[Frances Nwajei]: All right, so how was everyone's summer? Great. Great. Wonderful, wonderful to see all of you. Would we like to do a quick roll call just so that anybody watching will know who is here? Frances Wange, DEI Director for the City. Over to you, Diane. Okay, go on, go on, Steph.
[MCM00001268_SPEAKER_03]: Hi everyone, Steph Cornell, and I am a new member, and my pronouns are she, her.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you, Steph.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: I'm Diane McDonald, my pronouns are she, her, and I've been a member, I'm still fairly new, I only joined last year in November as well, so. I'll pop it over to Chief.
[Jack Buckley]: Hi, everyone. Chief Jack Buckley, Human Rights Commission now for finishing up five years, actually going into my sixth year with this. So I've been Chief of Police for those five plus years, and I've been on the Metro Police Department for 25 years in this great city. So I'm looking forward to continuing good work on the HRC.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: Thank you. My name is Immacula De Luz. I'm so happy to join us this year.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you so much, Immacula. Thank you to Francis. All right, so moving on, I just, I wanted to give the option to the commission.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Sorry, Frances, should we give Maureen the opportunity to introduce herself?
[Frances Nwajei]: Oh my gosh, I did not mean to do that. Sorry, Maureen, thank you. That's okay.
[SPEAKER_10]: That's okay, you can't see me, so I understand. My name is Maureen Curley, and my pronouns are she, her. I have been on the, this is my first meeting of the commission, And I apologize for not, you're not being able to see me. I'm still struggling to see if I can do it here with my computer as I speak to you. I don't know what's wrong, but you know, technology sometimes can be challenging. So thank you for your patience with me, and I'm delighted to be on this committee.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you, Maureen. Thank you. So we have one other person to introduce themselves, and that would be Mr. Schnapp.
[Steve Schnapp]: Thank you. My name is Steve Schnapp. I'm a volunteer, a longtime volunteer with the committee, with the commission. Thank you so much, Steve. Thanks, Steve.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Good to see you, Steve.
[Frances Nwajei]: So I wanted to give everybody the choice of the option. As you know, last, our final meeting for the season was in June 2023. And so we have those meeting notes, which I sent out. They can either remain as meeting notes or if the new commissioners feel comfortable because they were a part of that meeting, then a motion can be made to approve them and adopt them as minutes. So I wanted to present that option to see how comfortable everybody is about approving the June 2023 meeting notes into minutes.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: I'm comfortable if everyone else is.
[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, I'm fine. Okay. Steph, I can't tell if you were nodding. I thought, yep, okay.
[Adam Hurtubise]: I'm fine. Okay, all right.
[Frances Nwajei]: So one of the commissioners has to make a motion to approve the June 2023 meeting notes.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Motion to approve.
[Frances Nwajei]: and another commissioner has to second that motion.
[Jack Buckley]: I can second.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you. Okay, so the June 2023 meeting minutes have been adopted and everybody was in agreement, no changes needed. Okay. Diane, I turn it over to you now.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Thank you. And could I get access to share my screen? Yes, I just, what on earth is... Are you able to now? It's beautiful, yes, thank you. Okay, so here we go. So, so new commissioners I know we were all I know I reviewed this the last meeting when we all met in the summer. some North Star projects and things to work on in the coming months. And I think one of the, probably the biggest priority would be to fill out the remaining seats on the commission and try to get out into the community at upcoming events to get the word out. And I know that Francis had shared those promotional cards of who we are and what we're about. So I would just love to get a sense of, are you interested in that? And if so, we absolutely, sorry, some opportunities coming up in, you know, in a few weeks this month. And I will say that I attended the Brazilian Independence Day and also, you know, I saw Maureen there and we were passing out the cards to the attendees And any thoughts on focusing on recruiting for the three positions and trying to make appearances at upcoming events?
[SPEAKER_10]: I just want to chime in and say that I really enjoyed being at the Brazilian Flag Day the other day. And I think people were very interested in learning more about the commission. I think we had some interested parties that might be applying. So it seems to me like a great way to get the word out and try to connect with various different populations within Medford. So I would be willing to help with that.
[MCM00001268_SPEAKER_03]: Great. I would also echo Maureen being willing to help. And I am happy to volunteer, participate in the Mystic River celebration, have a table or whatever we see fit. I'm happy to be part of that. I spent a lot of time on the river, so.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: As do I, great. Wonderful.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: Can I speak in too, please?
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: My name, I'm so happy to get volunteer for them, for Medford City Wall or anything on Medford, whatever we need, I can help.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Thank you. And also, we're not limited to just these events and so grab some of these cards from Francis, call people you know, talk to your neighbors in your neighborhood, reach out to your networks too to get the word out. And I know that, and are you comfortable, Francis, with us even just forwarding those JPEG files in the email? And I'll hand off to you.
[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, that was why I actually raised my hand. I didn't know if the best way to get the hard copies, if people are also interested in having hard copies of the cards, but certainly please forward the JPEG. Let it go far and wide because Medford is truly a diverse and unique city and the boards and commissions should truly be reflective of this wonderful city. Even if folks want me to mail them, just shoot me an email and I don't mind mailing the cards to you if that's more convenient.
[SPEAKER_10]: The cards are very handsome looking, I think. I think it'd be great to have the JPEG as well, but if we can get our hands on more of them, They are, I brought some home after the Brazilian festival, and I talked to some people in my neighborhood, so.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. Okay. They're beautiful. They did a great job on the design, so thank you for getting the resources for us, Frances. Yeah, love the QR code. So, okay, so we've got some upcoming events. Would we need to order, like request a table? Do you have any insight into these bigger events, Frances, like the Mystic River celebration? Would we have to reserve a table? Actually, the time has gone by for that.
