My name is Mignard Culpepper, District 7th City Councilor, and I am chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Immigrant Advancement.

Today is July 21, 2026.

The exact time is 2.05 p.m.

This hearing is being recorded.

It is also being live streamed at Boston.gov backslash city council dash TV and broadcast on Xfinity Channel 8, RCN Channel 82, and files, Channel 964.

Written comments may be submitted to the committee.

Email at CCC.gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors.

Public testimony will be taken at the end of this hearing.

Individuals will be called on in the order in which they signed up and will have two minutes to testify.

If you are interested in testifying in person, please add your name to the sign-in sheet near the entrance of the chamber.

If you are looking to testify virtually, please email our central staff liaison, Megan Kavanaugh at Megan.cavenoff at Boston.gov for the link and your name will be added to the list.

Today's hearing is on Docket No.

1237, order for a hearing regarding the future of the Boston Human Rights Commission.

This matter was sponsored, co-sponsored by Counselor Ed Flynn and Counselor Brian Well, and was sponsored by Minor Culpepper.

It was referred to the committee on June 24th, 2026.

Today I am pleased to be joined by my colleagues in order of arrival, Councillor Murphy, Councillor Flynn, Councillor Fitzgerald, and Councillor Braden.

Okay.

Good afternoon, everyone.

I want to thank my colleagues for being here today, and I want to thank our panelists and members of the public for joining us for this important discussion on the future of the Boston Human Rights Commission.

I want to begin by saying that I am concerned that the Boston Human Rights Commission has now been inactive for more than two years.

At a time when residents continue to face discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and other areas of everyday life.

One that residents know exists and can trust to protect their rights.

Today's hearing is not simply about looking backward at why the commission became inactive.

I want to use this opportunity to begin a broader conversation about how we rebuild and reform the Boston Human Rights Commission for the future.

During the fiscal 27 budget process, the City Council secured 200,000 to continue the Human Rights Commission.

Now that funding has been preserved, we need to determine what kind of commission we want to rebuild, what authority it should have, and how it should operate, and how we ensure that it becomes a meaningful and lasting institution within our city.

We also have an opportunity to learn from what is working elsewhere and determine whether Boston's existing ordinance provide the commission with the tools it needs.

That includes examining its complaint process, investigative and enforcement authority, staffing, reporting requirements, accessibility to residents, and relationship with organizations such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and other state and federal civil rights agencies.

I also want to use today's hearing to receive feedback on the draft ordinance to reform the Boston Human Rights Commission that has been distributed to the counselors and our panelists and is available in today's hearing folder.

This is just a draft, and today's discussion is intended to help inform and improve it.

Among other reforms, the proposal considers establishing clearer timelines for complaints, a structured investigation and appeals process, mandatory reconciliation, discovery, and public hearings, stronger data reporting, and a more defined adjudicatory role for the commission.

Ultimately, I want us to leave today's hearing with a better understanding of what an effective human rights commission should look like in Boston and what changes are necessary to get us there.

We have an opportunity not simply to reactivate the commission as it previously existed, but to rebuild it into a stronger, more accessible, accountable, and effective civil rights institution for the people of Boston.

Now I'll turn to my counselors.

Counselor, you will have five minutes for opening remarks.

We'll start with co-sponsor counselor fair.

Thank you, Councillor Cole Pepper, Mr.

Chair, for adding me as an original co-sponsor, and want to say thank you to Councilor Cole Pepper for his longtime work as a civil rights attorney, civil rights, civil rights leader, not just in the Commonwealth, but across the country as well.

This is an important hearing today.

Since its start, the commission provided an important voice for those that were discriminated against or a victim of a hate crime.

And we've seen a lot of hate crimes in this city, especially in the early to mid-80s.

I remember those days clearly.

This commission, the human rights commission, was established under Mayor Flynn, and I believe he selected the first director was a woman who was a who lived in lived in South Boston recently and moved, but Ian Saunders, many people might know Ann Saunders.

Uh, at that time, there were a lot of hate crimes against gay and lesbians in in the city.

And I don't I didn't use the term LGBTQ because it wasn't that wasn't the term back then, but there was a lot of hate crimes that we witnessed and experienced.

We also witnessed and experienced a lot of assaults against African Americans in the city.

But this Human Rights Commission was an opportunity for people to come forward and document these cases, and they would be investigated.

At one time, this the human rights commission was well respected, and they did a lot of outstanding work as a city councilor for eight years.

I tried to do as much work with the human rights commission as I possibly could.

I probably have sent more documents asking for various investigations on hate crimes against persons with disabilities, against LGBTQ community, against uh communities of color, probably more so than anyone in the city.

Um that's the respect I had for the commission and for the members and for the the officers, those are on the board.

One of them who I've had great respect for is a woman, Margaret McKenna as well.

But I know it's struggled over the years, and when something's struggling, doesn't mean that you need to end it.

It you it what we need is the strong positive leadership to make it an effective board, an effective organization.

I'm not here as Councillor Cole Pepper mentioned to point fingers, but I'm here to work with all of my city council colleagues in the mayor to see how we move forward to make this a strong commission where people that are discriminated against or not treated with respect or hate or victim of hate crime can come to the commission, document the case, hopefully it'd be investigated.

But it's it sends a message to people across the city.

Boston is serious about civil rights issues.

Boston is serious about human rights issues.

I remember when the Boston police had a community disorders unit.

Many people remember that.

They investigated civil rights issues.

I strongly believe in that role for the Boston police as well.

I'm going to stop there, but I'm I just want to say I'm willing to work with my city council colleagues and the mayor to make this a more effective body.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

And I will also want to acknowledge the important role and leadership of Council Brian Wurrell as well.

Thank you, Councillor Flynn.

Councillor Murphy.

Thank you.

You have five minutes.

Thank you, Chair.

Um and thank you for your opening statement.

One thing you said, which I know you and Council Flynn and Council Warrell and others have been saying, especially through the budget season when you were advocating to grow this commission, not disband it, is do the residents of the city of Boston.

I'm paraphrasing here, but do they even know that this commission is here to support them?

And I believe it should be.

And in the first whereas clause today, we'll be speaking about how the Human Rights Commission was established to ensure full and equal access to public services, accommodations, investigate and address discrimination and to promote human rights and to educate the public and I believe city workers and city council.

And I know there may be other departments or other areas that touch upon or address some of these issues.

But I also agree it's been said and will probably be said again that because the city hasn't been doing much under this commission in the past few years doesn't mean that that is a reason to just get rid of it.

I think it's time to take a good hard look and see if we should be making it stronger and what was positive about having it be a standalone commission.

I know we'll hear a lot, and I know already from you know the work I've been doing these past five years, but just also researching for this, that there definitely are departments and there's expectations across every city department for this type of information, but I think it's important that we talk about and listen to the three colleagues who put this forward who really believe that we should be growing this commission.

So thank you for this, Chair.

Thank you, Councillor Murphy.

I'd like to add that we've been joined by our second co-sponsor, Councillor Brian Warwell.

And uh Council Worrell, are you ready?

Um come back to me.

Okay.

Councillor Fitzgerald, you've got five minutes.

Thank you, Chair.

I will not need all five, but I just want to thank uh yourself, Council Flynn, uh, and Councillor for bringing this forward.

I do appreciate Council Flynn's uh brief history that he gave uh here as well.

Um I'm interested, and I want to thank the administration and the advocates for being panelists today.

Uh interested to learn about uh you know where this came from, uh what it's done in the past, uh, why it may have fallen off recently, and where we feel um either parts are being picked up elsewhere or how we can make strengthen this again.

Um so I look forward to the opportunity to be educated on all those things.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councillor.

Councillor Braden, you have five minutes.

Thank you.

I I'm not going to use the five minutes.

Uh I just want to thank you and the lead sponsors for bringing this forward.

I think uh, you know, this uh civil rights commission has a um a storied history, it goes back to the 1980s as Councillor Flynn has already mentioned.

Um before I think it's a timely moment to just examine the history of where the human rights commission has been the work that they've done and how we may need to modify or change things going forward, but that we shouldn't be uh disbanding it and and making it obsolete without uh due diligence and looking at its purposes and how we might address the uh the prevailing challenges that we face right now in terms of uh discrimination and human rights uh abuses in our city.

Um then also learning from other municipalities that uh still have functioning human rights commissions that uh what work are they doing and how how we might modify or change what we are doing going forward.

So I look forward to the conversation and look forward to learning more.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Braden.

Council Burrell.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Chair, and uh thank you to my sponsors, and thank you to the administration for being here.

Um something that you know we fought for in the budget to make sure that this department is just this uh commission sticks around for this FY27 budget, but would love to just hear, we're looking forward to hearing what the administration vision is for the commission in the department.

I know there was a consultant um that was um uh that provided back a report, so love to get the details of that.

But I do think it's important that we work all together on strengthening uh this commission in this department, and if we are looking to uh shift course or change strategy, I think that's a conversation that should be had uh with this body prior to uh making those changes inside of um the budget.

So looking forward to this conversation and thank you again to my sponsors, and thank you to the chair for hosting this hearing.

Thank you, Council World.

I'd like to add the literal absence from council Council Mahia.

Dear Chair Cow Pepper, I'm writing to inform you of my absence during today's 2 p.m.

hearing on the future of Boss and Human Rights Group.

Commission, my staff will be listening in.

And I will review on our return.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I'd like to now introduce today's first panelist.

Well, the city.

Ms.

Sketta, you have six minutes.

Thank you, Chair and Counselors, uh, for having us.

So I'm put together some slides just to walk folks through where things are currently with the Human Rights Commission.

I'm going to try not to mess this up.

And I already have.

Okay, so you guys have seen these from our budget slides, but just wanted to sort of reiterate the basis of the Equity Inclusion Cabinet as a whole, and we work really hard to make sure our departments are also feeding into this mission.

Um, and a real framework thinking about the services we offer internally to staff as well as the targeted programming and then the work that we do externally to sort of build coalitions across our different teams, which include language and cultural access, um, the LGBTQ access team.

Could I have next slide, please?

Um I'm just going in order of their offices.

Uh the immigrant advancement team, and then our women's advancement team, blackmail advancement, and then upstairs we have the Fair Housing Commission and the Disability Commission.

Um those teams all work really hard to make sure that we are thinking about things from an intersectional lens and that we are not duplicating work.

We work we strive really hard to make sure that we are meeting our constituent needs, and ideally we are meeting them the first time when they come through the door.

I have the slides up on my laptop, so I will just I'll look at them here for a moment.

Oh, thank you.

Um wanted to, I think we're past a slide, sorry.

We could go back to slide number four.

That would be great.

Um wanted to talk a little bit about, and I the slides will show up eventually, um, about the constituent requests we got in calendar year 2025 for the human rights commission.

That is not what you're seeing up on this slides right now, but I'll walk you through them.

The numbers are pretty simple.

So these uh requests come in via a couple of different ways.

They come in via phone, via email, via 311 routing, um, and then the occasional in-person walk-in.

We try and make sure that all of our teams take in their um their requests the same way.

Uh, and we got 40 constituent requests for calendar year 2025 for the human rights commission.

Those break down to the following.

So we had eight requests for internship and uh job inquiries, eleven requests that were outside of our jurisdiction.

That included things that were geographically outside of the jurisdiction, so a different city, town, state, um, or outside of our subject matter, which we'll go over in a little bit.

Um then 20, so the other half of them were referred to government agencies or nonprofits that provide the relevant services that the constituent was looking for.

Um, those could have included things like somebody who was looking for immigration legal access or food um access support.

Um, so it's a wide variation, but as you can see, not very many um requests.

If I could have next slide, please.

Um, this is smaller font.

I apologize for those of you reading, but um this slide walks us through the real difference in requests you see for our other teams.

So we'll start with the Disability Commission, um, which has been created.

Um they started a couple of years after the Human Rights Commission and are built off of um the American with Disabilities Act.

Um, and they handle both ADA grievances as well as various constituent um requests for resources and referrals.

They also run our accessible parking uh placard program.

So that's parking spots on the street that allow somebody with a disability to be designated a spot on their street.

You'll see the numbers for both fair housing as well as language and cultural access, which five thousand interpretations is quite a few, but those come from mostly constituent requests, but some of them will also have been from staff that proactively requested an interpreter ahead of an event.

Black Mill Advancement has 147 referrals to internal city departments.

That is just a fraction of the work they do, but we definitely always want to count their numbers as well.

Immigrant advancement with 3,500 interactions when it comes to resource navigation.

A lot of the time that is referrals to outside folks who can help them best, but they are great at keeping track of those numbers.

And then finally 500 referrals from the LGBTQ IA2S Plus advancement team, again, similar to some of the other advancement teams doing that referral internal to the city.

Next slide, please.

And then outside of our um this sorry, these slides just walk through some of the more proactive work that we do as a team to make sure that the things that the Human Rights Commission is built to address don't happen in the first place.

So that ranges from fair housing uh training to fair housing testing that should be coming out soon.

Um work that we do with my brother's keeper, work that we do with the um Office of Returning Citizens.

Um as you can see, there's 220 applications processed for the on-street accessible parking program that we run in conjunction with the parking clerk's office.

