Human Rights Commission

The City of Fitchburg Feb 12 2021 11:50 am Massachusetts Human Rights Commission PUBLIC MEETING HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Date: October 13, 2020 Time: 5:30pm Location: via Zoom In attendance were: Commissioners: Barbara Nealon, Adrian Ford, Hafsa Asfa, Jamie Darcangelo, Maritza Knight, Senovia Bolivar, Sam Squailia, Cheryl Maguy-Stewart, and Maryam Ashraf Guest[s]: City Clerk Mary de Alderete Meeting called to order at 5:30pm  Welcoming and Introductions conducted  Review of previous meeting minutes from: September 8, 2020 meeting minutes accepted as written.  Public Comment Period-Opportunity for the public to speak during a Commission Meeting Chairperson or designee will ask if anyone in the audience wishes to speak on any matter appearing on the agenda. If you wish to address the commission, raise your hand, when recognized, you must stand state your name and address and the reason for your speaking: none New business:  Presentation: Voting in Fitchburg- City Clerk Mary de Alderete provided the following information: Mary De Alderete gave a presentation in regard to voting in Fitchburg. She advised everyone to check their registration status before going to vote. The last day to register is October 24th, 2020. Voters have 3 different voting options for voting: 1. Mail in ballot in which ballots will be directly mailed to the recipient to fill. Mail in ballots can be directly mailed back to the voting office or placed in a ballot box that will be stationed nearby. All mail in ballots are due on October 28th by 5pm. Voting early is also an option for people who wish to vote earlier than the official date. 2. Early voting will take place on October 17th to October 30th from 9am to 2pm. 3. Voting at the polls is the last option for voters and it will take place on November 3rd from 7am to 8pm. There will be a few methods of aid that will be utilized during this event to ensure all participants remain safe and receive an equal opportunity to vote.  An electronic ballot will be made available for those who may have a vision impairment. It will make the screen print larger while also having the option of reading the questions aloud through the provided headphones.  Many bilingual poll workers will also be stationed at the polls since the ballot is only available in English and Spanish, thus necessitating the need of translators for other languages  Masks must be worn at all times and any more information in regard to voting will be available at vote@fitchburgma.gov or one can call 978-829-1820 Old Business:  A quick update on the meeting with the mayor was given. Ms. Davis, Ms. Nealon, Mr. Ford, and Mr. Thomas were able to make it but, due to connection errors, not everyone could attend. During the meeting, the affirmative action plan was discussed and it was recommended to develop an independent team to work with Fitchburg and tackle these issues. A representative from the HRC was requested and Dr.Maritza Knight volunteered for the position, to which she was unanimously approved.  Mr. Ford reported: Fitchburg was given around $600,000 in a block grant to combat the conflicts that have arisen due to Covid-19, and that none of the funds used so far have gone to organizations for women or POC {People of Color}, and that the majority of it went to corporations. This was ruled as a serious problem since the population that Covid has been reported to have hit the hardest, is the POC population. Essential workers are also being greatly effected, and they are also not receiving any proper protection from this grant either.Mr. Ford proposed to create a group that would help him solicit the needs of the community and the HRC unanimously agreed to this before deciding to team up with a few specific groups (ex: muslim, asian, lbtq) in the community to help directly ask the people what they may require during quarantine. Many survey questions are not inclusive to everyone and tend to be biased towards men and the white population. Thus, Mr. Ford requested the commissioners that are part of a minority group to draft a few questions they would like to include in the survey he is planning to send to the community.  Mrs. Asfa reported that she hadn’t received any further information in regard to the Racial Justice Program and Ms. Nealon said she was going to follow up with Jonathan Dudley helping to drive this initiative. Mrs. Asfa also pointed out the confusion surrounding Covid testing zones, but Mr.Darcangelo explained that the delay in results is due to the high demand in tests.  Interactive round table discussion in with membership followed –As how Pandemic has played a significant part of their day to day living providing membership with a form of neighborly supportive interaction which appeared to have been appreciated as an exercise during the meeting. Meeting adjourned: 6:30 Meeting minutes submitted by:  Maryam Ashraf and Barbara Nealon