[SPEAKER_10]: It was last week. Oh my goodness. I think it's too late to do that one this year. Oh, okay.
[Frances Nwajei]: But maybe if you plan on going if you plan on attending pay keeping some of the cards with you. Right. Yeah. You know, October fast if that is something that you know do you do you want a table table that you're going to sit at, or do you just want to attend and have some of the cards on you to give out, it's. you know I think that that is that needs to be decided because if you have a table right I sort of imagine that something should be going on the table some you know resources and things of that nature that are going to they're going to attract people yeah you know um but whichever ones you are interested in as long as I have enough time you know, I will do my best to make it happen. Definitely the disability fare if you want a table the night before, obviously that I can make, I can make, I can make happen and if you prefer, you know, just to attend and you just want me to make sure I have extra cards on me, I would just need a reminder. You know, but, you know, a simple email to me works best that you know I can. I don't always work within the city hall hours so I can always make you, you know, stay late. Anything of that nature, that's going to be convenient for you.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: So my, I think it just be easier overall to just show up and talk to people and, you know, enjoy the events and also, you know, pass out the cards. That might be the easiest thing to do, but I'm happy if folks think a table's better, I definitely can get on board with that too.
[Jack Buckley]: But for my two cents is sometimes a table just kind of anchors you to one location and doesn't allow you to sort of socialize naturally and moving around so I'm very much in favor of disregarding the table and just kind of getting out there and socializing. You know, we've had a lot of the city has a lot of events like this and the more we attend the more we get our. our name out there and what we're trying to accomplish and what we're trying to do. And it's a large part of what we do is just word of mouth. And that comes from just one-on-one conversations and just group conversations. These are the great opportunities to do that. So I think this should be a priority moving forward. Kill the rest of our commissioners and get out in the public.
[SPEAKER_10]: I have to agree the other day I think walking around and going to people at their tables and then talking about the commission seemed to work pretty well because a lot of these fairs if you do have something they want you to have something that you can interact with the crowd with like I know I do it for the royal house and we have to have something that engages people otherwise they kind of go by and if there's nothing to pick up so it seems as though the best thing would be to to really kind of circulate around more.
[Jack Buckley]: And I know this is strange. Sorry, Frances. I know this is strange, but the more we talk about the Human Rights Commission, the more we get better at talking about the Human Rights Commission, right? Like the more we engage in how proud we are of the commission and what we want to discuss with the commission. So you can't just do it once. You have to do it a lot. You have to get out there publicly to do that. And sometimes if you sit at a table waiting for people to come to you, it may not happen, right? So I think we will learn and we will do better in communicating our mission, our goals, our visions, and all those sorts of things. The more we do it, the better we do it.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, right. Sounds good. Thank you.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you all. So maybe what I will do is I will divvy up these cards. Chief, I already have some here, so I'll leave these ones here with you. And I will put the cards in the mail. to the other commissioners so that you have them on you. And anytime you're, you know, you're out and about and you feel like you want to take them with you, please feel free to do so. Because I certainly appreciate your time and your intent with helping to get the word out. I think it's just so much easier having the QR codes because folks can just scan and it takes you right to the page. And, you know, you can read the page on the phone together or they can bookmark the page on their phone, which is a lot, I think a lot better, personally.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: So, oh, go ahead.
[SPEAKER_10]: I just joined.
[Adam Hurtubise]: Hello.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: What was this?
[Adam Hurtubise]: Hello.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Okay. Are we. So you're, you're back on. So Maureen, is that you?
[SPEAKER_10]: Yes, I am there. I can't get a video, but my I'm here. My name is there. No worries. Yeah. It's a beginning. It's a beginning.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: So, okay, great. So a lot of these dates that are on the calendar are opportunities for us to just get the word out so we can recruit for those remaining open positions. And then I have this last bullet point here. Is there an anchor event we wanna consider planning for? And I did highlight International Human Rights Day, which is in December, on December 10th. I know we're very lean commission right now. And so, you know, it's really situated in the work that we do at the same time, it's a December event. So we really need to make sure we have a strong value proposition because folks are, you know, it's the holidays. And so, Does anyone have any thoughts because it's probably something that could be a lot of work and we really need to be organized and be clear about role clarity and who does what and be willing to march it forward, or should we be filling out the seats coming together as a commission, you know, and like planning our goals and then beginning the events, maybe with MLK Day and Black History Month. So I'm just putting this all out there, you know, what vision do we have for starting work on actual, you know, human rights events in the coming months outside of recruiting?
[SPEAKER_10]: Does the city ever done anything before for international human rights? I mean, has there been any recognition by the mayor? I think if anything, we can jump on or expand.
[Frances Nwajei]: I am not aware of what has been done in the past, but I would say that given, you know, given that December 10th is recognized as Human Rights Day all over the world, that, I mean, a thought is, if we want to start something, how about the HRC penning a message, right, that can be shared broadly? right so that that way we're not we're not taking on more than we can actually you know physically do um because it is it is two months away but I think that that gives like doing a message a joint message is very different than planning an actual event yeah So I think that that is a great, you know, a great place to start, it's a much lighter lift, but it's equally impactful. And that message could go out citywide, right, we could if we get it in time we could make sure that it's in the newsletter, the physical hard copy. of the newsletter that the senior centre does, we could make sure that it's on the city website, we could make sure that it's sent to the superintendent to be included in the school newsletter, we could send it to all city employees. we could, you know, have it posted, we could send it to, you know, our city councillors, members of our school committee, and that's sort of like, we're creating the identity of the Human Rights Commission, and this is sort of our message on International Human Rights Day.