Um the teams work really hard to make sure that these things are handled.

Some of them are required by how the teams are set up, and others are things that the teams have added over the years and work together on, and quite frankly, often work with other departments across the city on to make sure that we are meeting the constituent need.

Those are my slides.

I'm sorry that things got a little jumbled, guys.

That's my time.

Each counselor will have five minutes for questions, and we'll start with my co-sponsor counselor flame.

Thank you.

What is your message about the Human Rights Commission?

Sorry, I want to make sure my mic's on.

Um we wanted to be clear that the work is still happening.

I'm sorry if that was not clear in the slides.

No, I was it wasn't clear to me.

So the the hearing is on the future of the human rights commission.

What is the what is your opinion about the human rights commission?

So if I know the slides aren't up anymore, but that first slide that walked us through the number of constituent requests for the human rights commission.

We were working to then illustrate on that following slide the significantly higher volume of requests that we get, some of which do overlap with the commission's oversight.

Um so if you think about the commission with people with disabilities, right?

The public accommodation section of the ordinance, um, those contemplate the same work.

Oh, so are you are you are you saying that because other departments are doing this work that there really is not a need for the human rights commission?

I don't want to put words in your mouth, but is that your message basically?

No, I I I think we are not trying to make the argument about need versus not need, but ensure folks that the work is still happening.

Okay.

So I just want to not I don't I won't use the word pushback, but a lot of residents didn't know about the Human Rights Commission for many years.

They didn't know how to submit a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

Again, I probably have submitted more complaints than anybody in the city of Boston on to the Human Rights Commission.

But a lot of residents didn't know how to do that.

I think that was a big part of it.

I think part of the a major part of the Human Rights Commission is educating people across the city, educating the public about the Human Rights Commission, that it's an important body.

But I think there was a message there that it was not working or it was shut down, and there was a lot of there was office turmoil, wasn't there?

Or was that is that fair to say?

I'm I'm not sure, Counselor.

I started my time in the um cabinet, trying to think now, two summers ago.

Um so I wasn't present for most of like by the time I arrived, the the commission did not have members.

Of course.

Okay, well that's that's the that's what I'm I'm trying to get at because I think the members that the of the commission wanted to do the work.

And I do think they were discouraged from doing the work.

And I don't know why that that was the case, but if the if the complaints were down, I believe they were down because residents did not necessarily really know how to file a complaint, or they may have they didn't know the process, they didn't know the human rights commission was in existence, or there was always a message that you know maybe that's not the right avenue to file an issue if you have um a civil rights or human rights related issue.

Maybe it's not the place to file file that complaint with the human rights commission.

I disagree with all of that, but that was the that was the perception out there.

So my point is when I hear that there weren't many complaints from the public, I take that with a grain of salt, because the public didn't know how to formally make a complaint.

Here's my question.

What type of outreach did the mayor's office do to the public telling them about how to file a complaint?

Yep, so we've made sure to update the website for the human rights commission.

No, no, but going back over over the years.

I I can really only speak to what we've done in the past two years since I've been on our team.

I'm I'm not able to answer questions before button.

But when it non-existent over the last year?

The intake for complaints?

Yeah.

No, I I showed those numbers um at the beginning of my slides.

Those were calendar year 25 numbers.

Okay.

And how many people were working there?

None.

But those were that all many people were working?

None.

But all of the complaints were handled by equity and inclusion cabinet staff.

And how many people, how many commissioners were there?

None in 2025.

Okay, that's what I'm getting at.

So there was no one working there.

There was there was so that's basically an or uh a human rights commission in name only.

If there's if the commission commission members are not working there, and there's not an executive director or or director doing the work, and some other organization is doing the work, um, to me that means it's it's not existing.

It's not it's not doing its job.

I'm not I'm not blaming you, I'm not blaming anybody, but those are clearly the facts.

Um and again, I don't want to point fingers, but what I want to do is acknowledge that there wasn't not only public education and awareness, but there wasn't even staff there to answer a question at the human rights commission if he had a particular issue, because I communicated often with the human rights commission, maybe 30 times, maybe 40 times, and a lot of times um I could people wouldn't people weren't there.

As you said, there was no one working there.

So I I understand that my my calls or emails weren't being returned.

But if no one is working at a commission and there's no commission members, it's basically non-existent.

Um Mr.

Chair, I have no further comment.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Counselor Murphy.

Thank you.

Ummissions fall under the equity and inclusion cabinet.

Um so departments and commissions are a little bit different.

Do you want both?

Yes.

Okay.

Yes.

We got language and cultural access, and they also house the literacy task force.

So that's two.

Move over to the LGBTQ advancement team.

They have a new commission coming online later this year, so we'll call that four.

Then you have immigrant advancement, then you have the women's advancement team, black male advancement team, which also houses the black men and boys commission.

Then you have the fair housing office, which also houses the fair housing commission, the disability, the commission for people with disabilities, which also houses that commission.

Um in the ENI office, we also run the reparations task force.

And I deeply hope to my teens that I have not forgotten anyone.

How many employees all together on these?

Over 80 staff, but that does not include commissioners.

I'd have to get back to you on that number.

And zero staff were assigned to the human rights commission?

Yes, formally.

We make sure that the tasks are handled and that everyone gets responses to any outreach, but no one is assigned to the office.

Is there a desk?

Is there like a door that says the human rights commission upstairs somewhere?

No.

This is I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

Um why?

I mean, because if we just walk away from something and just leave it empty, nobody's going to pay attention to it because obviously the other thing.

So none of them we went through the budget process, none of those departments or commissions have the time or staff to free up to then take, like who then is responsible to answer a call when nobody is assigned to the human rights commission.

So equity inclusion office staff, some of the staff that help to sit in the cabinet itself, make sure we answer those phone calls.

How many are just staff waiting for a call to this commission?

Um there aren't necessarily call takers necessarily, but we like like my phone rings and I answer it.

Um I'd have to double check with you on the exact phone number we're outing things to, but yeah.

So if you could then walk me through the process, it's confusing for the public to know what to do, who to call, what supports are there?

But if you could then talk on your role as the deputy chief of operations, what would it look like?

Like what email do you send it to?

Which data entry point, like where does this information go?

Because in my opinion, it kind of could go nowhere and nobody would ever know.

Yep, so those are those are good questions.

We did ensure that the emails and communication are still going to our core equity email.

So equity at Boston.gov.

When you go to the Boston Duckup website and go to the Human Rights Commission page, you can still click submit a claim or submit a complaint, um, and it just routes to that email, which several staff have access to, and that's how we ensure that those complaints are still being handled.

How many emails have gone to that specific email that you couldn't access from the website?

So I went through this in the slides, but there were 40 complaints sent to that were human rights specific, sent to that email address in calendar year 22.

We do.

So yes, inside you know, in the notes that we got, somebody said I'd like to speak to the human rights commission or the human rights commission was mentioned in those 40 notes.

But those include walk-ins or 311 transfers, things like that.

When was the last time a city employee was assigned to the human rights commission?

As a staff member, or to make sure these consistent complaints were happening?

As a specific staff member.

At one point there were actually employees that knew their job was to work in the human rights commission, correct?

Yes.

Yes.

When did when was the last time any city employee was paid attached to this commission?

I would have to double check, but it was before my time.

And when did you stop?

In the cabinet two years ago.

So maybe two years ago, but could it be as far back as 10 years?

Like wouldn't you know?

I don't I'm not sure it's quite that long, um, just based from what I've heard from from folks in the room.

But okay.

Is it fair to say that it's since this administration started five years ago, or do you think it went back further?

Um I'm not sure, counselor, honestly.

And when you have conversations with the other directors and chiefs of these other departments that fall under equity and inclusion, how do you uplift the work of like who who speaks for them?

Uh like who speaks for the complainant?

Like the consultant.

So not the complaint, no, who just speaks for the commission?

That is important.

Is anyone questioning like if we wiped out, like when we went through the budget process and realized many of the departments that fall under equity inclusion are 100% grants and 100% of grants to many departments falling in this commission, I mean, under this cabinet, had zero grants, and there was conversation about well, if the only purpose of your department is to issue grants, and now we have no grants, like, and there were staff members attached.

We have direct understanding of what is your budget, how much of it is grants, how much of it is city operating budget, how many staff members are assigned?

Like at what point did people say we don't care about the human rights commission anymore and we don't want to staff it because if we were sitting here and we found out that nobody is working anymore in the black male advancement office, or nobody is assigned or responsible for anything that happens in the women advancement office, like to me that would be alarming.

Like, so why wasn't somebody in the administration advocating to make sure that this commission was properly staffed?

Um I'm going to try and answer that question.

I I'm gonna answer this last part, but please correct me.

Um I think a lot of where when I came into my role, I wanted to make sure that the work we were getting was being done.

And we have found that the referral system we have in place works really well, and that often people are reaching out about things that are not relevant to the human rights commission, or that they are reaching out about things that are specifically under the purview of a different team or department, even outside of our cabinet.

So it was intentional.

Because you were seeing that the calls or complaints, as you were saying, that come in, the concerns could be handled in other places.

So we we as a city or you as the deputy or the mayor, like somebody intentionally decided that it was overlap and not needed.

I'm not sure.

I'm I'm really not sure.

I'm not sure I was part of those exact like philosophical questions.

I'm not trying to like no idea.

Warning you, but you did just explain saying that when you looked at the calls that came in, and when you looked at what the commission was covering, that you saw that other people were already doing it, or the complaints, probably I don't think I would call it a complaint, but that they weren't even properly the public may have called in and you wouldn't have considered it a human rights issue, so it would have gone to a different department anyway.

I'm not sure I understand what the question is, counselor, I'm sorry.

That's fine.

Um, but I mean, when you wipe out a whole department and expect other departments to step up.

I mean, when you think of like a school, you just wipe out the reading teacher and just expect like the math specialist to say like to flag when there may be concerns, like it's just doesn't seem like it's the best way to handle such an important commission in the city of Boston.

So hopefully when my other colleagues ask questions and we hear from the other advocates that we can come to some understanding if this was the best choice that we have made as a city.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Murphy.

Councillor Braden, you have five minutes.

Thank you.

Um I'm just curious, you know, um the role of the Human Rights Commission was to um adjudicatory primary function was the commission shall serve as an administrative and adjudicatory body for the investigation hearing resolution of complaints of discrimination.

So who deals with complaints of discrimination in the equity cabinet now?

So they still are submitted via the human rights commission in the ways that I outlined.

Uh, and then we refer them to the team that handles that kind of a case, right?

So the public accommodation section of the ordinance is covered by the ordinance that we passed around the disability commission.

And so we would send it to the case.

So what about wage theft and uh employment discrimination and housing discrimination?

So something like housing discrimination would go to fair housing, right?

Yeah, but we've got a problem with fair housing because they haven't had an executive director for since Bob Terrell passed away.

So, you know, so I imagine that fair housing's not up to speed either in terms of investigating discrimination.

I I don't think their intake numbers have gone down significantly, and that's what you're seeing is like the intake number is sort of somebody comes for help.

So they come for help, but how adjudication resolution, you know, and and mitigation of complaints.

Like, are we do we have a report and like an annual report of the com the type of complaints, how they were resolved, what mitigation, and then also what work are we doing in terms of educating people about human rights generally, like uh wage theft, housing discrimination, employment, all sorts of gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, you know.

Uh are people like it seems to me that people to Consular Flynn's point earlier that people don't know that the human rights commission actually exists and that there's a a form of recourse if they feel that they've been discriminated against in the city of Boston.

Is that is that a fair comment?

Like people don't know you're there.

Like in fact, in fact, you're not there at the moment because uh it's like I I'm looking at other con other jurisdictions, and there seem to have a much more proactive role and a more proactive approach to um adjudicating uh human rights um complaints and their in their jurisdictions.

So the way I think about it at least is I break I try and break it down by the different protected classes that you're talking about.

So if we take housing discrimination, someone comes in to the fair housing team, which again is seeing the same number of intakes that they have been seeing previously, um, and they would try work with the constituent to figure out if they have a fair housing case or if maybe they have a housing stability issue, right?

If they are facing eviction and we can't pinpoint a protected class issue, we refer them to the next team.

Um something like public accommodation, right?

This sidewalk was broken in front of City Hall, or um I couldn't vote at my polling location because the the sidewalk was broken.

Those things go through with the grievance process um with the disability commission.

Um and they do have the same sort of adjudicate adjudication um methods, at least for fair housing.

Um and I am not the best person to speak on the exact process for the ADA grievances, but um Commissioner McCosh works really closely with the constituent to find a resolution that both you know both the uh impacted party, so the constituent and then the team that is accused of discrimination find is reasonable and meets the constituent needs.

So having a human rights commission was duplicative, is that right?

Or are you?

I think for some of these cases, yes.

For some of these types of protected classes as you go through them.

The human rights commission was created before the ADA, and so um I don't think it's the human rights commission's fault for that, but um the ADA was passed.

But surely in the context of an equity cabinet that an umbrella, something like the human rights commission would act as an umbrella or um in which all of those questions of human rights violations could be dealt with regardless of whether it's a sexual orientation or housing, fair housing, employment, that you could you'd have an attorney on staff and you would have people who would be well versed in how to deal with the different complaints.

