The Arlington Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was created by Town Meeting in 1993 to advance issues related to the fair and equal treatment of individuals and to create a mechanism for addressing complaints arising out of these issues. The mission of the AHRC is to work individually and collaboratively with other groups in our community to celebrate the ever-changing tapestry of our Town, and to emphasize, through educational outreach, the danger of intolerance at every level. The Town Manager, School Committee, and the Town Moderator have appointing authority for the thirteen members of the commission.
The AHRC began the year by electing Kevin McGann as chairperson and Cecelia Akuffo to serve as vice chair. ~Mary Ann Sullivan serves as staff assistant.
The year started with HRC celebrating its tenth-year anniversary. Events included a reception hosted by the HRC for town officials and community groups who have, over the past ten years, worked to improve tolerance and diversity in Arlington, and a special event in Town Hall featuring speakers on human and civil rights.
The Commission continued to investigate complaints of alleged discrimination and harassment involving students at the Ottoson Middle School as well as complaints brought by residents of Gloucester Street, Silk Street, Mill Street and Jason Street, among others. These complaints involved allegations of racial, sexual orientation, ethnic and religious discrimination.
This year’s Arlington Dialogues program included a debate on the USA Patriot Act, an issue that was the subject of a Town Meeting warrant article. The Book Club spotlighted Andrew Zantar’s Have No Fear.
In an effort to increase visibility and awareness, the Commission once again staffed a booth at Town Day in September, distributing informational brochures and answering questions. ~This year the commission raffled gift certificates to many restaurants in Town. The commission also contributed to the Town’s Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration, and sponsored a Career Day at the Ottoson Middle School, which encouraged students to consider “non-traditional” jobs.
The Commission continues to maintain records of hate crimes and incidents, and work in cooperation with the Police Department in order to track the frequency and severity of such events in Arlington. Commissioners also fielded quite a few calls from members of the public who were concerned about violations of their human rights but who ultimately did not file a formal complaint.
In January 2004 the Commission took a position supporting the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision on gay marriage, and published an explanation of that in the Arlington Advocate. The commission will continue to focus its efforts on keeping Arlington a safe, welcoming community where all individuals are treated with warmth, mutual respect, and acceptance.
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