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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-17 Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Minutes Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Minutes November 17, 2020 I. CALL TO ORDER: At 7:01 pm, the virtual meeting was called to order by Dee Casey, Deputy Town Manager and Interim Chair. Dee read the Governor’s Executive Order. ATTENDANCE: The following members were present: David VanArsdale (COA); Toni Wedge (Resident); Jennifer Bauer (Resident); Supraja Ganti (N.A. Race Amity Committee); Bria Gadsen (MV Black and Brown Voices); Lawrence Jay (Clergy); Vera Brockhuysen (Clergy); Ellen Peters (Building a Respectful Community); Larry Anderson (Youth & Rec. Council); Stacey Leibowitz (Ability Assistance Commission); Lt. E.J. Foulds (NAPD); Deanna Lima (Community Support Coordinator); Aisha Valdez (Youth & Recreational Services); Lorene Marx (Asst. Superintendent, NAPS); Cathy Darby (Town Human Resources Director) and Dee Casey (Deputy Town Manager and Interim Chair). GUEST: Kathleen Keenan, Stevens Memorial Library Director. ABSENT: Vijay (Jay) Vallala (Resident) and Lina Hunter (Minority Business Owner). IX. SCHEDULE NEXT MEETING DATE – Taken out of order at request of a member. Dee asked to take this agenda item out of order because on member needs to leave at 8:15 pm and has potential conflicts in December. Dee proposed the dates of December 1, December 8 and December 15. She asked if any members had existing conflicts. Dee noticed that the Tuesdays in December are already booked with NACam. She stated she would get back to the members once she has confirmed the available dates with NACam. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM OCTOBER 20, 2020: Dee asked if the members had a chance to review the minutes. Motion: Lt. Foulds moved to accept the minutes and Cathy seconded the motion. The minutes were approved by a unanimous voice roll call vote. III. STORY TELLING (Led by Reverend Jay): Dee discussed the provisions of the Open Meeting Law and reported that the Commission conducting a Story Telling meeting does not meet any of the exemptions. Therefore, she said the meeting would need to be publically posted and recorded for NACam. Rev. Jay discussed leading the group in story telling that would help us to understand each other’s history. He stated that this would require some reflection of their own story and pre-work for the Commission prior to our next session. Rev. Jay continued that he has conducted session in several different formats: ten (10) minute, sessions which for a group of our size would take three (3) hours; or longer session of one (1) to one and a half (1.5) hours. He said depending on how long we want the sessions to be this could be completed over two (2) sessions or up to six (6). 1 Rev. Jay explained that participants reflect, write, and gather their history on paper. He has used the Parker, Palmer Circle of Trust Model, which facilitates agreement among participants to create a safe space to share. Rev. Jay recommended that for those who may not be comfortable with sharing could share in writing or via email. Deanna stated that this could be a larger community initiative, if this group shared their stories and invited other residents to add theirs. She stated this group could create the framework for this to become a town-wide initiative. Deanna commented that NACam could tape the stories and air them to show the benefit to the community. Supraja discussed her experience with social media challenge events that allow a message to spread to a larger area. She stated this could grow the circle past just North Andover. Toni added that members might be more candid sharing their stories in email/writing and those who want to share verbally could do so. Dee responded that the same Open Meeting requirements also extend to written documents. IV. PERMANENT OFFICER POSITIONS Dee discussed that the Selectboard wanted permanent positions in place before 90 days following the creation of the Commission. Deanna responded that she would fill any position. There were no volunteers for other positions. Dee stated that the discussion would continue to the next session. She stated she will be available for support and asked the group to consider a leadership role. V. SUBCOMMITTEES Dee listed the names of the subcommittees that the Commission discussed at the first meeting:  Economic Development Subcommittee;  Business Training Subcommittee;  Community Education Subcommittee;  Data Collection Subcommittee;  Support Group for Minority Small Businesses Owners Subcommittee;  Welcoming New Residents Subcommittee;  Survey Subcommittee;  NAPS Education Subcommittee; and  Public Health Subcommittee. She asked members to rank their top three (3) subcommittees. She stated that subcommittees are also public bodies. Dave stated that this is accurate based on his work with the Council on Aging. Dee summarized the subcommittees. Dee explained that there was never a “Conversation Series”. The Stevens Memorial Library had a lecture series. 