Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & Environment Minutes: Monthly Meeting April 15, 2020 via Zoom
Attending were: Liz A, Ben Beckwith, Eric Kemp-Benedict, Tyler Kemp-Benedict, Chuck Dickinson, Ernesta Kraczkeiwicz, Elizabeth Del Porto, Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, Jacqui Gross, Tod Gross, Nancy Hammett, Jane Imai, Lisa Kane, Bill Madsen, Tony Palomba, Deborah Peterson, Pam Phillips, Joseph Rotella, Barbara Ruskin, Arun Sannuti, Jeanne Trubek, Ron Webber, Abby Yanow
WELCOME
Abby Yanow welcomed attendees to the first monthly meeting via Zoom.
AGENDA REVIEW/MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY MEETING
Sue-Ellen reviewed the Agenda, and reported that in the interest of time, the Steering Committee had reviewed and approved the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes were briefly displayed to give attendees an overview of our last in-person meeting (February). The Steering Committee will look for a way in the future for members to have access to the minutes.
PRESENTATION
Tyler Kemp Benedict, Eric Kemp-Benedict and Joseph Rotella gave a terrific presentation about racism and the work of the Watertown Citizens for Black Lives working group. They introduced several concepts around racism, shared a video highlighting the distinction between un-racist (passive) and anti-racist (active), and explored the hidden ways in which whites are privileged. It was noted that privilege is about more than just wealth and access. Using the concept of benefit of the doubt, they identified situations (e.g. making a mistake) in which whites are treated more differently. Through an online portal, attendees answered five survey questions, including how easy it is to manage or be with people of the same race. The pooled results identified dramatic variations in answers based on race. A breakout into smaller groups allowed more in-depth discussion of these issues. Additional reading materials were identified. WCfBL will later share the slides and resources shown in their presentation. Many thanks were expressed for the excellent job.
WORKING GROUP REPORTS
- Watertown Citizens For Black Lives meets next on Monday May 4. They encouraged participants to come.
- Watertown Citizens Friends of Bees will be meeting again in April.
- The Spring Life Friendly Garden Tour for Sunday May 3 has been cancelled. One of the major benefits of the tour is the interactions between gardeners and visitors. They are looking ahead to a September tour.
- Watertown Citizens Refugee Support Group has had to postpone some plans, but continues to provide what support they can to families. Based on a suggestion from member Sarah Hamburg, Sue Ellen approached the town about organizing a mutual aid initiative based on templates already in use by many towns, including most of our neighbors. Sue-Ellen, Nicole Gardner and Sarah met by zoom with Stephanie Venizelos (Watertown Community Wellness Program Manager), Jenna Willis (Watertown Social Services Resource Director), and Sophia Suarez-Friedman (BC intern serving as Community Needs Coordinator) to discuss how to coordinate several Watertown organizations’ existing efforts into one central resource. Sophia has begun designing a website based on the best practices of other towns, to be launched very soon.
- Watertown Faces Climate Change continues to meet every two weeks. In addition to their current ongoing projects, they are looking into ways the town can make new construction more sustainable and have started to look at local transportation issues that can reduce car use.
NEW WEBSITE
The new website was displayed. It lists Working Group Updates on the left, Actions in the middle, and Events on the right, along with other information about the group. Each working group has been asked to identify members for training so they can use the website more actively.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Any Eversource customers in Watertown who have not yet Opted Up to 100% renewable can do so. Just follow the links on the Action in the home page.
Watertown Walks for Peace is an annual event that is part of the annual Boston-based Mother’s Day Walk for Peace. Chuck Dickinson created a Watertown flyer that was shared. Chuck explained that the walk supports the work of the Louis D Brown Peace Institute, which works with both those who commit violence as well as victims to create more peaceful communities. We have fielded teams who join this walk that travels through the neighborhoods of Boston most affected by violence. Watertown’s participation is sponsored by WCPJE along with other local groups (e.g. World in Watertown, First Parish Church). This year the walk-a-thon will take place virtually on Sunday May 10 at 9:00 am. Fundraising has started. Information will be listed for signups on our website and in email notices to members. Anyone able to donate by Friday can take advantage of a time-sensitive matching grant.
NEXT MEETING THURSDAY May 21, 7 PM Note Thursday date (instead of our usual 3rd Wed. of each month)
Presentation by Adam Sacks , Executive Director of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, and an introduction to the local organization Meadowscaping for Biodiversity presented by Barbara Passero.
Respectfully submitted, Deborah Peterson