[SPEAKER_10]: And there's another thing too, I mean, sometimes the city would gather together and just acknowledge the fact that this exists and makes a pledge. Is that what you're sort of thinking about Francis? Like the city of Medford, you know, come up with some wording about it, but have it either some kind of perhaps a resolution for the city council or a resolution coming from the mayor. I'm not sure what the mechanism might be, but it's done all the time in Congress and at the state house where, and then that feeds into, a statement talking about what that means.
[Frances Nwajei]: Is that what you're thinking about? So that's a different angle of what I was thinking of. I was thinking of the commission itself just writing a statement of international human rights. But that's another great idea to sort of combine that. I'm not sure of the process for when those resolutions are read, because I've heard them read before, like, let it be known that we mark such and such day as correct yeah but i can that's something i can certainly look into it looks like chief has his hand up and may actually have the response i don't know why i raised my hand that time i've just chimed in on the past um so you know in massachusetts
[Jack Buckley]: And again, COVID has always thrown a lot of things off for a lot of people. But there is a state statute where the governor has to make a declaration of human rights on an annual basis. And I know Congress and the White House makes a declaration. And so the mayors have done similar proclamations and declarations. But as it relates to the governor of Massachusetts, it's just something we should actually look out for and prepare for. They invite human rights commissions from around the Commonwealth to attend. And I've done it. We've done it. We've gone to the State House and where they've redid the governor's proclamation. And then there's a giant photo on the State House stairs of all the Human Rights Commission attendants. And we kind of talk with different groups of human rights things. Now, I'm pretty sure it's by invite. And I don't know who they would send that or what they've done in the past. But we have gone. So it's something we should sort of prepare for come December as a group.
[Unidentified]: That sounds great.
[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, wow. I'm echoing. I've just made a note of that, Chief, to look into. I've also made a note, Maureen, about how do resolutions get passed, if that's the actual word. So I will look into both.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: That's great. And I do love the idea of the Human Rights Commission making a statement because like right now, we're getting the word out about us and kind of seeding at all community events throughout our city and then our own networks. And then, you know, by making that statement, and then if, you know, and then if it leads, you know, and then we get the resolution, it just really just gives us so much more visibility with all residents, you know, everyone in Medford, I love it.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: You know, I'll say, we might do something along the lines of, you know, how the mayor or somebody does that message to people sort of saying, this is something that's going on in the city, or this is something we want to recognize. So a combination of us actually sitting down and writing something which I would be happy to help with. And then somehow keying that in with what the chief was saying about maybe something in the state and then making some kind of declaration. It begins to raise the issue and it would help with recruitment perhaps too. Yeah.
[Frances Nwajei]: Definitely, these are all really great ideas. You mean the robocall, Maureen? You mean the robocall that the mayor does, right? Yeah. Yeah. I'm writing it all down because I can see all linking in my head. So these are all, these are all great. I will definitely, I will swiftly try to figure out a response for the, how resolutions are passed, just so that we don't run into time constraints so that I can sort of like, prepare and say, hey, Human Rights Commission would like to have something like this done. Certainly look into if the governor is going to make a declaration for human rights, if there's a specific theme, if there are invites going out. And I will calendar a robocall will need to go out for December 10th or just in December in general.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: In our state, reps also might be able to help us in some way with that too, Frances. I don't know if you work with Sean and others, but they might help in some way. I know everything falls on you, but I would be happy to help write something, a statement that we could pass around and bring to this meeting. if that would be helpful.
[Frances Nwajei]: I think that that would be great. I will never say no, but I would like the other commissioners to chime in. I will always accept any offer of assistance.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Steph, what do you think?
[MCM00001268_SPEAKER_03]: I'm okay with that. Yeah, I'm cool with what Maureen shared and I'm also happy to help and I think collectively sharing the same sentiment as everyone of kind of maybe getting, like filling out the remaining seats, you know, kind of get a little bit more foundation, you know, amongst us all and any new members that are gonna join and then kind of start chipping away and scaling it a little bit. So heavy lift, but lighter in the sense from maybe like a resource standpoint.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: So I have a question, is there a particular, Is there a particular need or how do we go about. I know that it's open to everybody in Medford but is there a particular diverse populations that we would like to see join this, or is it just, are we just generally going out some guidance along that? I don't know how we feel.
[Frances Nwajei]: You know, I think that it's one of those things where we have to be honest and we have to, you know, look at ourselves, right? So we're on this committee. I really don't count as a member of the commission, right? Right now, Five people are on. I mean, I think we're doing a little bit better. We have Rob, you know, Commissioner Klein's not here today, but we have Chief and Commissioner Klein, so we have the male representation, and then everybody else is female. And unless there's something that I don't know, we also all seem to be able-bodied, right? Is that really a representation of the Medford community? So I think that that's how we should be, I feel we should be looking at things. And human rights has a different meaning and a different, power for certain groups than it does for other groups. My lens is going to be different from the lens of somebody who had to leave their homelands to get to safety, you know, and I would prefer that that's the person that brings the lived experience to the table when we're talking about issues that could impact that group. So I think it's just about being cognizant. You know, again, anybody can apply, right? But what are you bringing to the table? I mean, if you're a writer, Maureen, and I'm a writer, and it's just the two of us, then we're not gonna get very far, right? So, but if you're a writer, and let's say I'm something, you know, an artist, you know, we can, we can share and we can grow and that's, that's going to be the key, all the different lenses that will create other and feel that sense of, of community, to the extent possible.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Immaculate.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: Yes, I'm there. Today I just understand because I need to know where I am, you know? I need to know everything and understand everything. I just closed my mouth and I understand what I'm gonna do, what we're gonna do, you know? Maybe next time I can talk too.
