • Attended Dyslexia Subgroup meeting • Town Celebrations MLK Day Sub-Committee • Participated in The Black History Project of Lexington, Lexington Historical Society and ABCL • Attended LexPride Social Justice Candidate Forum • Met with Town Counsel on suggested language for new bylaws • Attended Parent Academy Planning Group • Met with LPD 6. Work Around Town and Events of Interest a. Social Justice Book Group 1st Wednesday of the month (7 PM — 8:30 PM) Cary Library b. Layers of Intersectionality is March 7th at 7pm. The purpose is to educate the public about intersectionality, hear experiences and see a dramatic presentation on intersectionality. Sponsored by LexPride and several other community groups. (https://www.lexpridema.org/events/2020/3/7/layers-of- belonging- stories-of intersectionality)/. c. LHS screening of I'm Not Racist, Am I? March 25th, LHS auditorium d. Parent Academy -- March 14, 2020 e. SEPAC Meeting on March 12, 2020 7. Committee Members Reports and Liaison Updates • JB: Two incidents of note for the LHRC. o First, an African American family has been targeted with harassment in the Liberty Heights neighborhood. o Second, an antisemitic symbol was discovered at Cary Memorial Library. • CC: Chamber of Commerce hosted a Business Breakfast at the Inn at Hastings Park featuring Mike Kennealy, Massachusetts' Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. Also attended a"Women in Business" event and Lexington Chamber of Commerce will also be hosting an informal business networking event at II Casale on evening of the 3rd Thursday of every month. • TG: Started working on emailing stake holders regarding the incident at Cary Memorial Library. 8. Race Amity Day Workgroup (Gisolfi, Coats, Huang) • Race Amity Day Workgroup has met to brainstorm ideas and Leona Martin of ABCL will attend the next meeting. 9. MLK Day Community Conversation (The Necessity of Discussing Race at Home) Workgroup Report (Roy, Swann) • GS spoke on logistics of the day • SB: Though Grace Chapel was a good space for the event and that it offered an open and inviting space. There was some concern noted about making the event more accessible, including finding a way to get young parents involved. • TG: Remarked that it had been mentioned by stake holders that Grace Chapel might not be a comfortable space for some people who identify as LGBTQ but also mentioned that when the issue was brought to the attention of Pastor Rhodes that he was willing to talk about the specific issues and even modified some of the language on their web site in an attempt to be more accommodating. • MDR: The needs of the community as a whole have to be balanced in planning an event like MLK Day and there are limitations because it is a holiday so many spaces are not available to be used. The event was well attended and there was a lot of representation of the Asian community. The general feedback included the idea that in the past lots of notes were taken however there was little follow up. Some people have questions regarding how to make the community more welcoming to POC. • MI suggested that this topic needed a longer discussion 10.Reporting incidents or concerns to LHRC (Roy, Gisolfi) • Lots of work has been taking place with various stakeholders with the incident reporting form and plans for online and mobile access. Thanks to Chief Corr and Scott Bokun for their input. • Goals include having a flow chart to show potential users how the procedure works. • Before LHRC makes a commitment to work on an issue the desire is to identify other organizations and service providers who can assist • JT: Likes that the form will be available on a phone or tablet. • MI: Suggests a review team to evaluate complaints as they come in and direct them to other organizations if appropriate. • Chief of Police: Suggests that a very simple form is enough to start the process. There should be a core group evaluating the reports and identifying if a crime has been committed. Consideration should also be given to whether the incident involves LPS and if not the Human Services and LHRC could collaborate on supporting the residents and helping resolve the issue. • LICA Liaison: Finds that the reporting form asks for a lot of personal and/or sensitive information and that it may dissuade people from using it. Suggests asking for less information up front 11.Unexpected Items Not Reasonably Anticipated in Advance 12. Next Meeting Date and Time April 3rd, at 8:15 am. Public Comments • MA: Made comments about implicit bias towards individuals with accents or those who do not speak English and in the future will seek support from the LPD when confronting these issues in the community. • LICA Liaison: Spoke on religious tensions in India Motion to Adjourn: JT Seconded: JB Meeting Adjourned 9:42 LIST OF DOCUMENTS LHRC Chair Report MLK Community Conversation on Race Report LHRC Draft Reporting Guidelines to be posted on website LexPride Flyer Request email from LexPride to co-sponsor LHRC Guest and Liaison Sign-In Sheet LHRC Public Comment Log LHRC Comment Guidelines Respectfully submitted, Georgia Swann Clerk, LHRC