The Chelsea City Council considered three agenda items that involved the city’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) at its meeting on Aug. 17.
(To hear the lengthy discussion on these three items, please go to the city’s website and look at the top for quick links to meeting videos.)
The first was a request from Council Member Cheri Albertson to have the City Council direct the HRC to research and identify community-based educational outreach classes and opportunities and the costs for these programs.
Included in the list were programs that address racism, bullying to include cyber bullying and perhaps bias awareness training and submit them to the City Council for discussion and consideration.
This was unanimously approved.
The second item up for discussion was a request to update city policies to reflect Chelsea’s non-discrimination ordinance including its non-discrimination plan, its public access channel programming and its park pavilion use and Palmer Commons facility rental policy.
The HRC requested that there be non-discrimination statements included on all city policies that involve interaction with the public.
The City Council unanimously approved a motion to update city policies, with a clarification of the Title VI Non-Discrimination Plan, which cannot be changed because it is a Federal law.
The third item was a request by the HRC to issue a statement on racism. According to the city’s charter, appointed boards and commissions do not have the authority to issue individual statements. Policy formulation is the roll of city Council. Elected officials are the decision makers and voters can vote these individuals in or out of office based on the decisions they make.
The statement read: “Responding to the ongoing protests and public discussion regarding racism and Black Lives Matter, the Chelsea Human Rights Commission would like to re-affirm its dedication to the spirit and substance of Chelsea’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance. Racism in any form is not acceptable whether it comes from an individual, a group, an institution or a government agency. The Human Rights Commission was created to study complaints of violations of the Non-Discrimination Ordinance in our town and to actively “research and formulate programs of community education with the objective of discouraging and eliminating racial tensions and prejudice or discrimination against any group of persons.” We encourage peaceful protests and the continued Community Listening Sessions that raise awareness of the depth of the problem. We will work with area groups and citizens to understand, highlight and eliminate personal and institutional racism.”
During the discussion, Council Member Charles Wiseley asked HRC Chairman Susan Morrel Samuels if there has been an uptick in complaints and she said there had been no complaints filed with the HRC this calendar year. Since the inception of the HRC, there has only been one complaint filed.
Mayor Melissa Johnson reminded those at the meeting that the City Council had unanimously adopted a resolution on June 15 that reaffirmed the city’s non-discrimination ordinance and stated its opposition to systemic racism.
Although there was agreement that the council was opposed to any form of racism, the request was denied by a 4-2 vote. Council Members Wiseley, Peter Feeney, Cheri Albertson and Mayor Johnson voted against it, while Council Members Jane Pacheco and Tony Iannelli voted in favor.
(This is the fourth story from the Aug. 17 Chelsea City Council meeting. To listen to the whole meeting, please go to the city’s website and look at the top for quick links to meeting videos.)