[Frances Nwajei]: That's fine immaculate but know that you are always welcome to join in. If you haven't, if you have an idea of thought that you want to share this is a free open space for commissioners to talk, discuss and build and, you know, eventually we'll get to a place where it will be less of me talking and more of the commissioners talking and building and me just taking, you know, notes on things that I need to get done to help support. Okay, I see.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: So, so I feel we've got, we've got some good marching orders between, you know, the statement and, you know, potential declaration. And these are events that are coming up. I did, I know that I did place, you know, indigenous people, people's day on there and should we consider working on a land acknowledgement, but maybe I, you know, I feel we've got enough, but if anyone feels we need to, we could entertain that, but I'm happy to remove it as well. Thoughts?
[Frances Nwajei]: Parking lots, putting it in the parking lot for next year, an option.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Oh, absolutely. Okay. I'll parking lot that. So, all right. Thank you. I think we can move on to the next agenda item, or do you want me to just keep scrolling? I feel we need to have more of the, we need the commission filled out to really continue on with the calendar. Does everyone agree?
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: I kind of do, because it really does help us sort of determine who we are. It really gives us more hands to do the work. It seems as though if we really could work on this thing for December, that seems reasonable. It seems as though we have enough time and we could work together on that. And in the meantime, really try to get out there and find people who are interested. Perfect. I love it. Great.
[Frances Nwajei]: Good. Thank you so much, Diane. I appreciate that. And again, the calendar is very fluid, isn't it? But it's lovely to see all the different events that occur in the city. And that's only a snippet. That's only what we know. So again, recruitment update. On the same thing, everybody's had an opportunity to see the cards. I'm trying to get clarification on what the age requirement is. if that is if there is an age requirement because I have had inquiry from some much much younger people but I don't want to say yes go ahead and apply and find out somewhere within mass general law or something or rather there is something. So once I get clarification on that you know I will, you know, I will move forward. But that's part of what I mean when I say reflective of the community.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: It would be great to have a young person on here, you know, really recruit someone like from the high school. They've got that really active community service group at the high school that I bet we could probably reach out and find some people there. I think it'd be great.
[Frances Nwajei]: Yes, I reached out to the CCSR, and I'll just say that I'm waiting to hear back. Because the person that was there is not the same person anymore. So not sure if there have been, not sure if there have been changes, but I have reached out at another about another event and I'm still waiting to hear back. I, you know, I feel like this really should be because you want to do it versus you're told to do it. And that has, that does have a different impact. I also realized that, you know, sometimes it's not the high school, it's the middle school, because I will never forget at the first Pride planning committee event, you know, my co-chair was a middle school student and during one of our meetings pointed out that the music that we were talking about, nobody really listens to that music. So again, you know, when you are, when you're saying reflective of the community, right, I can honestly say that I have a vision of what the community, you know, what a 14 year old person in this community wants to see their community become. So I think we're just going to have to keep an open mind, but I will remain diligent with recruitment, diligent with inviting people, pushing our fabulous QR code and sharing the recruitment JPEG far and wide. So there's that. And now, is there any other comments commissioners on the recruitment piece before we move on to new business.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Just just excited to just get out there it's a falls my favorite season it's a fun time of year to be doing this.
[Frances Nwajei]: So that means that you'll be running a Halloween recruitment series. Is that what you're saying? Commissioners, I think Diane just volunteered for something. I don't know what.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Oh my goodness. I'm game for anything.
[Frances Nwajei]: So the next agenda item, and everyone should have received it, hopefully, is the letterhead for the Human Rights Commission. And I'm just trying to pull it up now.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: It looks nice. Beautiful. Very nice. Did you design that, Francis?
[Frances Nwajei]: Um, I did not personally design it, I had some help, I stole the idea from Diane had sent me some thoughts on something, and had used the top case, and it gave me an idea and I remember that sometimes the commissioners like to write letters to city council. are about an issue or in response to something. And, you know, part of having an identity is formalizing things. So having your, you know, your letterhead. So I asked for some help from communications and asked if they could get this together for us. And Emma, who is this communication specialist, graciously worked on it for me. And here we are. So if every, you know, commissioners, it's up to you to decide if you want to adopt this and this will be your letterhead moving forward. It's a word document. You already have it and I can always send it out again.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: I think it's beautiful and it's giving us a human rights commission brand. It just makes us more, you know, real for the community, just more professional.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: Agreed.
[Frances Nwajei]: So somebody would need to make a motion if you want to adopt it, and then somebody would need to second that motion. Okay.
[Jack Buckley]: I can motion to adopt it. I love it. It's good.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: Can it? Yeah, it's very good. It's very, very beautiful. Yes. I'm sorry, was that Steph who seconded? I said it's beautiful.