I think it's a little complicated.

I think HUD funding for fair housing does stipulate who sort of works on that that sort of work and those that intake.

Um and Title II under the ADA also does have some requirements for how those kinds of grievances go through.

Um I think it's a you know, we work to do pretty complex work within the ordinance and to make sure that things are handled, but I'm I'm not sure it's quite as simple as having an umbrella organization.

Okay, how are we doing for time?

I think I've got seven seconds.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Councillor Braden.

Well, I see.

No, the council's ahead.

So I did have a few questions that I wanted to talk to you about.

Um with regard to the You mentioned adjudication several times you talked about the adjudicate cases.

What's your definition of adjudication?

Perhaps I misuse the word counselor, but my the what I was trying to explain was the fair housing process that a case can go through in the commission.

So it it can mean a settlement, it can mean a lot of different things for the um the claimant, the uh aggrieved the constituent usually, and then um the respondents or the person accused of discrimination in the housing case.

Um but those processes vary really um in how exactly they're worked through, but an investigator goes through um the information at hand, they do some real investigating, right?

They do site visits and things like that, um, and they try and come up with what they think happened and make a recommendation to the commission.

Um would you agree that adjudication means a tribune a tribunal legal tribunal or a judge or someone sitting to hear the matter in dispute?

Sure.

And so what of any of these equity departments would you consider is an adjudicatory body pursuant to some kind of tribunal or judge to hear a case?

I think the fair housing commission has some of those powers.

Would they be able to hear race discrimination case?

If it was related to housing, yes.

But it not related to housing.

If it was related to employment.

No, that would not be under their jurisdiction.

So a person with a race discrimination case in employment, where would they go under the equity cabinet to have their case heard?

We would refer them to our partners at MCAD.

And with regard to the referrals to MCAD, how do you track them?

How does that happen once you refer a case to MCAD?

We refer cases over to them, and actually things are pretty quiet after that.

We should not so you don't track them.

We keep track of the cases that we have sent over, but it is not MCAD's responsibility to let us know the resolution of those cases.

And once they are out of our hands, you know, we want to be careful about knowing things we should not know about a case that is in progress.

And so you don't think you should know about a case that was filed with one of the agencies here that was then referred to MCAD?

I think if MCAD found that to be appropriate, I just I don't wish to step on their toes through their own investigation process.

So we don't track the cases that we refer to MCAD or any other outside agency to external agencies, no.

We don't track them.

Not that I'm aware of.

And on the web page for the Boston Human Rights Commission, there was discriminate on the dashboard, it says there were 76 complaints that were received between 2021 and 2023.

And it says 61 of those cases have been referred out.

Can you tell me of those 61 cases that were furred out?

Do you know where they were referred to?

I don't, counselor, I'd have to go check that dashboard.

Can you come back with that information?

Just remind me what the numbers are for the dashboard and the year range.

21 to 23, there were 76 cases.

80% were referred out.

Okay.

18%, and and this is where I'm really trying to figure this out.

You might be able to help me with this.

18% of the cases, or maybe 14%.

It says that they're still in progress.

So if there's no staff, no one doing any work on cases, how are they in progress?

I'm not sure, Council, this isn't a dashboard that I'm familiar with or that we are currently using.

So on the website, it's still there.

Yeah, it sounds like we should take a look at that.

I I presented the numbers from calendar year 2025 because that's what we have.

We we are actively tracking and using.

Um the dashboard might be out of date, and we should take that down if that's the case.

But my question is more basic.

It says that they're still in progress.

If there's no one there, how are they still in progress?

I I'm not sure, Counselor, I really am not familiar with this dashboard they're asking about.

I know, but here's my question.

Forget about the dashboard for a minute.

It says they're still in progress.

If there's no one there, how are they still in progress?

I think it is possible they haven't been that the dashboard hasn't been updated.

It's possible they are sitting in limbo, but I I really don't know.

I cannot speak to it.

So someone who filed a complaint is still waiting for a decision, and we have no idea what happened to their case.

We might.

I'm I'm really not sure.

I and so if they called the Boston Human Rights Commission, they wouldn't get a no, currently when folks call, we take that in.

We have a different tracking system.

Um if they called about one of the cases that are in progress, what would we tell them?

We'd have to get back to them.

I'm sure we have the information.

We keep all of our records in in good order.

Um so we'd have to look into it, but I'm not sure that's ever happened.

I'm not sure we've had somebody, to my knowledge, in the past two years call about a pre-conscious.

And so if it was a case that was referred to MCAD, you wouldn't know what to tell them because you're not tracking the cases that well, they should be calling MCAD for updates, is probably what we would tell the constituent initially, and then if there were some issues identified, we'd be happy to call MCAD and support them through that process.

But you know, if MCAD is running an investigation, I don't I don't want to trample on that and and potentially the dashboard hasn't been updated since sounds like 2023.

2023.

You think it needs to be updated?

Potentially, yeah.

It's before my time in the cabinet, but I'm happy to take a look at it.

And and so uh in the presentation talks about 11 requests as being outside of the commission's jurisdiction.

What's outside of the commission's jurisdiction?

So that uh is a combination of geography, so outside of the city of Boston limits.

We do get a decent number of cases that are from local, like you know, nearby towns and cities.

Um we do sometimes get things that are out of state just because people know Boston.

Um, and then we also get things that are outside of the scope of the commission or the commission's ordinance.

For a case that was considered outside of the commission's jurisdiction, but still a Boston resident, what would constitute being outside of the jurisdiction if it was filed with the Human Rights Commission and they were a Boston resident?

Yeah, that's a good question.

It's something if the it is about where the um issue of discrimination took place.

We see less of this now because a lot of things are happening online.

Um, but this would be if somebody was in Cambridge and discrimination.

The question was for a Boston resident that filed a case with the Human Rights Commission, what would be considered out of the jurisdiction for a Boston resident?

The discriminatory action has to happen inside Boston.

Does that make sense?

For Boston resident?

Yes.

It is about placement, is our was our understanding of the ordinance.

So we do, I think that is part of where you get some of the out-of-state stuff.

It might be a college student that is green.

Right.

We do our best to point them in the direction of the resources because things happen in other cities and towns.

MCAD is a good catch-all for those.

What other outer jurisdiction basis are there?

That would be like if somebody reached out about a conflict that is not or a protected class that's not listed in the ordinance.

And what are the protected classes that are listed in the ordinance?

Ooh, we don't want to read them.

It's quite a list.

Um race, color, sex, gender identity, or expression, age, religious creed, disability, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, prior psychiatric treatment, military status, ex offender status, or source of income.

So for the categories you just listed, under the equity cabinet, there wouldn't be any place where they could go under the equity cabinet to have their case heard or decided.

For the categories you just listed.

So I do think it is important to remember like the the disability listed there as well as national origin or ancestry, that often shows up in language.

So that is handled under the LCA team.

But they don't have any adjudicatory functions, do they?

They don't hear the cases.

They do not formally, but they do we do have some requirements under Title VI to ensure that things that people are not being discriminated based on national origin or ancestry.

And so they've got that.

Yeah, so Title VI protects a couple of these things, but especially is often found to be a great protector for national origin and ancestry.

Um in LCA's case, what they do is if uh somebody comes and tries to come to a council hearing and can't the interpretation system doesn't work, right?

There's a it's a genuine mistake, but it happens.

Um that complaint goes to LCA.

They would then make sure to check in with council central staff to make sure that um next time the systems were set up correctly or if folks needed more training, um, that that could be offered.

So for uh uh sex discrimination, there's no department or under the equity cabinet that they could go to to have their case heard.

Is that right?

Yes, if it wasn't related to housing, that would be correct.

Housing is the only thing that folks can come to the city of Boston other than the Human Rights Commission for discrimination.

And the disability commission.

And the disability, but all the other categories, they would have to be referred to another agency.

It again, it depends on national origin and ancestry if that's related to language, then we also handle it.

Take that away.

There's no other place where they can go in the city of Boston to file a discrimination complaint.

Correct.

Okay.

And we don't track them when we refer them to MCAD or any other agency.

And so how do we know?

Do we just close the case or does it just fall on deaf ears in terms of the data that compiles the cases that are filed?

So we don't track them when they leave the city of Boston, but if they stay with the city of Boston, we do track them.

So that's cases that get referred to fair housing, or sometimes something is actually about a housing stability issue, right?

Sometimes we um we do obviously track things like the ADA grievances, um if somebody's having a hard time just simply reaching a department, we make sure to offer support there via technical assistance.

Um but those are the sort of broad ones that I've spoken through already today.

So in your presentation, it shows that the constituent activity across equity inclusion cabinet 25, 2900 disability commission referrals, 150 fair housing discrimination intakes.

With no fair housing director, how are there a hundred and fifty discrimination cases that refer to fair housing decided or handled?

By the investigations team.

The fair housing director very infrequently would have weighed in on the staff on like the final version of a case.

That usually is left up to the team of the investigators and the director of investigations because they have to present to all the commissioners, including the fair housing director for a final vote.

And so if there's no director, there's no presentation.

No, the presentations have still happened.

The commission continues to meet.

And so there's no adjudicatory function there.

There's no hearings there.

There are hearings for the fair housing commissioners.

For the Fair Housing Commission?

Yes.

Without a fair housing director?

Yes.

The commissioners, the appointed commissioners handle the other.

How many have been heard the last year?

Um I would have to double check a lot of the time, and this is a good thing, they end up in settlement.

Um, at least that is the good thing based on what our constituents ask for, and they are who guide the case.

Um I'd have to double check how many hearings exactly we've ended up having.

Do you know whether or not there were any?

Yes, there were a couple.

There were definitely some.

They were, and those get scheduled.

They're not publicly noticed in the same way because they are private, um, but those get scheduled with the commissioners.

There were 147 black male advancement referred to city departments.

Do you know how many of those were discrimination cases?

None that I'm aware of.

Those are usually referrals, um, people sort of looking for the the right door, um, and we try and be the place to point them in the right direction.

3,500 immigrant advancement resource navigation interactions and more than 500 LGBTQ 1A2S referrals.

None of these cases were able to be handled by any city department because there's no discriminatory agency currently operating.

Well, I'm glad you actually asked about the LGBTQ to IA plus IS Plus team.

So they do some really great work with the Boston Um police department and have created a toolkit for that they call it the anti-hate crime toolkit.

Um they do really incredible work that is well recognized in the community as well as by BPD.

What about if they brought discrimination complaints?

I know the police department wouldn't handle those, would they?

I I don't want to speak on what the police department would or would not want to do, but I think it would it would have to rise to a criminal level, if that makes sense.

Right.

I'm talking about discrimination cases, not criminal.

The Boston Police Department wouldn't be handling any discrimination complaint, would they?

If it rose to a criminal level, potentially, but I think not talking about criminal.

If it's a discrimination case, the Boston Police Department wouldn't handle a discrimination complaint that didn't rise to a criminal case.

I think the MOLA, the LGBTQ uh advancement team works closely with BPD to make sure that that's not what the complainants, or the constituent, that's not the avenue they want to take, right?

So there have been a couple of sort of newsworthy, you know, pick pick a thing that happened the past year that rose to to your newsfeed around LGBTQ couples in public being discriminated against, maybe for bathroom usage.

Um that's work that MOLA works really closely with.

They they often hear from the individuals who aren't sure, right?

Is this a crime they want to, you know, go to BPD with?

Is it something that they want to um handle via MCAD?

Um, and so they they sort of act as a helpful navigator through that process in a place where people don't always feel comfortable with the institutions we're familiar with.

The question was a little more basic than that.

And LBTQ complaining that has a discrimination case would have no place to take their case in the city of Boston.

Where would they take the discrimination case?

The human the human rights commission is inoperative, and that's the only place that would handle the discrimination complaint, and if it's an operative, there would be no place for them to take their case.

Isn't that correct?

Yes, I I'm trying to explain what we do in the I'm just trying to get to the I'm I'm trying to get to where would folks that have been discriminated against take their case within the city of Boston, knowing that the Boston Human Rights Commission is currently not in operation.

I'm trying to describe that they often do bring those things to our teams.

They that might not be the right place, they aren't you know adjudicative bodies, um, but we do get those phone calls and we work really hard to help them navigate and and decide where they want to take the case, right?

Sometimes people do want to go to MCAD, sometimes people want to hire lawyers, and our teams really just work to make sure that they offer people that roadmap.

You are correct that it does not include the human rights commission as an option.

But the city of Boston has no place where a complainant for discrimination case can take their case to be heard.

For any kind of discrimination.

For disability discrimination, they will go to the commission for people with disabilities.

That is an avenue for that protected class.

There's no hearing there.

They couldn't get a hearing there.

There the ADA describes a different process.

But there's no hearing there.

No, there are no hearings as described under the ADA.

Let me just ask a couple more questions to see if my colleague is gonna be back anytime soon.

Um the disability commission received six ADA Title II grievances in 2025.

Two of which were outside of this jurisdiction.

What was the basis for concluding that it was outside of their jurisdiction?

I'd have to look up those exact two cases, but that would be something like the discrimination took place in Newton, not in Boston, right?

