Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice & Environment
Minutes: Monthly Meeting Dec 16 , 2020 via Zoom
Attending: Abby Yanow, Alice Poltorick, Alice C Wadden, Arun Sannuti, Caiden Kiani, Christopher Ives, Caroline Bays, Chuck Dickinson, Claire Fabian, Connie Henry, David Stokes, Deborah Peterson, Delanie Lombard, Diana Barlow, Diane Crowley, Eileen Ryan, Ellen Rothman, Emily Daman, Emma Fallon, Eric Kemp-Benedict, Felicia Sullivan, Helen Soussou, Jackeline McCready, Jacky van Leeuwen, Jacqui and Tod Gross, Janet Buck, Janet Jameson, Jeanne Trubek, Jennifer Wolfrum, Joan D Martin, Joseph Rotella, Kathy Button, Liz Marino, Margaret Patricia Mullen, Mary Russo, Mary Skinner, Merle Kummer, Nancy Hammett, Pam Phillips, Pat Rathbone, Roma Jerome, Sabrina Lopez, Sara Keary, Sarah Pardo, Shannon Thapalia, Sheila Krishnan, Shivani Sharma, Teo Evans, Tiffany Rose York, Tony Palomba, Tyler Kemp-Benedict.
WORKING GROUP REPORTS
Friends of Bees continues to work Mystic Charles Pollinator Pathway linking pollinator gardens and yards where Pam gave a recent native bee presentation. She recently attended on zoom a statehouse hearing on banning neonics and was discouraged by much of the testimony.
Watertown Faces Climate Change participated in a Watertown Climate Summit sponsored by Progressive Watertown, meeting with members from groups working on various aspects of climate change. It included WE3C, Sunrise, Elders for Climate Action, Trees for Watertown, Bike Ped Committee. They continue to keep their eyes on net zero for the new HS building. The are looking for sites to implement Micro-Grids a fairly new technique of harvesting geo thermal heat in existing gas pipelines that has gotten some state support and are working with the town to ensure that it has a robust plan for meeting our townwide net zero goals. No climate legislation has yet passed for 2020. There is a big push for Legislative Transparency (supported by Steve Owens) the lack of which makes it easy for legislators to hide their votes on committees.
Refugee Support Group has been busy collecting money to help out their families. They have been distributing gift cards to families especially those with children. A recent private birthday fundraiser raised $4000 and an even bigger fundraiser is being planned.
RACIAL JUSTICE WORK IN WATERTOWN
Four groups working on racial justice in Watertown explained their mission and goals, activities, measures of success and opportunities for collaboration with other groups. A lively discussion followed these presentations .
Watertown Citizens for Black Lives, a working group of WJPJE, campaigns against violence and systemic racism with campaigns focused on policing, government and the schools. In July 2020 they approached Chief Lawn about our local police response to George Floyd and other deaths at the hands of police. His response was that the Watertown Police are accredited and therefore not an issue in Watertown. In response, they have been gathering data and making public records requests to make the case to the Chief along with Uplift and the Kingian Response Team that that this is an issue to address . For instance, Watertown Black arrests are 10% of all arrests while just 2% of the population. They are looking into partnering with local businesses to place placards with resources for racial equality and information about how to report instances, based on a model created by Equal Justice Needham. They collaborate with the Kingian Response Team to support efforts by parents and teachers working on racial justice in the schools.
The Pigsgusset Initiative’s mission is to generate a public conversation about the erasure of Indigenous History and to find ways to honor the history of the people who were on this land before European colonization. The naming of the Watertown Square Delta as Columbus Delta and the erection of a monument to Columbus was an effort 40 years ago to bring attention and honor to people who had been discriminated against, but no longer serves this purpose. They are collecting signatures on a petition to the Town Council to reconsider this designation and honor the people who were forced off this land. Other initiatives include a critical look at the Town Seal and other monuments in town, official designation of Indigenous Peoples Day, public forums on Indigenous history at the library, and school curriculum. Although the anti-racist agenda is to reclaim rights and respect for racial groups, indigenous people have not always had good experience in racial justice settings. They see themselves as citizens of a separate nation whose homeland was conquered and whose people were displaced, which does not always fit the anti-racist models.
Uplift Watertown is calling for the Town Council and Town Manager to divest from police and end punitive policies while investing in comprehensive care and treatment, affordable housing, jail diversion in the town budget. Uplift is focused on the Town Council and works to help other youth attend. They also provide antiracist training for teachers and students and are participating in the Unity Breakfast planning. They are working with similar groups in Cambridge, Somerville and Needham.
The Kingian Response Team includes many people of all ages related to Kingian non-violence training as well as other interested individuals. It was formed soon after the George Floyd murder and has developed many initiatives. These include addressing issues of diversity, bias, needed police reform, and school policies. The KIngian Club at the High School has over 50 students and several initiatives. Their work is grounded in the six Kingian Nonviolence principles for achieving change, and apply the concept of Listen, Learn, Grow, Act in all their work. Their efforts include creation of a model pledge for WPD, Schools and Town Council; an anonymous school incident reporting/review structure with diverse representation; Story Share, which records stories from community members who have experienced racism; work to make curriculum more inclusive; suggestions for activities and workshops for WHS Equity Week to comprise more diverse artists and speakers; creating informative signs and a scavenger hunt for an outdoor component to the online MLK breakfast; attending the Race Amity Conference; advising the Faculty Equity Leadership Team.
NEXT MONTHLY MEETING JANUARY 20th, 7:00 pm, focused on “What Do We Do Now with Biden in the White House?”
Respectfully submitted, Deborah Peterson