[Frances Nwajei]: Oh, thank you, Immacula. All right. Okay. Great. So this is your official letterhead for now. And again, we are not, you know, we're not tied into this for life, right? This is just the jumping point. I mean, who knows, we could get a graphic designer. As a future, and they could say Francis know we, you know, it needs to be this way this way this way because it makes it more accessible, but at least for now I feel better that the commission has something. Right. Thank you all.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yes.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you. Thank you for saying, you're welcome. So, unfortunately I have to report that back in August. Well, let me go back a little bit. So, with my other commission, the Commission for Persons with Disabilities, anytime I get something that requires my signature for a ADA variance request, or a business that could be You know, violating accessibility laws and things of that nature, I always make sure that I inform the commission. So in this situation, I believe that it was August, a family came in to City Hall and they went to the clerk's office. And after hearing the story, the clerk's office determined that they needed my assistance. I sat with this family, the family's from Chelsea. And the family alleged, again, we have to remember this is what they're reporting so it's alleging the family alleged discrimination by a Medford business on the basis of natural origin. The family is not a Caucasian family. The family are speakers of English, but definitely not as their first language. And it was, it had to do with, I believe, a wedding. Even though, from what the family described, there was no actual statement of, we won't rent to you because you have this. But it was a lot more innuendos. If your music is too loud, we're going to call the police. And again, that concerns me, using our police officers as weapons. Right. So, this is, again, this is what they felt. I took their information, I took them to go see another location, just in case they were interested. And I asked if they, and I asked for support from law enforcement because I didn't want to just like send a family down here, and we don't have anybody on hand, you know, that can support them. Fortunately, you know, they were willing to either come and take the statement from the family or have somebody ready to meet the family when the family got here. So I did offer that the family did say that they would file a police report and it is my understanding that they followed through on that. Um, so I'm just, I'm sharing this for informational purposes. Um, we're not investigators of these, um, of these types of issues and you have to approach them delicately on my end. I just need to follow up with the business to say, Hey, I just want to make you aware. We received this complaint. So I'm just letting you know, as a method business, what the expectations are. I'm not saying you're guilty, I'm not saying you're innocent, just. So that's why that is on there as part of my way of sharing. And I hope that I have shared this as confidentially as possible because I'm not going to share the business's name because I have no way of, you know, Frances' corner, you know, did this. I'm not gonna put a business out there when there is, I'm just taking information.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: So, Francis I'm not familiar with what the procedure for this is that then end your involvement, it is now an official complaint with the.
[Frances Nwajei]: law enforcement and that's it for you okay yeah my involvement i mean i took the complaint i took the um complaint i advised them of their rights i even advised them of um the mcad the better business bureau they were not familiar they were not did not appear as familiar with with that but they wanted to file a police report so you know We did all the forms and file the police report and I attempted I supported them and looking at another location, but that is where my involvement. Aside from following up with the business and saying hey just want to give you a heads up. And I did check in with law enforcement. They did file the police report, but it's not within my role or my purview to ask what law enforcement is going. My role is not to direct law enforcement on how to handle their investigations because they have set standards of operation already.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: In your experience, this has happened a number of times. common in our city just.
[Frances Nwajei]: In my experience, since I've been with the city in the last year and a half, I shouldn't say only, because one report is too many, right? But I received three. One was a phone call, and even though I sent the paperwork over, and I made a lot of effort, because the person was shopping in Palestine, not from our city, the person never returns the paperwork. Another one was the holding company of the alleged incident is not based in our city is based in another city, we were just a pass through. So I had to direct them to that and this is this would be the third.
[Jack Buckley]: To what I'm sorry, for instance, is the limits that I can talk about this and obviously says within law enforcement and we're doing our part as we move forward on this, but I have to kind of honor some. you know, keeping this kind of restricted for a little while, right? And the sensitivities of going forward. But to the second part of the question, in my five years as chief, I've not seen this, I'm racking my brains, but it's certainly not memorable that I can say I've had this before in a session. So as far as this city goes, I don't, you know, this is a rare occurrence to come across my desk. Thank you.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, that's helpful. Thank you.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah. And this is where I really feel that our work as a commission, and just getting the word out about ourselves and who we are, I mean we can think of art like we're the soul of Medford, right. And, I mean, we should feel empowered to also show up at. places of business that you know our public facing with, you know, because on the card it says, we want to make sure you know we embrace diversity and respect across differences and we want to make sure that everyone who lives in and works in and also passes through our city has the same opportunity to thrive. And I think that, you know, we should also make sure that all of the businesses are getting that message in a very proactive positive way. It's just like, hey, know, introduce yourself, this is who we are, you know, you know, be willing to put this up for us, you know, we're recruiting, but also just making sure that these places of business know that, you know, they're numb, you know, there's, it's a city priority, and there's a commission devoted to this.
[Frances Nwajei]: It was really lovely to see Laurel from the Chamber show up for Brazilian Independence Day. And I've really seen the Chamber try as much as possible to be at as many of the non-typical and non-traditional events. And I think that that is huge. Again, you're talking about when we talk about lean and we talk about resources, not many resources out there. But I am happy that this is only, this is three in the year and a half that I've been here, you know, says a lot about the city and the community.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, glad it's an anomaly.