Or it wasn't a disability, like the discrimination issue wasn't about disability, it was about age, or it was about to check on the other four too, the other four grievances that were filed to see what happened with them, whether they were referred out, whether there was some kind of resolution to the complaint that was filed?

The four that are listed here would have been handled by Commissioner McCosh.

So she does a process where she works with the constituent to understand what the core issue is, and then they work together to come towards a plan and ensure that the public accommodation where they were discriminated gets retrained, gets um, you know, has to write a letter of apology.

It can really range on what the constituent is looking for, but she and her team work through that process with the constituents.

What authority does the Disability Commission have to investigate and resolve grievances?

The American Women with Disabilities Act.

And how does that differ from the Human Rights Commission?

My understanding, I'm not a lawyer, is that they are given their authority by the federal law passed in 1990, which creates Title II commissioners in municipalities across the entire nation.

So this is her charge that she is given under that law.

Thank you.

I've got a few more questions.

Let me just see if my colleague has any further quick.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

The dashboard hasn't been updated since 2023.

Is that that's accurate, isn't it?

That sounds right to me.

But we've we've had staff there in 2024.

Is that accurate?

I'm not sure, Councillor.

I I started halfway through 2024.

So if the dashboard, it's it's it's it's an example.

If it hasn't been updated since 2023, that signals that this agency, this commission is really not important.

That's what it signals to the public.

If you look at something that hasn't been updated in five years, the public will move on.

And I say that because a critical part of the human rights commission for people to know about it is to educate people on how to file a complaint.

What education has taken place over the last several years to educate the public about the importance of the human rights commission?

Yep.

So my understanding, counselor, is since the commission lost its staff again, somewhere in the early 20s range.

Um there hasn't been that proactive work.

And I think you can see that in some of the numbers, right?

Um, but we have ensured the website is up to date so people can still reach a real live human and have worked with groups like 311, right, to ensure that those phone calls still go through.

But didn't wasn't Evandro Cavallo the executive director.

At some point in that range, that sounds correct, but I my understanding is he left and then is at OPAD now.

Yeah, but when he left what was the position ever filled?

No.

Was there anyone besides Evandro that worked there?

Was he the only full-time employee?

I'd have to double check.

I think there might have been one other at that time, but I again this is well before my my time in the case.

But when he left, I think around 2024, was there any person working there?

When I started, no, but I I'm not sure he was with us in 2024.

But I again I'm happy to go look at the employee records and get back to you all.

So we're going on we're so for about two years, more than two years, there's been no staff, there's been no commissioners, there hasn't been a sign in the door, there hasn't been the home page updated.

No one answers the phone call from the Human Rights Commission.

To me, that signals that the commission is defunded.

And we can say, yeah, well, someone else answers the phone call when it comes in and someone over here at another department can can fill in.

Public does it by that.

Public wants to see someone sitting at their desk, nine to five, doing the job, working well, let me ask a question.

Appointed by the mayor.

When was the last time we've had um human rights commissioners that were commissioners?

Not since my time.

I'd have to double check the exact dates.

What why why would they let go?

What why did they why were they let go from their job while why do they leave their job?

Um I I'm not sure that's how I would describe a commissioner changing roles.

Well in the sense of you're talking about the commission members, like the commission members, they they they did their job, whether they were paid or not, not paid.

Um but why why weren't they doing the why did they leave their job and why weren't those commissioners and if they did leave their job, why didn't we put in new commissioners?

I just want to clarify.

You're talking about the the board members, right?

Yes.

Okay.

Um I'm I'm not sure.

I this is again before my time, but I I'm not sure they all left.

I I'm I'm not sure of the current status.

Well, there's there's no more commissioners that still serve though, are there?

I don't believe so.

But I'm not what I'm saying is I'm not sure they they like formally left or didn't just roll into holdover status.

I I wouldn't describe necessarily a commissioner no longer serving as a as leaving something.

Well they left if if they were a commissioner and they either resigned or were asked to resign, that means they left their job as a commissioner, whether it was paid or not paid.

And and at a point when there was zero commissioners, it seems like there's no commissioners now, at a point when there's zero commissioners and there's no staff and there's no sign on the door, and no one answers the phone, and the home page is not updated updated.

That means to the public it's defunded.

That means we're not prioritizing a way for the public to file a civil rights complaint.

And finish up your question.

Yeah, I will.

I will.

Um and again, I'm not blaming you.

I'm I want to know the facts of what happened, so how we can learn from the facts to move forward.

Um but we do have a lot of un unanswered questions, Mr.

Chair, and with a lot of unanswered questions.

I think we do have to do a 17F so we can learn more about what happened.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Oh, thank you.

Did you not want me to answer your question, Counselor?

I apologize.

Yeah, yeah, my.

I didn't mean to interrupt.

Yeah, you I I I asked a lot of questions in there or comments.

You could take the time.

I was gonna try, sorry.

That's no, that's fine.

That's fine.

I I do just want to be clear that we do ensure people's phone calls go through.

I don't want the public to walk away from today's hearing thinking that if they call the number on the website that it won't be answered.

Um I I understand that we are pointing out that the commission is not fully staffed, but I do want the public to be fully fully aware that they can call the number on the website, they can use the news, you know, the the info form on the website, we will do our best to be responsible.

But it's not only I mean it's not you you mentioned it's not fully staffed.

That's in that's not correct.

It's it's not staffed at all.

Right.

Um and when it's not staffed at all, and and there's no there was no money in the budget for the human rights commission.

Is that accurate?

I believe you guys put in an amendment.

Yeah, but yeah, we did.

Thank you to Councillor Cole Pepper and myself and Council Warrell and my City Council College.

Yes, we we fought for that.

General Fleur.

Let's uh let's wrap it up.

I'm gonna wrap it up.

I'm gonna stop there because um um my good friend Council Culpepper um gave me a um a sharp eye.

And and I listened, I listened to my um I listened to my senior citizens here.

Council Murphy?

Thank you, Catholic.

Thank you.

Um, Chair.

So I just have a few timeline questions so it's clearer to me.

When did you start?

I started in the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet in July of 2024.

And was your role then what it is now?

No, I was just about to clarify that.

I started in my current role as deputy chief the following January.

So January of 2025.

And was there a deputy chief there when you got there in July?

No, we had reordered in that window.

So in that July to January window, so the titles were different, but there was a chief of staff.

Right.

But there was not there wasn't the same reporting structure.

Right.

It was reorganized.

So if I have my dates correctly, Ivandrew went to OPAT on May 6th of 2024.

He did not have any other city job, but he did have um so he would have left just weeks before you came to go over to OPAD if you said you started in July 2024.

But if he was the last director of the Human Rights Commission, and that was his last city job, that we had a director up through May 3rd of 2024.

I I really do not know, but I'd be happy to get back to you after checking.

And so who would though be able?

Because oftentimes, and this isn't on you, but oftentimes we have these hearings and the administration comes, but the people who can answer the questions on here.

So who would have been in that role through 2023, 2024?

Because we're only talking weeks before you started.

We're not talking years, because when you reference like way before my time, it wasn't years ago.

Ivanrew, we had a director up through May of 2024.

Okay, if that's confirmed.

And she not showing up, maybe the next panel knows more.

So that's what I want to know.

Like how long did that director position stay empty?

Yeah.

I my understanding is he left earlier than that, but again, I would have to double check.

Um, and then there were some interim staff, like he was not the only person there when he left.

There were some staff that over time, which which makes me this is all again what I remember from being told by others.

Um my predecessor to answer your question, um, works at BPS now.

Um but David Martinez?

Okay.

Um I've lost my train of thought, counter, sorry, I apologize.

No, that's fine, but I think we all agree that we as a council will have to just get a clear timeline because I think that will help us understand, or for myself at least.

I do have a question about what happens when a city employee files a complaint.

And I believe, I know it's happened to me that you then maybe get sent to human resources, or you're told to go to the legal department or the Boston Police Department.

So if you could explain, I think it's important to know what your relationship is and what this commission are you asking people then to like walk down a different hallway?

Like city employees directly.

Right.

So I experience discrimination in my workplace or or outside?

In your workplace.

In my workplace.

So you're going as an employee, not as a resident.

As an employee, not as a resident.

Yeah.

Um my understanding is those things do go through HR, and that is sort of I believe the ordinance's intention is to separate those things.

It is a little bit different if a resident um is discriminated against in the city infrastructure.

Like if you flip.

Then having to walk down to HR and have to file it as an HR complaints to I would assume in most cases a boss, someone who could retaliate against you.

Um I think there's a couple of things in that question.

One, like the equity inclusion cabinet does not oversee the Office of Human Resources or the Office of Labor Relations.

Those are both in the People Ops cabinet.

Um, and I I certainly defer to that team to answer some of these more detailed questions.

The city does have its non-discrimination and non-harassment policies, right?

Things like that that we all do sign as employees, and so um, those are things created by that team, and I you know, I think we I'm not sure the ordinance contemplates handling those things.

So is your dashboard or do you have data that keeps record of how many times a city employee has come to your office or has tried to reach out to this non-existent human rights commission?

No.

If you are telling them, because it seems like we tell everyone to go somewhere else.

Because no one can go to the human rights commission at this point.

Let's wrap up so we can move on to Council Braden and then move.

I guess.

Was my question not important or what?

It was important.

They're all important.

But we have and I did give you two minutes.

Let's just wrap it up.

No, I hope the city employees out there know that I support them also.

I can answer that question.

That's fine.

No, it's fine.

I'll find out on my own.

Thank you.

Council Braden?

You have two minutes.

Um thank you.

Um, in terms of resolutions, if there's a complaint, is there under the the um the original ordinance for the um the co Boston code for this adjudication of primary is a primary function, and then there's a data-driven reporting, and then further down in section five it said mandatory conciliation upon finding of probable cause all parties must attend a mandatory conciliation session for facilitated by the commissioners, media a mediator, uh and if a settlement is reached, the case is closed and there's a binding conciliation.

Like, do we have that sort of apparatus?

Like if we if we close down the human rights commission, do we have that sort of apparatus to support complainants in in other departments?

Um that is not dissimilar, but not exactly the same to the way a process works in the Fair Housing Commission for a fair housing complaint.

Well, so you know, there's a whole range of of um if it's uh if it's an if it's an employment complaint, I'm not talking about a city employee, I'm talking about maybe someone who's uh um got a contractor with the city who's discriminating.

Like how do we handle those complaints?

Um do we pass those on to MCAD?

So a contractor, uh someone who has a contract with the city, and someone is being like they're a subcontractor for this person.

Um that is a very particular kind of case, and that's something that if that happened to one of my say I we know we found out about this happening about one of the contractors working with someone in our cabinet, um, that is something that we would quickly talk to our ACCs about.

There are things that they that our contractors sign when they are given funding from us that make this uh there's there's several steps there.

So that's maybe not at the per a perfect example, but um there's sort of a different process when it's to lose a covenant of uh an agreement with contractors that they will abide by the several.

Um wage theft and housing discrimination, etc.

Correct.

Um I'm just curious about how the infrastructure actually supports adjudication and resolution going through it in the absence of having a human rights commission.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

And I I think what you bring up, counselor, is that is a good illustration of sort of the interconnectivity of a lot of this work.

Um, right?

Like this this example is helpful to show us that like it's not always just up to this one body.

There are other bodies that are doing this work sort of in parallel, um or can even be in in contradiction, and so um thinking about this from sort of that holistic view is really important, and it's not something that from my understanding of the ordinance is really how the commission is meant to work.

Um, but that's something that you know we would need to take into account.

Well, this is an opportune moment to do a deep dive and see if we can um you know if there's if there's if there's an amendments or changes that need to be made, but my my personal opinion is that the human rights commission is an important um structure to have in the city of Boston.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Councillor.

Just had a couple of questions, Maya.

So what functions did the administration consider in terms of referring the matters that came to the commission to the equity cabinet?

What functions were important to the administration when you began to refer complaints that came to the commission to the equity department?

To the equity cabinet.

Do you mean when we referred certain cases to siphon certain equity department like cabinet departments?

Like, let me write something more basic.

That would be helpful.

What analysis did the administration conduct to make the determination under the fiscal year 27 budget that the commission should be defunded?

This is a more particular question.

Thank you.

Um I think we were in a financial situation that was quite tough this year, and we had to make a lot of really tough choices.

I think I think about the number of cases that are coming to this commission.

And counselors, truly, the number of calls that my other teams get, as you can see, heavily outweigh.

I am not saying that the work of outreach doesn't impact those numbers, right?

But say we were able to double them, that's still half of my smallest of my team that gets the smallest number of referrals.

But some of those cases that were referred to your other equity offices were discrimination complaints, right?

So which set of cases are you discussing?

I'm sorry.

We have the 40 cases from calendar year.

I think you are talking about the 40 cases that I'm talking about the 300, the 220, the 188, the 100, the ones that came to six, the 264, the 913.

What percentage of those were discrimination complaints?

I see.

So we would know that some of the the one some of the ones under the disability commission?

Do you know how many, what percentage were discrimination complaints?

Not percentage-wise, but I can walk you through those numbers and tell you which ones are.

Yes.

So the disability, those six ADA grievances, those are just those are discrimination cases.

Right.

