Salem Human Rights Coalition

Salem No Place for Hate Committee Meeting Minutes April 4, 2017 5:30 PM 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Members: Fawaz Abusharkh, Jim Bostick, Jeff Cohen, Rebecca Comage, Lucy Corchado, David Eppley, Nicole Lashomb, Alison Miller, Graysen Ocasio, Conrad Prosniewski, Scot Weisberg, Fara Wolfson Guests: Councillor Steve Dibble, Paul Drake, Helene Falcon, Marsha Finkelstein, Antonio Fresco, Tom Getz, Alexander Irving, Kevin Letourneau, Kathy Lique, Gavin McAuliffe, Max McAuliffe, Art McDonald, Brendan Murphy, LeeAnn O’Neil, Lisa Peterson, Nicole Ryan, Sarah Thomas, Heather Wilks-Jones, Ben Winthrop Welcome and Introductions at 5:30 PM. Chair’s Report Update from Fuzzy re: Open Mosque/Ask a Muslim Day – 4oo people attended with strong representation by local government and local organizations. Good questions and comments, “a heart-warming event” that was beyond expectations. Next will be a cookout over the summer. 25th anniversary of Walk for HAWC is April 30th at noon. All are welcome to join our team and walk with us. Please let us know if you plan to participate. Chamber of Commerce Awards will be held Wednesday, April 26. NP4H nominated for Community Service Award. Committee members are also nominated (Rainbow Times) Vice Chair: Minutes from March meeting were sent online. A motion was made to accept minutes with revisions sent to Fara by Friday. Upcoming Book Review to follow-up on film. In April we are discussing the film “I Am Not Your Negro” and reading James Badwin’s The Fire Next Time. Meeting will be held April 25 at 6:00 PM. Laura – Youth Commission represents every ward in Salem Congratulations to Rebecca for her induction into Salem State University’s Civic Engagement Hall of Fame. Treasurer’s Report: Current Balance is $3287.86 and that is due to boost in sales of Tshirt at our rally on March 25th when $480 (24 Tshirts) came in. Expenses this month included the Sanctuary for Peace/Santuario de Paz Buttons Community Engagement Subcommittee: Social media campaign started on March 16thwith “#salemsanctuarynow” - Whole point is to demonstrate the passion behind getting Sanctuary for Peace Ordinance passed. March 18th PEM Connect space with 70- 80 people stopping in and making posters throughout the day. Big event was the rally on March 25theven with sleet, snow, rain ~200 people showed up. People braved elements. Gratitude for all of the volunteers. Great community participation, Phenomenal effort by Graysen and Nicole. Councillor David Eppley added that it was very heartening to see that kind of support. And contacting your councilors helped shape the debate… turnout at meeting 3-400 people in “cafetorium” at Bentley disproportionately for the ordinance. Compliment everyone for or against because it was very civil and that is what we should aspire to… proud of my colleague Councillor Dibble for really researching the issue and trying to help bridge people together. Next step is second passage on April 13th. Will be a regular City Council Meeting. Presuming we do pass, Mark Lovely (brother of Steve Lovely, father-in-law of Jerry Ryan) is leading an effort to rescind ordinance on the ballot. That would require signatures of 12% of voting residents. If all signatures are certified then CC will determine when … It iis the right of any citizen to use this process and it needs to be respected. But when it comes to a civil rights or a social justice issue on the ballot, it is legal, but it’s not the right thing to do. A discussion regarding specifics for citizen’s initiatives ensued, including the sentiment that a stronger initiative could be better… Guest Speaker: Dr. Castillo, Salem State University Associate Dean of Students April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month … this year the focus is on awareness and education. April 10th there is a Mayoral Proclamation and Community Resource Fair in front of Old Town Hall. The purpose is to send the message that we do not tolerate violence, harassment or bias of any form. Theme this year is integrating new voices and being sure all voices are heard when discussing this issue. Important that all of us care about this issue and all of us work together. A week of events with a range of programs has been planned around the theme “Enough is Enough” and is open to students, faculty and community members. Goal is to provide best support for survivors and educate the community. Dr. Castillo will leave additional information and can provide education and resources beyond this week. Information is on SSU website. Public comment: Reminder that this portion is being facilitated and given feedback “The Last Word” has been added. - Expression of gratitude for Open Mosque (gavin and max – educational, stress- relieving… had to struggle with being victim of fear-mongering. Who is running the mosque, what is the impact on the community, what are they preaching – my neighbors in this mosque are worshipping just like I do in my church - Open Mosque Day Sunday but it’s Open Mosque every single day. - Being in the minority in different facets of our lives - If they are successful with petition I fear that it will be nasty moving toward election. In the end I think we will prevail but I am very concerned by heightened rhetoric. We need to be cognizant that among our own supporters we have some “hotheads” who may be a little more antagonistic… how do we have conversations with our folks. - Important if we don’t respect what someone says we treat them with respect. - So many people coming together with hearts open to listen and learn. Coming together in community. It’s what will help us reclaim our democracy and the values our country stands for. “I’m very moved.” - Thank you everybody for all the work you did. I have a question because I would like to see more done. Could we talk about value in helping out in city or helping out to make MA a sanctuary state with the Safe Communities Act  - It’s up to citizens to make that call… 351 cities and towns. Town of Ipswich Board of Selectmen passed Sanctuary City Initiative last night… heartening to see that others are taking some of our momentum and running with it - May 9th public meeting in Ipswich. It might be good to go and show support. - ECCO is working on Safe Communities Act so we can join their efforts. - I understand people are concerned but it’s important to focus on the positive energy and momentum and capitalize on that not to give too much power. - City Council voted against putting it on the ballot but it a citizen’s right to generate a petition. - Encourage others to keep talking. There’s still a lot of misinformation circulating. Having the physical document to point out what it does and what it does not do is important. - 2/3 adamantly opposed but if people get the facts and read we can find common ground. - I know the motive and the danger of this. We need to be aggressive explaining what the ordinance is and also explaining why some councilors are doing this - It was helpful to hear Councillor Dibble explain the intention of his email - Remember: wow this thing happened. Take stock. So many things we needed to happen happened. The opportunities to engage have been numerous… The House of Seven Gables event to sit with the document was great, before we get too focused on this petition is we need to …do what Brendan said and share the document. Give people the power to read it… we do know that this matters it meant something to students and teachers. Listen to the testimony by Lauren and by some students. Affirmation for them. We need to use cold heart facts and human stories on our side. - Post passage we should continue having the discussion because misinformation will not go away. I realize he is not here but I really want to thank Paul Tucker for speaking up in favor of the ordinance. - This issue is being framed as a snowflake, bleeding heart, liberal issue. But there is a very valid conservative argument to support sanctuary cities but if you think about it a little bit you can repaint it based on states’ rights, and federal government overstepping and forcing us to do their job.