[Frances Nwajei]: So moving on to the final piece that I had sent, which are the HRC touchstones. So in DEI spaces where discussions can become very passionate and evoke a lot of emotion, we typically use touchstones as a way of grounding and setting the tone of the meeting. based on the last Human Rights Commission meeting that we had and some meetings prior, and also based on another meeting that I attended, not related to the Human Rights Commission, where when the chairperson opened it up to any member of the public that would like to speak, The person that spoke had nothing but a bunch of expletives. Again, this is zoom we can say who is that oh my gosh we can do all that. Anybody can put whatever name they want. This is this is technology at its best. This is a lot of vulnerability. But we need to have some foundational guidelines that are going to foster and promote respect. So I took some suggestions that I have worked with before, as well as suggestions of some of the things that other commissioners had shared with me, and I put them together in the document, and I just said HRC Touchstones, and it's got the big draft watermark. So I'm going to share that now. I know that everyone received a copy, And really this gets said at the beginning of each meeting. That's how I've used it in the past, but I'm not opposed to tweaking. I'm not opposed to adding. Some of the language I wouldn't change because it is a direct adoption from the community health network. So I would like to sort of like leave it at that. But I feel like when we have something like this, should we find ourselves in a situation where we open up for members of the public, and, you know, Diane I'm going to use you as an example like literally the person jumped on and was like,
[Adam Hurtubise]: here, Diane, you eff this up.
[Frances Nwajei]: And just was just, it was very, very distracting. And it was very, very distressful to the people that were on that commission. And when, you know, you've not had that experience before, your immediate instinct is to respond. And it's sort of like fields the fire. And I, you know, I felt terrible because it really threw the chair off to the point where the chair couldn't eject the person. And hey, you know, these are open meetings. So anybody, you can't say you're not gonna let someone in. So we didn't even end the meeting. We ended up terminating the meeting as a result.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: So- I think these are excellent norms that you've put forward to just ground the meeting and the culture of respect.
[Frances Nwajei]: And maybe what we do is we take turns, you know, each meeting it's somebody's turn to read it. It's another person, so it doesn't, you know, it doesn't fall on one person.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: I think these, I mean, I've used these a lot in my career at meetings then, really by reviewing them in the beginning even quickly or having them up and going through them is an excellent idea because it does sort of allow new people that enter to understand it. And it reminds everybody that, you know, being respectful, listening, speaking for yourself, really important one, not trying to say, well, we all feel this or something. It really is really important. And I think I have to understand, I have to say that the last one, I'm not quite sure I totally understand when things get difficult, turn to wonder. So you're saying I wonder about this?
[Frances Nwajei]: So that last one is just a reminder that when things get difficult, again, sometimes, you know, there might be situations that people struggle with. An answer or a response is not necessarily going to be available right then and there. And turning to wonder means just think, pause, stop. OK. Reflect. Steph, I'm so sorry, I just saw the little thing. Oh, now Chief Buckley, but Steph's going before you, Chief. Steph's hand was up first.
[MCM00001268_SPEAKER_03]: That's fine. I really enjoy them as well. And just a couple of words that I think collectively, like we've shared on this call today have been like the word acknowledge, and then I think live experience. And so if there was a way to maybe say something about acknowledge others' lived experience. Because for myself, I think when I think of human rights, I think it's like the recognition and respect of a person's dignity. And so acknowledging somebody's lived experience is important for us to then learn and create space for each other.
[Adam Hurtubise]: That's great. Thank you so much. I love that. That's really good.
[Frances Nwajei]: So I'm just making a note to myself to add there, acknowledge others lived experience to promote human dignity. Does that capture what you were?
[MCM00001268_SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think so. And then open it up to others too. How did that, how Francis heard that, does that sound?
[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. Does that capture everyone?
[Adam Hurtubise]: Yes.
[Frances Nwajei]: Yes. So what I will do is I will make sure that I add that line in as well. I know that Commissioner Klein got tied up, but I, again, We can, you know, the commission can go ahead since there is quorum to vote or to just wait until the edit is done. But I would like to see if Commissioner Klein has something to add or something that Commissioner Klein feels should be tweaked, changed, because it would be our commission's touchstones. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that, Steph. All right, Chief.
[Jack Buckley]: You can couple comments first. You can see that Steph and I have read the rules because we raised our hands almost instantaneous. But acknowledging that comment, that's a great addition to this. The only thing I want to ask, because I sit on other commissions and we've not had this problem in the Human Rights Commission, but should we consider when we get to the members of the public to share comments. Should we put a time frame on that, a limitation, or are we against that sort of thing? It does come in handy in other commissions. We have never had that problem here in the Human Rights Commissions, but I just figured if we're going to discuss it, let's just throw that out there now and think about that.
[Frances Nwajei]: Chief, that's a great question. I mean, in my two commissions, we don't have a limit, but on the one that I sit on as strictly a liaison, there is a time limit. I've not experienced that problem. I've experienced the opposite because And when I say the opposite, I mean discussion of things that are not on the agenda, right? So it kind of throws the flow of the meeting off and you can't provide a response because you weren't prepared for it. That's definitely some food for thought.
[Jack Buckley]: And if you get individuals who just disagree, sometimes they want to keep pressing points and you have to be able to move on. That's one point. Not that I don't think any of us are against listening to contrary points, but I do think there has to be a limit. We have a very specific time frame that we can run this meeting. We have to end at seven o'clock, so we have to kind of keep that in mind. And I also, my other thought is that, you know, we don't want to just say, hey, well, if we, if we find a need for this in the future, we can amend this, which we could, but it can also be kind of insulting. We had a meeting where, you know, we didn't have a rule in place, now we want to change it right away on something. I think it's better to think about it and deal with it now as opposed to sometime in the future. And I don't have a thought in mind and say that we try to push in the traffic commission, say three minutes, but we often go beyond that because there's some valuable discussion, so.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: So I was just curious for clarification, Chief, you mean that you're limiting the amount of time a particular individual, not the entire section of comments from the general public?