And then the fair housing intake, that's that's the first step in deciding if something is actually a protected class discrimination.

But so my question is even more basic.

So if I have discrimination case, and I call black male advancement, what records are you making that a discrimination case came to black male advancement?

I think it really depends on the case and on the protected class, but do you do you collect that data if it if the black male advancement team refers it to fair housing?

Yes.

If they refer it to the disability commission, also yes.

Right.

What if they don't refer it?

Then you don't collect that data.

If they were to refer it to MCAD, I think they keep track of those things, but it's not something that they pass up to the cabinet, no.

And so is that what you're asking?

That's what I'm asking.

Okay.

My final question is this.

We know that there's now 200,000 that's going to the commission.

How does the administration envision the future of the Boston Human Rights Commission?

Now that there's funding there.

It's something to think about.

We only got our final budgets um at the very first week of July.

Um so I'm still working through with all of my teams to finalize their their grants, some of their contracted services.

Um we really appreciated the council, um, obviously for all the amendments this year, but there was so much back and forth that it's taken some extra time to finish up the planning for FY27.

So I I just am not in a position to really answer that question to the case.

And you do agree that there are reforms that needed to be made to the Boston Housing, Boston Human Rights Commission.

I I think I could have a very long conversation with all of you about the the ways in which um the current ordinance sits and doesn't contemplate, especially some of the other teams that I oversee or that are throughout the city.

Sure.

And so as we work and as we review the human rights commission, how can the administration ensure that the essential work of the commission is continued?

So that is what we have striven to do at the I would argue that the essential work of the commission is to ensure that we are answering constituents when they reach out.

I am not saying that is the only thing we should be doing, but I do think we owe it to the public as public servants to ensure that we are taking those phone calls.

And I would love, I think this has been a conversation that has you know brought some things to light, but I think we would love to discuss further what like what the council believes is essential above that.

Um but I do think the like the biggest thing we focus on, and I I think genuinely we do a strong job with ensuring that those constituents at the very least feel heard.

And do you agree that the commission should be the human rights commission should be a place where someone can go and file a discrimination complaint and receive a hearing on that discrimination complaint?

I think I would go back to my previous answer of I think there are other entities at the city, and again, I'm not a lawyer that have that exist after the Human Rights Commission was the ordinance was written, right?

Well, tell me then if there are other departments where a person can receive a discrimination complaint hearing in the city, what department is it?

So the two places where that happens.

No, I understand that race complaints or sex complaints.

I I was not talking about those protected classes.

I just I think from a broad vision of the ordinance, if we again I know it doesn't cover this.

If you came to the city of Boston with a race discrimination complaint, there's no place in the city of Boston where you could have an adjudicatory hearing.

Not if it was not related to fair housing.

Thank you.

Council War has joined us.

You've got five minutes, counselor.

Uh thank you, Chair, and um an effort not to repeat any questions.

I'm gonna save my uh questions for uh the next panel.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Thank you.

Thank you, Maya.

Thank you, Counselor.

We're gonna move to the next to the next panel now.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Maya.

I'm gonna call the next panel to the I see you're ready.

Commissioner McKenna.

Leonard Lee Commissioner.

Uh Michael Memolo, executive director from the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

And is Carolina Monte here?

Yes, hello, Carolina.

Is she gonna be on?

Thank you.

For taking the time on your busy schedule.

We're gonna start our first panel with uh Carolina Almonte.

And you have six minutes.

Thank you so much.

Um, and it's Carolina, but that happens all the time.

Um, so happy to be with you all this afternoon.

Um thank you, uh, Mr.

Chair.

So um, as I I shared, my name is Carolina Almonte.

I use she, her pronouns, and I am the proud executive director of the City of Cambridge's Human Rights Commission.

I also oversee our Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship, and the Cambridge Police Review and Advisory Board.

I appreciate the opportunity to share more about the Human Rights Commission's mission, its work, and the dedicated Cambridge residents who serve as commissioners.

We were established back in 1984 as the city's local civil rights enforcement agency.

And big picture, our mission is to protect the human rights of everyone who lives in Cambridge, works in Cambridge, or visits our city.

The Commission receives and investigates complaints of discrimination under the Cambridge Human Rights Ordinance and also the Fair Housing Ordinance.

These complaints involve discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and education.

Although the commission does not provide direct legal representation, we investigate complaints as a neutral agency.

We facilitate conciliation and mediation when appropriate, and we often connect community members to relevant legal, social service, and advocacy resources.

We're fortunate to have a uh very dedicated um and wonderful attorney investigator, Vanessa Carr, who manages the intake and investigation of our discrimination complaints.

Our team also consists of a wonderful program manager, Esther Farah, who recently joined our team, and she leads event planning, keeping our websites um and public-facing materials updated, and she handles initial community calls.

Following an investigation, when a complaint is filed with us, um, I work closely with Vanessa to um determine whether there's probable cause to believe that unlawful discrimination occurred.

When probable cause is fine found, commissioners may assist the parties in reaching a resolution through mediation.

If the matter um cannot be resolved, commissioners may serve as hearing officers in a public hearing, although um we do not have many public hearings, or at least not since my time overseeing the commission.

The commission is also a fair housing assistance program or FAP agency, um, and that means that we receive federal funding for our enforcement efforts from the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development to support our work.

Um so that includes in the intake investigation, conciliation, and resolution of housing discrimination complaints.

Also just wanted to add that in addition to the seven um classes that are protected under the federal fair housing law, the Cambridge ordinances provide broader local protections based on characteristics, including age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, and source of income.

The city recently added two new protected classes, um, which are relationship status and family structure as well.

The commission's work extends beyond complaint investigations.

We also really focus on education and prevention, um, which I find very central to our mission as well.

Our staff provide trainings, workshops, and presentations to landlords, we meet with employers, business owners, city employees, students, community organizations, and community members.

These efforts address topics such as fair housing overall, and that's the highest number of complaints that we get, reasonable accommodations, source of income discrimination, sexual harassment and housing, harassment, harassment based on national origin or race, and other emerging civil and human rights issues.

Commission staff also collaborate regularly with other city departments.

We were recently restructured, so now we now live under the equity and inclusion department in the city of Cambridge, which has really strengthened our ability to coordinate across departments and align our work with the city's broader commitments to anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The commission itself is comprised of 11 volunteer members who live in Cambridge, and they reflect the diversity of our community, including populations that have been historically experienced discrimination.

Our commissioners bring a wide range of professional expertise, community knowledge, lived experience to their work.

They help us identify human rights concerns.

They hear from residents and subject matter experts, and they help shape outreach and educational priorities that the commission staff can implement.

Commissioners also review staff determinations and settlement agreements, and as I mentioned earlier, participate in mediation and hearing processes when appropriate.

To prepare them for these responsibilities, commissioners receive training on fair housing law, on mediation, on standards for reviewing staff determinations because they're not required to be lawyers.

Some are, some aren't.

The open meeting law and the state's ethics law.

This training helps ensure that they carry out the responsibilities fairly and partially and effectively.

In a typical year, our commission investigates approximately 30 to 40 complaints, and we successfully mediate roughly 40% of our cases.

Resolutions are often monetary compensation, anti-discrimination training for the respondents, and sometimes also in addition, uh changes to policies or practices.

Because we are embedded in the Cambridge community, we understand local institutions, conditions, languages, and emerging concerns.

This allows us to not only respond to the individual complaints that are filed with our office, but also to identify broader patterns and use enforcement, education, outreach, collaboration, as I mentioned, and policy change to help prevent future discrimination.

At its core, Commission works to ensure that Cambridge remains a community where everyone is treated with dignity, has meaningful access to their rights, and that there's a local place for folks to turn to when they experience discrimination.

Thank you all for the opportunity to speak with you, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Almante.

Let's start from our left to our right.

Let's start with Commissioner McKinnah.

You have six minutes.

Yes.

So I'm Margaret McKenna.

I am a civil trained as a civil rights lawyer in employment discrimination.

I sued police departments all over the country for the Department of Justice.

In addition, I was the executive director of IORA, which was the International Association of Statutory Civil Rights Organizations.

MCAD, Philadelphia Human Rights Commission, the Boston Human Rights Commission.

So I was the executive director.

I actually years back trained all the MCAD folks when Gloria Putnam, famous Gloria Putnam was there.

So I know this field really well.

And in addition, I've been on the Boston School Committee, chaired DESI, been around in and out of government forever.

It's been actually frustrating for Leonard and I to listen today.

There's a difference between constituent services and legal adjudication of cases.

It is nice to have constituent services.

Nice to have.

You have a right to file cases and get them adjudicated in a system that is laid out in the ordinance.

Those are two separate things.

I left the Human Rights Commission where I was the chair, when the chief equity and inclusion took the staff of the Human Rights Commission and had them report to her, not to the commissioners.

We, Leonard and I and others, and I've talked to the others, had no say in what the staff did anymore.

It was up to the chief of equity and inclusion.

So you have to decide is this an independent agency, or is it an advisory committee to the mayor?

And that is a big distinction.

If you see one of the things that happened is the UMass folks did a report that basically looked at statutory human rights commissions around the country and said you have to be independent.

Otherwise, you're an advisory committee.

So the question that was asked if I'm a city employee and I've been discriminated against, I am not going to go to the city human resources committee.

I want to be protected in my rights.

That's why you have a human rights commission.

And we had that experience.

And you know, if there's ever been a time, I'm old, right, been around forever, uh, and this is such an unbelievably difficult time for some of us to watch what's going on.

In terms of hate speech that is now the norm.

As opposed to people used to be afraid to say the things they're saying.

They maybe believed them, but now it's like okay to say them.

So if you can say them, you also act in a certain way.

So if there's ever been a time when an adjudicatory body needed to exist, it's now.

We have to protect the rights of people of color.

One of the issues we brought up was transgender, not only discrimination, but violence.

We had at the time Leonard and I were there, we had Proud Boys walking on the streets with masks, intimidating people at Beth at Brigham and Women's.

So there are times then I think, and these are the times, that organizations like the Human Rights Commission's Commission needs to exist.

And one of the things we were asked to do by the then the mayor, for instance, was to follow up on the police reform commission's recommendations.

We did scorecards about what they had been doing.

But when our staff started to work for the equity cabinet, we had no staff to do what we wanted to do.

The only thing that was done was by now followed me as the chair, was a professor from UMass, continued to do some reports.

But there wasn't, there's been no staff for years.

It isn't when Ivondra left to go to the police accountability, it was two years before that.

So there's been no staff.

So it basically hasn't been functioning.

We did a lot of interesting things.

We did broadband access.

We brought all of the providers in to hearings to ask them why there was a difference between the costs in Roxbury and Mattapan to get the same services that you got in the back bay.

And as a result, they actually did some things to improve that.

We had subpoena power.

None of the constituent services that work for the mayor have subpoena power.

The housing authority does, but there's no executive director of the housing authority.

My recommendation is you bring housing under the Human Rights Commission, which are both legal entities with subpoena power, with adjudication power, with resolution power, and uh give some teeth and some real expertise to the organization.

I don't think there's been a time when we have seen such a struggle with so many.

You know, my friend Leonard here, in terms of black boys and men and what's happening to them, the disappearing from higher education.

Why is that?

What's happening in the schools?

Uh there are so many issues that it is exactly the place where the Human Rights Commission should shine.

So I'm I'm thrilled to be here.

I am thrilled as a civil rights lawyer to be talking about this.

I've spent my whole life talking about opportunities for those that don't have them.

So even to be here and to be able to do this, um, I feel privileged, and I think it's so important.

So I urge you, uh, and I think you'll hear from others.

I mean, MCAD is a great organization, but has a backlog two to three years.

Uh, and I don't blame them.

I mean, the staff is, you know, is struggling.

But this is ever a time, this is the time to bring this back as an independent, not in constituent services, independent entity to deal with some of the issues we've heard today.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Commissioner Lee, you have six minutes.

First and foremost, I want to say thank you, councillors, uh, Council Culpepper, Councillor Flynn, Council Warrell, Councilman Breedon.

Um, I'm from Boston, born and raised, wasn't busting.

Anyone in this city who thinks the Human Rights Commission in Boston shouldn't be and should be under the mayor, they must be sleeping.

Uh I grew up in a very racial tension city, which uh it still is as I travel around.

I'm a former deputy commissioner public health, uh Bureau Director of Public Health and Injury Violence Prevention, very well known in the community, advocate for virtually any and everything.

People still come in to the day, like I'm a city councilor.

Um so I have my finger on the pulse in terms of when people are feeling disenfranchised because of the color of their skin or the sexual orientation.

Uh my colleague here who I highly respect and was one of the reasons why I wanted to get on the uh on the commission, because I didn't want to be a part of a circus.

So uh underwall, she brought in a lot of talented, educated uh advocates to be on the commission who will not sit and just go along to get along or get along to go along, who would really advocate for the little man or woman, whatever the situation was.

So I was really hopeful that we're gonna change the narrative of this city one person at a time, where people will feel comfortable about coming to a commission, knowing that they may not get what they want, but they're gonna be treated fairly, you humanely, and it's not gonna go because it's offending an administration to the back burner.

We did some pretty amazing things in the short time that we were here, and as my fellow commissioner said, you know, uh one of the things that we talked about a lot was the transgender piece, which was, I mean, it was bad.