2 Rev. Jay added that the conversation series could help build upon the storytelling and create conversations. Lt. Foulds recommended that the Survey Committee merge with the Data Collection Committee to avoid redundancy. VI. COLLABORATION WITH STEVENS MEMORIAL LIBRARY She stated she help(Guest Kathleen Keenan, Library Director) Dee introduced Kathleen Keenan who is Director of the Stevens Memorial Library. She stated that the Library is a natural partner for this Commission. Kathleen explained that she is thrilled that the Town made the decision not initiate this Commission. Kathleen stated that the Town collaborated with the schools four (4) years ago with a Community Reads program for book, movie and lecture discussions. She stated some of these addresses diversity issues. Kathleen explained that she has a budget and staff for these initiatives and can support the Commission and naturally collaborate. Kathleen added that the Library is also a member of a larger thirty-six (36) Merrimack Valley Library Consortium. Kathleen explained that the Steven Memorial Library is a member of an eight (8)-library consortium that began an initiative called, “Libraries Working for Social Justice”; Haverhill, Lawrence, Andover, Methuen, Wilmington, Tewksbury, and Burlington. She stated they are researching materials and speakers for topics such as; racism, anti-racism, systemic racism and learning history. Kathleen stated that the use of Zoom has allowed the Consortium to be able to use national speakers who do not need to travel to North Andover. She stated the focus has been on racism. Kathleen stated they are working on a common vocabulary and definitions or the Consortium. Kathleen explained she sent Dee a template for the website and the Commission will have a tab on this site. She stated all the initiatives are on one site; RAISE, Race Amity, and Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Rev. Jay asked is the Library should have its own Subcommittee. Kathleen responded that she see the Library interfacing with several of the Subcommittees. She stated the Library could offer space, U tube channel, Zoom and Good Meets. Kathleen stated the schools are doing initiatives like RAISE and Anti-Defamation League. She stated North Andover is going a lot of work on this topic. Dee commented that the Library, due to its visibility, gets the most traffic both physically and on social media. VII. FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET Dee reported that a budget for the current fiscal year does not exist. She stated that the Town Manager and Selectboard strongly support this Commission, so if a reasonable initiative arose, every effort would be made to fund it. Dee stated she would work with the Town Manager on the Fiscal Year 2022 budget to allocate some funds for this Commission. 3 VIII. FUTURE BUSINESS / AGENDA ITEMS Cathy requested adding a discussion of vocabulary and definitions to the next meeting agenda. Dee responded she would put that on the next agenda. She commented that the next few agenda should be lighter because of the storytelling and the time it will take out of each meeting. Dave asked if the Selectboard identified issues that the Commission needs to address. Members were not aware of any. Rev. Jay stated he would work on prompt questions for the storytelling. Jen asked to prioritize the Public Health and Economic Development Subcommittees considering what community members are going through during the pandemic. Toni seconded the idea and said that the immediate need is basic survival. Bria supported the previous ideas and added the need to prioritize public health issues and economic development. Deanna explained to the group that her role as Community Support Coordinator. She stated she works with residents on food insecurity, resource referrals or help create a resource. Supraja stated she would like to see work on the curriculum as a priority. Lorene listed the School Department’s efforts to address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:  Equity Work with Staff;  Principals Assessments;  Addressing Bias in Curriculum;  Expanding the Literature in Libraries;  NAPS Website; and  Parent University program. Lorene stated she worked with Deanna and the Library on the Summer Lunch Program. She stated that there are pockets of resources that are available, but the community does not know about them. Deanna commented that her role is to connect people. She stated there are pockets of resources and the challenge is to maximize resources for our community. Dee responded that would be a good use of the website. Cathy asked if the Commission has a place on the Town’s website. Dee responded not yet. She stated she envisions that there will be a simple page on the Town’s website, which will lead people to the more dynamic page on the Library’s website. X. ADJOURNMENT Motion: At 7:57, Lt. Foulds moved to adjourn the meeting and Dave seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned by a unanimous voice roll call vote. 4 Respectfully submitted, Denise Y. Casey Deputy Town Manager Interim Chair Documents used at meeting: Minutes from October 20, 2020 5