[Jack Buckley]: Uh, I, my, my intent was individuals because I don't know how much time we'll ever have. I mean, we may have a number of items on an agenda and only have a small, we often have only a small window for public comment. Um, if we, if we say, Hey, listen, the last half hours for public comment, we're limited in our HSE to only an hour meeting. So, I mean, I guess it can be thought of in both terms, but it's sort of the individual is what other commissions and committees.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: And that certainly makes sense because then it just. allows people to just be concise with their comments. And there can be some back and forth then, but not to go on. I mean, I don't think that's a bad rule.
[Jack Buckley]: Yeah. And we can certainly look at if the comments provoke questions from the commissioners, then they're allowed to speak for it. I mean, it's, I think it depends on the conversation typewise, but it has come in handy and other commissions and committees and just a platform.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Yeah, I think it's important because it also helps set expectations. And so, you know, there's, there's the commissioner's agenda that we must get through for our meeting. And then X amount of time is allocated for public comments. I know that.
[Adam Hurtubise]: Sorry. I know that.
[Frances Nwajei]: What, are we going to box now? I know that in the meeting that I'm the liaison for, when it's open up for public participation, I believe the language is, we will now open up for public participation. Please note that each member of the public is, you know, is allowed to speak for two minutes on specific area of topic or whatever. Should there be time, then you may return to speak on other areas, but you can't stay like 10 minutes on something. So I could ask if it's written somewhere. I think it's written somewhere. Go ahead, Chief, we know you read the notes and everything.
[Jack Buckley]: So Steve just put a great question in the chat and it's, you know, do we do our business at the end of our meeting, open it up to public participation? And I do think that should be part of it. But my thought process is when we do, if we get to a vote, right, where the Human Rights Commission has a motion perhaps we should entertain some public comment prior to the commission taking a vote, a public comment. I mean, it does make for longer meetings, et cetera, but I think, you know, you wouldn't want to, you know, everyone votes positive and at the end of the meeting say, hey, listen, I wish you hadn't voted on this because of this, this, and this. So you can allow for public comment on just the motion, and then still have a public comment at the end of the meeting that could be anything. I have a question of the Human Rights Commission. How do I join the Human Rights Commission? That sort of thing. So it's actually a pretty valid question to put in the chat.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, it does seem as though people might have important information that would be really valuable to hear at the time of deliberation as opposed to the end. Again, if it was limited and pertinent to the particular thing we're voting on, that seems reasonable to me. And if in fact we have to take a little more time to do it, it seems like the right thing to do.
[Adam Hurtubise]: Agreed.
[Frances Nwajei]: As a matter of fact, I just, I think, Chief, what you said is the way it works on the floor, which is emotion is, you know, emotion is brought forward. You know, people discuss blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then, you know, any members of the public should be able to speak on that motion because I might want to say no, but a member of the public could end up saying something and then it's, you know, It could change the way I choose to vote, and then the commissioners should vote but I just I want to make sure that folks understand that it's for the motion, it's not to direct the work of the commissioners it's not the public meeting. space to say other things. It's specifically pertains to the motion that is on the floor.
[Jack Buckley]: And I think if the chair recognizes and says, we'll open it up to public comment on this motion, the chair will, we have two minutes, three minutes, whatever we say, and then we move forward because I think that can be valuable information gained prior to a vote from people outside of us.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: And then at the end, you could still say, Now general questions about procedure or whatever, as you're saying, you know, how do I join or whatever would be very appropriate at the end. Definitely, definitely. I like that. Good work, Steve.
[Jack Buckley]: You've seen a few meetings.
[Frances Nwajei]: All right, so I'm going to send, I'm going to edit the touchstones. I'm going to send it to Commissioner Klein because that input would be important. Then table to the next meeting to do the formal motion. Sounds like I'm hearing that at that time we would like to open it up you know, we do a motion, then there's a motion on the floor, then we open it up to members of the public who would like to speak that time. And then commissioners can go ahead and take their vote. But we will always reserve the latter half of the meeting for public input and public participation. Sounds good. Okay. And maybe what I'll do is I'll make sure that when, when the agenda is done, see, I'm just using a format that I inherited, um, outline if we ever, if, if I think that something might end up being emotion outline that sort of, Hey, if somebody is interested and they only have a limited time, they can sort of guesstimate for themselves when that topic's going to come up. Okay. Any other items that are not on the agenda that should probably should have been or should be discussed? What's for dinner and things of that nature. I have had a request about when we're going to meet in person. I, you know, I'm definitely open to having a hybrid meeting where some of us are online and some of us are in person. I would just love to be able to have that technology. The only other option is maybe on a day that I am, you know, in my own office space, if somebody wants to join me, I would just need to know ahead of time so that I can set up my chairs as more conferencing style. But I, you know, always remain open to those options. announcement, disability resource fair. Anyone who wants to volunteer to help with this event, let me know. We've been planning this event since April and I can't believe it's almost here and there's like 601 things left to do. So I, you know, take this please as an invite to all of you, bring your friends, your family if you're available. and understand the dis in disability is very small for a reason because it is truly the ability that shines and that stands out. So I'm excited about that. And again, just a friendly reminder as you're all Medford residents that the Charter Study Committee meets via the Zoom platform on the first Thursday of the month. And the link is available on the city calendar. And they do have a survey out as well as a video that's an auditory version of the glossary. that explains different terms, and it's also translated into multiple languages. There's a fact sheet, every, you know, all of this I think is important so if you feel that this is, you know, this is something you want to look at. please go to the city website. People ask me what is a charter, I just give the simple answer that it's kind of like your constitutional method because I don't know how else to really explain it. And yes, I sit on as the liaison but I'm not a member. I'm I message, like, go take things do things they need get things translated that kind of stuff. But just doing my due diligence to help share the word.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: The survey is not really lengthy but it definitely asks your thoughts about, you know, how we run the city, and what we might change is kind of interesting.