It still is bad.

Uh another thing was the human rights for black men in terms of discrimination that's been going on forever.

But also changing the narrative of this city.

I get to travel around this country quite a bit, and people to this day still say City of Boston is one of the most racist cities in in America.

And I fight that every single time to tell them that is not the case.

However, when I have someone who works for the city of Boston and someone who discriminates against them, knowing I'm on the commission comes to me and says, I went to everyone and no one wants to hear me because it's offending the administration.

It makes me feel like we're just going along to get along and still keeping that narrative that which is going to travel throughout the country.

I think we have and had an opportunity to help change that.

But as you can see, and as my colleague uh said to me, said to everyone today, the importance of having an independent body being able to advocate for the person who's been discriminated against or treated unfairly, is not it's not only crucial, it's necessary.

It's humane, but for someone to talk something different, especially with the history that we have, that means what's sleeping.

And as I said earlier, we've done some pretty amazing things.

We connected with a lot of people, and interestingly enough, people would come to us because of our relationships of other things, because they know our integrity's in place.

And they would bring stuff up to us that maybe they wouldn't bring up to other people, but they knew because of our past that we would do something and not just sit around and accept it to make it happen.

I mean, we advocated to have a staff so we can get the work done that we needed.

However, it didn't make any sense for the staff to report to the to the mayor, because therefore the question that we always have is what happens if it's from the administration?

You can't police yourself.

Um I'm here.

Uh two reasons.

One, I'm proud of my city councillors for bringing this up, because this is a bold step to maintain something to keep the integrity of our city in place.

Two, I want to let people know the importance of human rights, not only in the city of Boston, but throughout the entire state.

Because it's happening in our city, handover fist.

You can sleep on it if you want, but it exists.

So having a human rights commission is just really, really, really important to make that happen.

And as the other commissioners who were here, I mean, we just had some pretty amazing people on the commission.

And I I was listening, and I never got a letter to say I wasn't a commissioner.

I never got a notice saying that, you know, I looked on the site and they didn't have my name anymore, and I was like, oh, what does this mean?

So the way not only how we were disrespect it, but how the city was disrespect it around one of the most crucial pieces of the city, human rights.

So any questions, I'll leave to my colleague.

Thank you, Commissioner.

Attorney Memelo.

Uh you've got six minutes.

Uh thank you, Mr.

Chairman, and to um clear the record, I am actually not an attorney, so uh but thank you uh to you and and thank you to your colleagues here on the council uh for uh entertaining the MCAD today and in this discussion.

Um, you know, I I do applaud your efforts to seeking to strengthen and improve um the adjudication of civil rights um in the city of Boston.

Um it's been said before uh by Councillor Brennan and as well as my colleagues up here, uh this is truly a time uh and moment uh where strengthening civil rights protections is of the utmost.

Um I won't sit here today to try to tell any city or town uh how they should move forward in um establishing their human rights commissions.

Uh what I will do is give some context from the state side from the MCAD side of our interactions with human rights commissions over the years.

Um generally speaking, human rights commissions were established around the mid-80s into the mid to late 90s, uh, with the purpose of attempting to assist the MCAD in its long-standing backlog, uh, as well as to create community-based entities that could help address uh discrimination complaints closer to where people lived and worked.

Um, in practice, most of these human rights commissions uh faced significant operational challenges.

Most lacked the necessary funding to support staffing.

Uh instead, they were relying heavily on volunteers to perform functions such as intake, complaint review, witness interviews, mediations, investigations.

Um whese volunteers were very well-intentioned and no doubt committed to public service, uh, they often did not possess the legal training or specialized knowledge of state and federal anti-discrimination laws, uh, jurisdictional requirements or applicable statute of limitations.

As a result, complainants experience delays uh that jeopardize their ability to preserve their rights before the MCAD or the EEOC.

In certain instances, uh cases were made with local human rights commissions for extended periods of time being before being referred to the appropriate agency, resulting in missed deadlines and impacting critical evidence.

During the late 1990s into approximately 2001, uh the MCAD entered into work share agreements with several uh municipal human rights commissions.

Um that was done to leverage local resources and again reduce case processing times uh and assist the MCAD.

Ultimately, these partnerships proved to be ineffective.

Uh unfortunately, investigations took substantially longer than anticipated.

Uh the resulting findings come uh lacked frequently lacked the evidentiary development uh necessary for MCAD to accord them substantial weight.

Uh consequently, we were required to conduct our own independent investigations, effectively duplicating efforts uh and expanding additional agency resources.

In many cases, the MCAD had to start uh the investigation from the very beginning.

Um the underlying concept of human rights commissions uh in assisting the insisting the MCAD is very worthwhile.

Um, our experience has shown that uh local commissions are very rarely funded or staffed at a sufficient level uh to perform the complex investigation, adjudicatory or mediation-based functions uh that are required in assessing a discrimination case.

Uh additionally, uh not true for uh Boston as uh the commissioner you know adequately and in superbly uh you know announced, uh most HRCs generally do lack the enforcement authority or the subpoena power or the formal investigative structure uh or established alternative dispute resolution programs to be able to be uh uh a heavy hand in in discrimination, anti-discrimination claims.

And even further, most, including the Boston uh uh uh uh HRC are required by their own ordinances to actually file with the MCAD or uh the EEOC uh to ensure the protection of state and federal rights.

Uh and just as a reminder, in Massachusetts, uh most claims of commit of discrimination uh require the exhaustion at the MCAD, meaning you need to file at the MCAD before you can remove your claim to court.

Um this exhaustion cannot be satisfied by filing with the uh a local HRC.

Uh based on again our experience, uh local HRCs are most effective when they are focused on community education, uh, early resolution uh initiatives such as mediation uh when available, outreach and public awareness, helping residents understand their rights and the remedies available to them.

These functions complement the MCAD statutory enforcement role and provide meaningful value to the civil rights ecosystem without duplicating investigative and adjudicatory responsibilities that are uniquely invested with the MCAD.

As we move along at the commission, um we are about, and I see the clock ticking down here, uh, about to invail an endeavor upon uh a great new initiative of online filing of complaints of discrimination.

Truly, people will be able to file um where they are uh and and at a time that is convenient for them.

And we are looking towards re-establishing our uh long-standing commitment to local HRCs, which is actually statutory required by our advisory board, um, and hopefully having HRCs leverage the MCAD's online filing portal to give that assistance to your constituents at the local level and assisting them to actually file a complaint with the MCAD in a timely way.

Uh I thank you very much for your time and happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Uh council counselor, you have five minutes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you to Margaret and to Leonard and to the Mass Commission Against Discriminal Discrimination and to my good friend as well, Cassandra, um, for being here.

Um so I listen closely to all your public comments and respect the work you have done and worked with Margaret uh for a number of number of years on um at the Human Rights Commission.

But does the city margarit, does the city of Boston does the mayor's office unilaterally just have the ability to defund an organization, defund a department if um if they don't want it.

Maybe it I should have asked it to the previous um previous um person from the mayor's office, but if something is built by stature, is established by statute, I should say, doesn't it mean that it has to continue?

Uh my answer would be yes, you should, but in essence, several years ago, they basically defunded it.

Yeah.

Because we had hadn't had a uh staff for three years, maybe.

And the only work that was being done was is volunteers was a professor from UMass, who was the my predecessor, my successor as the chair, who was doing some work in terms of reports.

Uh but other than that, there was no one there to do the work because the staff when they were there were reporting to the chief equity officer, and then the staff was gone, there was no staff, so there's been no activity at all for years.

And what we heard this morning from the deputy chief, those are constituent services.

Those are like, you know, I want not a placket for my car because of a disability.

Those are not discrimination complaints that are there are subpoenas and hearings and adjudication or even attempts for mediation resolution.

That's those are very different, and I think one of the issues with the city is understanding the distinction between constituent services and rights uh being adjudicated.

I know we had the deputy director of operations that testified.

I believe the director should have been here testifying.

In fact, the director, I met with the director about this issue when I was city council president, and nothing against the deputy director, but I I think the director would have had more um knowledge of a lot of these issues because she was clearly um engaged in this discussion, and it was somewhat frustrating to me that a lot of our questions were just not answered, and again, not not a not criticizing the deputy director because she just didn't know the answers.

And again, not criticizing the deputy director because she just didn't know the answers.

But let me ask Leonard a question.

And Leonard and Margaret and Cassandra and But Leonard, you've been around a long time, and we've had a lot of racial turmoil in this in the in the 50s and the 60s and the 70s and 80s.

But but here's here's my question, Leonard.

And you know, certainly we have made progress, but to continue that progress, you need to stay on top of the issue.

And you mentioned, you know, you go you travel around the country and people still criticize Boston.

I hear the same criticize criticism too.

I travel to DC in support of disability rights uh for veterans, and I hear the same criticism.

Um but imagine hearing the criticism and then that person knowing that this is the city that defunded the Boston Human Rights Commission.

That's what's that's what's apparent to me that it's it it's it shows your what your priorities are.

Just want to see what your thoughts might be on that, Leonard.

Well, you know, I love my city.

Uh so I defend it.

And it's kind of hypocritical in a lot of ways when I tell somebody I'm a human rights commissioner and I'm dealing with this stuff and perception uh 24-7, and not being able to articulate the commitment that the city has in terms of fighting not only the perception, but the support to to have somebody where people can honestly feel they're gonna be heard, and something's gonna be uh uh uh done at some level, but when you hear, this is not I'm defunding uh polls, parking ticket polls.

We're talking about defunding an entity that some people lose their lives behind it.

Some people have serious mental issues behind it.

Some people wind up leaving this city and never coming back, and the biggest thing of all is the perception that is given to the world.

So someone looking through the window, it looks like they don't give a damn.

And so that's really really hard for me.

You know, I'm not moving.

I love this city, and I'm gonna continue to fight the narrative around the city, the racist city in the world.

I'm gonna continue to fight regardless with administration with without it.

But it it it speaks volume of counselor when someone defunds uh a human rights commission that could be an independent body to support the people who are being disenfranchised by any level.

Thank you, Larry.

Uh Mr.

Chair, could I ask a question to my final question?

Yeah, I wanted to ask uh Cassandra a quick question.

I have great respect for Cassandra, the work she does and um advocating for persons with disabilities.

But Cassandra, did you, as a disability rights advocate, did you know the process of how to file a complaint or communication with human rights commission, or did you know about the human rights commission, or did you ever receive any type of uh briefing about it because I respect you and the work you do, and I'm just saying I'm just asking the question is because one of my goals is really to make this more known for all the public.

Um and Cassandra, thanks for being here.

I just wanted to hear what your thoughts might be.

Um hi everyone.

Um I did not I did not know about these commissions until much later on in the beginning of my disability um advocacy here in Boston, and I never really got a briefing about how this works.

I had to learn through trial and error, and it really helps if people, especially such as myself with lived experience with lifelong disabilities, would be given the opportunity to have the chance to be briefed on said uh agencies that exist because it gives us a lot of time to feel heard and seen, and to actually receive helpful support, and because there's always a roadblock in the way whenever we're trying to go through with fighting for our rights, and when we are stuck at that roadblock, this is left for us to feel disparaged and to never go through with what we're going after.

And I hope that answers the question directly.

Counselor, I'll come back and I just wanted to answer her.

Just go on.

Yeah, Cassandra, um, yes, it does answer my question.

Um you answered it completely, and thank you very much for being here, Cassandra.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Councillor.

And Cassandra will have two minutes to testify uh once we finish with this panel.

Want to move to our other co-sponsor, Counselor Warrail, you have five minutes.

Uh thank you, Chair, and thank you uh to the panel for serving and also being here uh lending your voice to this conversation.

Uh one of my questions is um you you described and you touched on this a little bit, um, independent entity.

Oh, you said constituent services uh versus um adjudication just for the public.

Can you just go a little bit deeper on the differences on what the commission was doing based off of what you heard from the administration, what they plan on doing, um, and why that's not uh the right way forward?

Yes, thank you.

Um the difference is if I'm a constituent services, I can go and complain about something, and it may or may not be resolved, and then that's it.

Right.

But if I file a complaint, there's a process uh which has to be followed in terms of hearings.

We can subpoena people, we could subpoena a company.

Suppose somebody's being discriminated against by a company.

We can subpoena the company to come in and and testify, they have to do that.

Constituent services, they don't have any authority to do that, and they don't do that.

So there's a there's a huge difference between having legal authority to call people in uh and try to resolve disputes.

What when you have both a carrot and a uh a hook, I mean both, but here we have uh the authority to bring people in and try to resolve these things.

Right.

And do you see any other, I mean, your time being on the commission?

Do you see any other city department that could take on that role if we or the city and if the city decided to eliminate the human rights commission?

No, that they don't have the legal authority to do that.

The only place is the housing commission, the housing uh commission, which now actually doesn't have a director or staff, so they're in the same situation, but they they would have the authority if they were funded and treated as they should be, like HRC.

And then you spoke about the um well uh Commissioner Lee, you talked about how this all happened, right?

Was there any conversation prior to the removal of staff, prior to the concert uh the consultant uh being um uh you know reporting out what they think you know should happen to the human rights commission?

