Wenham Human Rights Committee Gets To Work

WENHAM, MA — Wenham's new human Rights Committee is getting to work on promoting diversity, equity and acceptance in the community.

After the killing of George Floyd in May, residents in Wenham and Hamilton decided to take action against racism at the municipal level. The group decided to create a human rights committee to affirm the community’s dedication in both towns to upholding human rights and to denounce bigotry, hatred and oppression.

The Wenham Human Rights Committee was officially formed on Nov. 4, 2020. Their first meeting was held this January.

“I think creating a committee focused on human rights at the municipal level sends a really clear message that the town will protect all civil liberties of all its citizens, visitors and town employees,” Chairwoman Martha Brennan said. “And even more importantly that it affirmatively denounces bigotry and discrimination, and that these are core values of our town. We want people to feel welcomed here and not just tolerated.”

The committee's objective is to ensure that all persons enjoy the equal opportunity to participate in local affairs.

“It is a proud moment for the Town of Wenham, to see this committee created and getting started on this important work,” Selectman Chairman Gary Cheeseman said. “This all has happened as a direct result of the efforts of members of our community seeking to re-affirm the values and expectations of our community here in Wenham. We deeply appreciate their time and support as an advisory committee to our board moving forward.”

Members of the Human Rights Committee are as follows:

• Chairwoman Martha Brennan
• Vice Chair Tova Crystal
• Clerk Janet Burt
• Liaison to the Hamilton Human Rights Committee Jeremy Gross
• Committee member Sam Nordberg
• Committee member Patricia Purdy
• Wenham Police Department Deputy Chief Kevin DiNapoli
• Interim Town Administrator Ex Officio member Tom Younger
• Student Liaison Emma Dixon

The Human Rights Committee’s first order of business has been to create a system through which citizens or visitors may report any concerns or complaints about real or perceived discrimination or unequal treatment, and to create a procedure for handling those reports. The commission has created an email address where they can be contacted with these reports: humanrights@wenhamma.gov.