[Frances Nwajei]: A lot of cutting went into that survey because I had, you know, it also had to be at a specific reading level, it's slightly over. Right. There was a lot of thought that went into the original version and, you know, just people being willing to take the guidance and recommendation until we could get it to a much lower reading level, which has been proven to be more accessible. Sixth grade reading level is the most accessible reading level. So language, anything that you want to send out broadly really should be there at that level. And you can, you know, there's an app called Hemming app and you just copy and paste the document in there and it does it all for you. I mean if you've got like and sometimes it throws things off so sometimes I'll take out like when it says like mass general law blah blah blah and it's you know it's got those big names versus so and so I'll take that out because it'll just throw it off you know and then I'll edit everything else and then just paste that back in yeah interesting yeah It's a lot. There's a lot that can be done, you know, out there now. But wait, there's a I see a chat. Did I miss something? Oh, you're welcome, Steve. Thank you. Am I late? Am I late with my response? So at this stage, we would like to open this up to any members of the public that would like to speak on any of the agenda items thus far. And Steve, you have the floor.
[Steve Schnapp]: I don't want to, thank you. I don't want to speak to any of the agenda items necessarily. Just want to say in the, let the new commissioners know, as the veterans do know, I have volunteered and taken notes, not official minutes, just notes, which I then pass on to the secretary and to, Francis, for the meetings in the past. I missed the June meeting. I think it was the second meeting in seven years that I didn't attend and take notes. I am willing to do that if folks find that helpful. I'm also willing not to do it. Let me know and I can do that.
[Frances Nwajei]: You don't have to ask me twice. Don't ask me. I'm already biased on that. I don't like taking notes, so I graciously turn it over to the commissioners. Would you find that helpful commissioners, especially given that we are quite lean right now. And, you know, what happens is Steve usually takes the notes and then they come, you know, to myself and the secretary and whatever I've scrawled, I, you know, that may not be in the notes. I add that, and then we send it out. Would we find that helpful and supportive? Seems to me that it is. Thank you. You're saying it is helpful to you, Frances, right? Yeah, I mean, I make little notes because I have to remember what I have committed myself to. But it's difficult to run meetings, listen actively, and take notes at the same time.
[Steve Schnapp]: I do know that the enabling ordinance identifies several officers for the commission and one secretary and their responsibility really is to take notes. So I don't know if this commission right now has a secretary, but in the past it did, but nonetheless, I took a draft, I would call it draft notes and submitted it to folks for editing and corrections, et cetera.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: I think we're tracking toward elections. Hopefully if we can be a commission of nine, you know, perhaps in November, maybe December, Francis, I think it just depends. So all seats are open for everyone, right? And I mean, I'm happy to help out as well. I had taken the notes for the last meeting, the minutes.
[Steve Schnapp]: And I'm happy to back off and just attend.
[Frances Nwajei]: I mean, I think, Steve, that, you know, your attendance, I wanna make sure that you know that it's actually really valuable because, I mean, there are just some things that I, you know, that I don't know. The municipal lens is definitely different from the state lens, right? I mean, I have a different format that I'm used to using. So, you know, sharing information is great.
[Steve Schnapp]: Well, you don't have to make a decision right now about that and just let me know, whatever you decide. Thank you.
[Frances Nwajei]: And if you were to continue, we would need to find a different name because I don't know, there was just something about seeing your name and then note taken next to it. It was like, you know, old job descriptions that say typist.
[Steve Schnapp]: Just, yeah. Oh, you're on mute. I'm a lousy typist. My mother was secretary. So she urged me to learn how to type. I did not take her advice. I never took her advice to my detriment. But I have great respect for people who can.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_04]: Well, we appreciate you, Steve. Thank you.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, thank you, Steve.
[Frances Nwajei]: Thank you so much, Steve. So we are at 6.59. I don't know if anyone has anything else they would like to say.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_06]: Only me. I need to understand one thing. So I remember Diana said to me, she said to me, take a name, the neighborhood.
[Adam Hurtubise]: The neighborhood?
[Frances Nwajei]: Yeah. Maybe I think that's a conversation that you should have with Diana. Cause I don't think that that was said during this meeting. Okay. Yeah. I think that's more of a, more of a direct conversation. Okay. Yeah. I think maybe, you know, I mean, if I was to take a guess, I would say maybe in terms of recruitment, but I think that that's a direct Diane conversation. Okay. Okay.
[Adam Hurtubise]: Thank you. You're welcome.
[Frances Nwajei]: Well, I appreciate all of you. I can't believe it. It's seven o'clock. It's dark over here. Why? I want to know why. Very sad. So, all commissioners that have been here before. Thank you so much for coming back and new commissioners, I'm just going to ask for forgiveness in advance. I send out a lot of information I'm one of these people if I come across something and I think it might be of interest, I send it out. When I when I'm on top of my game. I will group it so that you will get a lot of attachments instead. But if at any time you feel like I'm just inundating you, please say something. I definitely recognize that this is a volunteer role and I certainly appreciate your willingness to stand up for your community and design what you feel your community should be. Wow, thank you so much again. All right. And on that note, it's 701. I mean, we can't go anywhere until somebody makes a motion.
[MCM00001269_SPEAKER_10]: I move that the meeting be concluded. If that's the right way to say it.
[Frances Nwajei]: Seconded. Thank you so much. Good night, everyone.