Was there like a conversation between you and the chief of equity to say let's try to do better, let's here goes the improvement plan.

Was there any such conversation?

Yeah, it was almost it was disrespectful in a lot of ways.

I mean, I just want you guys to picture who was on the commission.

We had the dream team of advocates who knew the law, who fought on the street every day, who are advocating for people who are being disenfranchised.

We didn't have a bunch of people sitting there eating cupcakes.

We had people, once they left the commission, they were doing stuff 24-7.

That was their life, and that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to be on the commission.

I love being with people who think like I do, right?

In terms of wanting to change and make a difference in this community.

So for me, uh, to your question, it becomes really really important to have those conversations which we never had.

It is we would like, what the hell?

Excuse me.

We were like, what the heck is going on?

And they're well, it's going to be a report here, and I was like, Well, do we have a say?

No.

Right.

So we were disrespected not only for being on the commission, but for our time, for our effort, for our relationships, all that.

And we still stay.

Right.

And did you have um any conversation with the consultant that issued the report?

Was there any so what consulting?

Yeah, we're consulting.

Okay.

I there were there were two reports.

It's about 30 pages long, and it recommends that the be independent.

What I understand is that there was a $50,000 retainer for some consultant.

I tried to get that report but was unable to.

I have no idea what it says.

Right.

And then haven't reached out to either of the past commitment.

I know that because I've spoken to all of the commissioners, Leonard and I served with.

And then a question for executive director, uh Almonte.

And I hope I said your name right.

What what would you say to the city of Boston who is currently in this?

Well, just thinking about disbanding or eliminating the department.

What what would be your message to the chief of equity city counselors in the administration?

Sure, I thank you very much for your question.

To me, I would respond to say that I wholeheartedly believe in human rights commissions.

I've been with the city of Cambridge for six years, and I'm very proud of our work.

And I think for human rights commission to be successful, it has to be well funded.

There has to be staff available to not only oversee the commission but investigate complaints.

Which, as I mentioned, is our investigative process, which I know someone else noted that MCAD has a big backlog.

Really proud of MCAD, and I know they do incredible work.

I think our benefit is we're much faster.

We we resolve most of our complaints in under 100 days.

Um to partner with the city of Boston, which is a really important partner for us to see ways that you know it can uh continue kind of on this path forward to hoping uh to kind of better serve the community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Warwell.

Counselor Braden, you have five minutes.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you all for being here.

I I came in not having no preconceived notions of what I was going to learn, and I've learned a lot this afternoon, and I really thank you for your service.

Um I've been looking at not just um other uh human rights commissions and and I just glanced at the the web page for Cambridge and um uh the Cambridge they have it there that the human rights commission in Cambridge is a law, a city law enforcement agency.

That's very different from, as you mentioned, Margaret, a uh constituent services operation.

Um could you speak to you know just how important the independent law enforcement aspect of it is in terms of how um a human rights commission could function?

I know you've traveled the country educating people about this um in terms of best practices, what what it look like and and what do we need to bring back our human rights commission to its full full force and effectiveness going forward?

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Uh I I think the independence is key.

It protects the individual who is uh reporting discrimination.

Uh if if they if it reports to this to the mayor's cabinet, the mayor's cabinet is part of uh a group of people uh uh that report to the mayor.

This way, you know, that person is protected, feeling they can come forward and and be protected, and that will not get back to uh you know whoever they're lodging a complaint against because there are procedures to protect that individual.

So I think it's very important.

I don't even think this is sort of purposeful on the part of the city.

I I don't think there's a clear understanding of the difference between complaining about something help me with as opposed to I was discriminated against and I'm afraid.

Yeah.

The difference between constituent services and law enforcement.

Yes, totally.

And it is a law, law enforcement agency is very different than somebody saying, you know, help me out if you can.

Yeah.

In terms of and I know you mentioned the importance of um community education, and I feel that you know that's a very important role because uh I remember hearing a uh a union organizer in Belfast talking to people about human rights to public uh cleaners in the hospitals, and they said you've got human rights, and they says, Well, what does that mean?

And they said, Well, you are humans and you have rights, and she says, Well, that's the best kept F and secret secret I've ever heard of.

So, you know, people and people don't know what their rights are.

A lot amazingly, people don't really appreciate their rights until it's it's really spelt out to them.

Um in terms of good practices and public community education, what what's your thoughts on that from AmCAD's point of view?

Yeah, thank you, Counselor.

Um, we actually have an entire unit dedicated to that.

We have a training and outreach unit um that is consistently going throughout the Commonwealth, uh educating uh individuals, uh businesses, uh places of public accommodation, uh housing authorities and and and housing providers uh about what the law in Massachusetts is relative to discrimination.

Uh we also partner very closely with all of the cities and towns.

We have a whole um role of know your rights uh trainings that we do in collaborations with cities and towns.

We we do leave it up to the municipality to contact us to say we'd like you to bring this here.

Um, but we're out there doing those rather consistently.

Um it's truly you know what you know, and you can only know what you know if somebody tells you.

And uh at least from our perspective, uh outreach and education is the only way that people are gonna understand that an HRC exists, that the MCAD quite honestly exists.

I can't tell you how many times we come across individuals that say, I didn't even know who you were or what you did, and that that you know always breaks my heart.

Um, no matter how much we do outreach, whether it's through social media, uh we partnered with the MBTA for the past many years to do extensive statewide um PSAs.

Uh so really getting the message out, I think is an incredibly important uh piece of of any HRC and just making people understand they exist and what they what services they can provide to them.

Um I know uh again looking back at other jurisdictions, they they sometimes combine their human rights ordinance and the oversight um their human rights commission has a has a role in human rights ordinance and their fair housing ordinance and put it all under, I think that was my point I was trying to make earlier to the previous panelists, you know, like the human rights commission can act as a as a an umbrella organization to be enforce the law and and adjudicate complaints.

Um in terms of Madam Mr.

Chair, if you don't mind, um does that seem like a reasonable given that we are basically cutting back on our our fair housing section as well, like it does it seem like a reasonable way forward to to put those two things under the same umbrella as a way to you know strengthen both and keep keep their keep keep the str keep the strength and keep make sure that those laws are being enforced.

It's one of the things we suggested as commissioners because they're both law enforcement agencies, so I think it makes a great deal of sense to have them separated out from uh uh uh the the uh equity and inclusion cabinet and have this as a legal entity housing and discrimination.

Yeah, yeah.

We found okay, we we investigated a bunch of HRC throughout the country, like in Seattle, uh uh um uh San Diego.

Uh there was like three or four, actually it was like five or six that we looked at, and some of the most successful models were exactly what you're talking about.

Uh I even uh had went to uh South Africa and talked when I told them I was on the human rights commission, they thought I was God.

Because it's like you actually you actually can enforce something when somebody does something wrong to you.

Yeah.

Uh another example in Bahia, uh Brazil.

If you say something that's discriminatory, you will go to jail.

And you're very serious about that.

I was talking to the human rights commission, and I was like, you have empowers like that.

You know, like yes, we take it very, very seriously around any type of discrimination.

Uh so again, the model that you're talking about have been proven to be very successful in other uh cities and towns in our country.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Thank you, Councillor.

Can I just say all of us are available after Leonard and I, Annie Russo, uh Robert McAkrin, all of us who were on are very committed to this and will do anything to help you uh and provide any support and advice?

That's exactly what I was gonna ask.

Mr.

Mamola, let me ask you a couple of questions regarding Boston residents increasingly relying on MCAD.

What impact is it having now if we don't get the commission back in order to handle some of these cases?

What impact will it have on intake later and on investigation and complaint resolution timeliness?

Uh Mr.

Chairman, do you mean in terms of the impact on the MCAC?

MCAD, yeah.

Yeah, because right now they're referring most of the cases that come into MCAD that would be handled by the Wallace Human Rights Commission.

My point is if we keep referring all these cases to what's the impact on MCAD and your resources, MTA, investigations, and timeliness.

Yeah, it's it's it's a great question.

And um, I would say from our perspective, the MCAD is probably positioned as well as it has been in many decades to really be able to weather uh that type of impact.

Um we have recently gone through an entire statutory reorganization uh that was passed by the governor and the and the legislature relative to uh reorganizing our board, um, uh doing certain uh uh changes to you know the position of the executive director which hadn't uh existed before, uh, as well as the new commission stepping in and really um going and listening to uh so many individuals that made comments on our procedural regulations uh relative to really trying to expedite the process, make it a better experience.

Uh, I think you know, we've said it, we don't um back down from it at the MCAD.

We understand it and what the impact of a backlog means, and I think uh everyone, at least from uh the governor to the uh leadership and and rank and file in the legislature uh at the state hubs has committed to the MCAD in a meaningful way uh to try to uh mitigate uh any uh bottlenecks that we've had to make it a better agency, uh, and we're starting to see the fruits of that uh come to fruition uh now.

Uh so from uh from our perspective, you know, the the impact is something we can probably absorb, but again, we do value uh the local HRCs and and the types of um you know uh types of information, types of uh assistance that they can give to people to help us uh and and you know to really be a resource uh for for their constituents.

What fundamental changes was made with this recent reorganization?

Yes, so we uh we went from uh a commission board, uh again we're we're talking about independence, the MCAD is an independent state agency, so we do not report to the executive or the legislative branch.

Um we have a commission that was formerly uh appointed by the governor.

There were three members.

We now have a board of five, three three of which are appointed by the governor, uh, and two of which are appointed by the attorney general.

Um those individuals are appointed to five-year terms.

Uh the chair is designated by the governor, it is the sole uh full-time employee of the commission.

The other commissioners are all um per diem or volunteer uh commissioners.

Uh really now the paradigm is shifted to the agency uh taking control and overseeing the investigations and moving uh the cases in a meaningful way, with the commission being sort of the appeal board uh relative to after decisions are made to be the sort of the final say on um uh a decision that's made at the agency, whether it's an appeal of uh of a decision that's made to either dismiss or lack of probable cause uh right up to still serving as full commission members on on those matters that have been adjudicated, because again, we are uh not only the investigative arm, but we are also the adjudication arm, or we have our prosecutions and hearing officers rendering decisions uh after full adjudicatory hearings, uh which are then subject to appeal and review by the full commission.

Uh those were really the major uh tenets of the legislation, uh and then to sort of dovetail with that was the um procedural regulations and their uh their update.

Uh so the commission, the new commission came in.

Uh there was a great deal of changes that needed to be made just relative to the reorganization, uh, the fact that the agency was implementing new technology and a new case management system and online filing portal that was not otherwise contemplated under the old regulations and instilling uh new uh I think innovative ways to uh move cases uh more quickly and get people decisions uh and their option and ability to remove to court uh in a more uh timely way.

What best practices have you seen across Massachusetts for the local human rights commissions?

I I I will say not just because the executive director is online, but we have had uh a great deal of interaction uh with the Cambridge HRC.

Uh they they really are committed uh you know to that organization uh as the executive director mentioned, you know, the the funding is there, the staffing is there, um they have a solid ordinance um and and way to enforce and adjudicate um discrimination complaints.

Um they've got great leadership too.

Uh and uh, you know, I I think they're one of the ones that we would probably look to and say, you know, they're really doing things well.

Um, from our perspective, you we have very little interaction with other uh HRCs at this moment in time.

Again, it's a priority of mine and a priority of the agency once our new advisory board is is impaneled.

But again, both the governor and the attorney general have appointing uh authority uh for those positions to really get back to our roots and and and have that board be the conduit and the bridge between the municipal HRCs and the MCAD and strengthen those relationships.

Did you get a copy of the draft ordinance for Boston?

And I don't want to try and put you on the spot, but take it back, look at it, and then give us what recommendations you think need to be made, whether we're working on it, it's a work in progress, it's just a draft, but we do want you to take it back and look at it, and then we can talk about it after you've had some an opportunity to digest it, even with your general counsel.

I may want to share with him and take a look at it.

Absolutely, and and um uh you know, I did appreciate the clause of not duplicating efforts with the EEOC and the MCAD.

Again, that's that's we're all uh resources are very precious these days all around, whether at the municipal level or the state level.

Uh so I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Commissioner uh McKenna and Lee, these either both of you can answer these are one at a time.

What contributed to the Boston Human Rights Commission becoming inactive?

What were the major contributions that made the commission become an active?

Well, I will say quickly, uh giving the staff and taking the staff away.

Uh not giving us the authority to manage the commission.

Um feeling like we're not just placeholders that we have some impact to help support those who are being disenfranchised at any level.

No, I agree.

When the when we were told that the staff would now report to the equity cabinet, we had no authority over the staff anymore.

So we were going in two different directions, the commissioners and the staff.

Let me also say about MCAD is if I'm correct, there's a significant number of MCAD complaints that come from Boston more than anywhere else.

It is a burden on MCAD.

And if there were a relationship with MCAD of a very professional staff in Boston, it would help Boston and it would help MCAD.

And it would help the citizens of Boston be responded to in a timely manner.

Ms.

Elmonte.

Yes.

I had a couple of questions for you.

Regarding Cambridge, the Human Rights Commission, the role and the scope of your local enforcement authority.

Can you talk about that a little bit?

Sure.

