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City of Salem
No Place For Hate Committee
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
4:00 pm
In Attendance: Maggi-Smith Dalton, Clare Ritchie, Joanne McCrea, Lt. Conrad Prozniewski, Shirley Walker, Jerrie Hildebrand, Shawn Newton, Lucy Corchado, Shaheen Mohammadipour, Tom Watkins
Introduction and Mission Statement
All group members introduced themselves. The idea of drafting their own mission statement was then discussed. Tom handed out mission statements from some area No Place for Hate Committee’s. The group reviewed them and discussed what they had liked and would like to incorporate into their own mission statement. Some of the language they would like incorporated into their own mission statement are the words/phrases: respect, understanding, richly diverse community, mutual understanding and appreciation. After a lengthy and detailed discussion it was agreed that Joanne would draft a mission statement for the group’s final review and approval at their next meeting. She will email her draft to Tom and he will email it out to the group prior to the meeting.
ADL Letter
Tom notified the group that the National ADL Office will be taking their official stance on Resolution 106 in early November. Resolution 106 recognizes the Armenian Genocide as an actual genocide. The group reviewed the letter of support for the reinstatement of Andrew Tarsy as Regional Director of the New England Chapter of the ADL which was prepared by Maggi. The letter also asked for support of the passing of Resolution 106 by Congress. Claire was hesitant to send the letter due to the fact that we do not yet no the official stance of the National Office on Resolution 106. it was voiced by members of the group that this letter is in support that they choose to vote favorably for Resolution 106 and given that, the group should choose to send the letter prior to their vote. It was
mentioned that some communities have pulled out of the No Place for Hate program due to the recent ADL controversy, including Arlington. After reviewing and editing the letter, the group asked Tom to mail it to the following: Salem Gazette, Salem News, Mayor Driscoll, the City Council, State Rep. John Keenan, Sen. Fred Berry, Congressman John Tierney, Senator John Kerry, Senator Kennedy, Andrew Tarsy and Abe Foxman (National ADL Office).
Muslim Panel Discussion
Looking forward to future events to promote respect and diversity, the group would like to host a panel discussion relative to the Muslim faith and lifestyle. It was agreed that the panel should be an informative discussion on the faith itself and should not get into political or hot topic discussions. Although, the group does realize that certain controversial questions could come out of this, therefore, a strong moderator would be needed. The group would like to host the event around Thanksgiving. It was mentioned to have a display of photographs of “the Muslims of today”. Shawn will talk to the Muslim Student Association at Salem State College and inquire as to whether or not they would be interested in partaking in the event. He will also seek a place at Salem State to
hold the event.
Wiccan Panel Discussion
The group would also like to host a Wiccan Panel discussion to be held in early February. Jerrie Hildebrand has volunteered to lead the discussion since she is a practicing Wiccan and has previously participated in similar discussions. Jerrie gave a brief background about herself. She said she could also ask some nationally known folks who may be willing to come and participate as well. Again, it was stated that this discussion should focus on the Wiccan religion and the stereotypes which are associated with local Witches and practicing Wiccans. There is not a need to discuss the commercial aspect of witch shops and attractions which is prevalent in Salem today. The focus will be to inform the audience of the ways and faith of Wicca. One location that was mentioned to host the
event was Old Town Hall. The group will still need to finalize the details at future meetings.
The next meeting of the No Place for hate Committee is scheduled for Tuesday November 6th, 2007 at 4:30 pm and will be held in the 3rd Floor Conference Room at 120 Washington Street.
Meeting adjourned at 6:15 pm.
Minutes recorded by Tom Watkins
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