So the scope of our enforcement authority is detailed in both of the ordinances, our local laws that we are charged with enforcing.

So as I mentioned before, the the fair housing ordinance and the human rights ordinance.

And that details, you know, our complaint process, our commission structure, what kind of outcomes are available if discrimination is found, things like that.

So those are the laws that we enforce, and then also the Fair Housing Act through our partnership with HUD.

What about damages?

So we can if a case gets to a hearing, which as I mentioned does not happen very often.

There can be civil damages that are mandated at the end of our process, and we do have authority.

But I believe that's what our ordinance says.

And what about punitive damages?

We do not I think MCD does, I know Mike, you could clarify that for me, but um we do not uh issue um those under our local laws.

And in with regard to enforcement and education and outreach, how do you balance that?

That's a good question.

I'll say that the meat of our work is definitely our enforcement activities.

I think our attorney investigator said that even in just the last few weeks we received about um you know 16 to 20 new intakes, which for again a three-person department is is a good number.

Um and a lot of our enforcement activities are dependent on the kind of cases we receive.

So if we see that we're getting an influx of you know, disability-related cases or national origin discrimination cases or sexual harassment-based cases, then often we'll we'll frame our outreach and community um engagement efforts along those lines, and then figure out which um you know who should we should collaborate with to make sure that the public is aware of their rights and that we're free resource available to anyone who would like to file with us.

Did you get a copy of the draft ordinance that we were working with?

I did, yeah.

I didn't have too much time to review it, but I'm happy to similarly provide feedback.

No, I wouldn't expect you to try and comment now, but I do want to talk to you about that at some point.

Take some time and review it and and mark it up or mark it down, mark it around, however, we want to mark it up.

Because we need uh outside help also, especially from one of the uh human rights commissions that we think is uh doing really good work, especially hearing from the uh MCAD.

Just one last question.

Um based on your experience, what best practices from Cambridge could Boston consider adopting?

It's a big question.

Um I think what I'm most proud of is as I've kind of said a few times, really our ability to um you know remain neutral and thoroughly investigate our complaints so that you know, um, as maybe not surprising, a lot of our our findings are lack of probable cause because you know the legal standard to make a discrimination complain complaint is a little bit difficult.

Um, you know, but when we issue out determinations, we are really thorough and we make clear that we do not skip any steps, and I think we have over time built a lot of public trust that you know, even if you might not get the outcome you're seeking, um, we took the time to hear you out, made sure that we were available to meet in person on the phone with an interpreter on the line.

Um, you know, if you want to mail in a complaint, that's fine.

We have you know translated forms, really just thinking about how can people actually use us and trust that our job is really to um you know leave no stone unturned.

And I think um I'm proud of our model.

Again, I think we're we're small but mighty is how I always describe us, and I think we're really diligent in our work.

Um, you know, and I'm really excited that to be a part of this conversation because I think Boston's an incredible city, and I think as I've said before as well, human rights commissions are really invaluable tool to have.

Um, and if there's ways we can support and also lessening the burden on MCAD and making it so that more folks um just have another avenue to use, uh especially in now more than ever, which we know uh discrimination and and just harassment and things like that.

There's been an uptake over the last few years.

Um yeah, I think just really having like a clear system, we have clear policies, protocols.

Um, I think just really having like a clear system, we have clear policies, protocols, um, we lean on the law department if there's any kind of murky questions and really try to prioritize resolving complaints in a timely manner, and then always trying mediation no matter what.

Um we've been, I think, pretty good at at achieving those goals.

And who do you report to?

I report to the chief of equity and inclusion.

And and how does that work?

So she's my direct supervisor, as I I mentioned, we've been responsible.

Not necessarily.

So our commissioners are advisory to the city manager and the city council.

Okay, great.

And and what's your budget?

Um, our budget is relatively small because we have the HUD um the HUD funding, which pays for a portion of our attorney investigator's salary, um, about 40k.

Uh, we usually get a grant of around that much per year, and it's dependent on how many cases we resolve.

And then we typically would get an additional grant that we would use from community engagement, but we haven't received that grant um in the last year or two.

Um then the rest of our budget is yeah, covered by the city.

And so are you a heart equivalency agency?

Yeah, fair housing assistance.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Flynn.

I mean, Councillor Flynn, I'll give you two minutes.

I want to get to the public testimony.

So counsel, I guess.

I wonder if you could if you could uh we could ask you to see the report that the consultant did.

It's not online, and I'd love to see what they recommended.

Yeah, m Margaret, is that the is that the report you mentioned the the UMass report?

No, no.

There's a consultant that was hired for 50,000 dollars to do a report on recommendations about what to do.

Yes.

And we haven't seen it, and it's not online.

No, I know that that that's an important um, that's an important topic.

I I would assume Margaret, the um the re the report i is public, although we haven't seen it.

Um Mr.

Chair, through through you, could you um ask the administration for the report?

I will.

And I believe it is a public report.

It should be, I believe that the report should be posted online if the city is using city resources money to pay some but pay an organization to do a report.

I think that's a public report.

So we will check and you've got one minute and no, I know, but I think these are these are important though, these are important.

Um I want to say thank you to the Maas Commission Commission Against Discrimination for helping Boston or or for dealing with the cases that Boston should be dealing with.

I want to acknowledge that and say thank you.

I appreciate it, the residents of Boston appreciate it.

Thank you, sir.

Um let me just ask Margaret, do you or Lena, do you know what the purpose of the report uh was?

It was to recommend the future structures of the human rights commission.

Yes.

Okay.

Our understanding was that that consultant was going around the country and looking at models that that work, and then coming back and giving uh a solid recommendation how we should structure uh the commission.

So uh and I know we haven't read it, we don't have it, but do you think that report was based on the basically the decision of the city to defund the human rights commission?

Oh, we just don't know.

I would think not, but we don't.

Okay.

And my my final question to Margaret, and I I've known Margaret for many years.

Margaret, but the way the city of Boston Human Rights Commission um is written into law, is there anything wrong with that writing?

Does it need to be changed?

Does it need to be updated?

Um is there anything that we're missing in in the way it was written 84?

Certainly, times have changed, but would what is you what is your recommendation on on that?

Well, my recommendation is who it reports to.

Yeah.

That that's the basic, it can't report to the mayor's cabinet, not to equity.

It could report to the uh the general counsel if you want it, or just administratively some place, but it can't report to the chief of equity.

Okay.

Um Leonard, um I also want to say thank you to you for for the work you have done.

Um let me just ask one general question to you to you, Leonard.

How important is it to ensure that the public knows about how to file a complaint to the Human Rights Commission and to educate people in Boston about how important HRC is to the residents of Boston?

I think it's essential.

I mean, I can honestly say through my network, I know through Margaret.

Once people found out that we were associated with the Commission, our phone started ringing.

So imagine if we there was a big uh education process throughout the city around the Human Rights Commission and its function.

It would be phones will be ringing off the hook.

It's crucial to get that information out there.

Thank thank you, Leonard.

Thank you, Margaret.

Uh Mr.

Chair, I think I only have six more questions.

Well, because please submit them in writing and uh I'll forward them to the panelists.

Let me just say this, Commissioner McKenna, Commissioner Lee, uh, Mr.

Memola, and uh Director Monte really appreciate your testimony today, your commitment to seeing that the Boston Human Rights Commission become active and effective uh in the near future, and uh we'll be talking to you and working with you as we uh begin to finalize the ordinance that we're working on.

I think it's essential that we have an effective Boston Human Rights Commission, especially in Boston, and I just want to thank all of you for your testimony and for your commitment to ensuring that Boston becomes a city that other cities can look forward to in terms of human rights and carrying out the best interests of the citizens.

We want to move now to our public testimony.

Thank you so much, and uh we'll be in touch about that report.

I know what report you're talking about.

We'll be in touch with you about that report, and uh just thank you so much for working to serve the city of Boston.

Thank you for Director Mamelo, and thank you, uh Director Malte.

We'll be in touch with you real soon.

Thank you.

Want to call up Carolyn, Akella?

I think you're there already.

Uh Rachel and Heather.

Thank you.

Let me know.

Come on up, and you can sit in the panel seat if you want.

Come on up.

We've got Carolyn up here.

We're breaking precedent today.

We're putting you in the panelists.

We've got Cassandra.

I saw you on your way here.

I saw how excited you were to get here, Cassandra.

You were walking so fast.

You're walking.

You were walking faster than those cars were driving.

So I know you wanted to get here.

Look, thank you for being patient and waiting.

Was that you in that car?

That was me, right?

Oh, he hugged them.

He was like, who is that?

You each have two minutes.

Look, I really thank you for uh being patient and waiting.

Uh all that time you've been here.

We'll start with Cassandra and then we'll go to Rachel and then we'll go to Heather.

Thank you.

Cassandra, you have two minutes.

Hi, uh, my name is Cassandra Xavier, and I'm a disability advocate out of the north end of Boston.

And I have a slight concern to raise.

Well, first I want to say thank you very much for having me here.

Um, I couldn't wait to get here to speak with everyone.

But the concern I have to raise is the ethics in which the police department interacts with persons with disabilities, especially when they call for help.

And in turn, it leaves some of us feeling victimized, and in the end of the interaction with Boston Police Department, um, it left uh not so good feeling, and I don't really have a lot of dealings with the police department, so when I was asked information, police officer asked me for my social security number, and I was taken back by that question.

And because I was uncomfortable and I was a little scared, if I refused to give that, I was afraid something was going to happen to me.

And so I begrudgingly gave him my social security number, and I didn't feel good about that because that's very tender information that I don't think anyone needs to be giving out to anyone for any reason.

Um so we're communicating with the police accountability department in Roxbury to find a way to remove that questionnaire entirely, either throughout Massachusetts in total, or all of America in total.

So I'm looking forward to working more with having accountability and that question being completely removed when interacting with police.

Thank you.

Thank you Cassandra Cassandra was that your testimony and your yes if that was your testimony yes yes okay thank you Cassandra and we'll talk more about that offline.

Yeah.

Okay Rachel you have two minutes.

Okay so first of all I'd like to thank uh you chair Culpepper uh counselor Flynn and Counselor Warrell for calling this hearing uh I like to say that I have several babies and one of them is the Boston Human Rights Commission about 10 years ago I started making calls to Boston City Hall regarding the Human Rights Commission and then in 2018 I renewed my advocacy and it resulted in the commission being re-established and I submitted a blueprint uh that would explain what its role was its raison d'être there was an educational arm and I felt like while it wasn't complete and I understood that over time there would be adjustments and additions that I felt that comp that even so that it was it was a good start um after I submitted the blueprint I did not hear anything else from Boston City Hall some people talked about feeling disrespected I have felt incredibly disrespected because I have been trying to get answers about the Human Rights Commission here in Boston for the last eight years and I don't want to point fingers I'm going to follow the lead the professional civil lead of counselor Flynn but it's left me feeling discouraged because I think that Boston given its history we should have this beautiful wonderful human rights commission.

And I want to kind of give uh my background really quickly as I wrap up I trained as a barrister overseas and my background was in human rights and what led me to focus on human rights is that I'm Jewish and members of my family escaped horrible conditions in Europe and so that's kind of influenced everything that I've done I've done human rights work in Austria in Hungary in Israel in the UK and when I brought information to Boston City Hall about relaunching the Human Rights Commission I brought that knowledge as well as my professional formation and the human rights commissions that I had looked at around here so I think it's rather ironic that as a human rights commission and we're talking about that that there hasn't been a lot of respect not only to me who led the advocacy to launch the commission but also people who have served upon it and I want to be part of these conversations because we absolutely need this human rights commission and we can't expect other commissions to kind of pick up the slack so to speak there's a place for it and we need to make sure that we're educated about it and that we advocate for it and that it functions the way it should.

Thank you for your time.

Rachel thank you so much and if you could get a copy of the document that you submitted you could get that to us so we could look at it as we began to draft amendments to the ordinance.

I would be delighted to again thank you for your time and thank you for your advocacy.

Okay Dr.

Cook Hi good afternoon everybody um first off I want to thank counselor Culpepper Counselor Flynn in Warle for sounding the alarm on this matter um I took a few notes and wasn't initially I was really here to support Cassandra but kind of felt compelled to step forward and say a few things um from from some notes that I took um first and foremost I'm a lifelong resident of Boston by way of the South end.

I was really here to support Cassandra, but kind of felt compelled to step forward and say a few things from some notes that I took.

First and foremost, I'm a lifelong resident of Boston by way of the South End.

I was born into eminent domain and gentrification.

Um came up under the leadership and tutelage of our pioneers and leaders within the community as it relates to advocacy.

I have about 35 years of local, state, and federal advocacy, primarily with housing and more recently, public safety.

Even to the space where I have self-funded platforms of culture bearing where I've provided resources and not to mention referred people to this space, um, this commission space that seems to be defunct.

Um I was very shocked to learn that this is an empty space.

I'm not sure if it's if it's gatekeeping, a gatekeeping space or what the purpose is.

But um, some questions that I have are um is funding what's determining the continuity of this space.

Um I see from the conversation um that was had with Cambridge that there's an opportunity to share their blueprint.

Um I'm wondering why the Human Rights Commission is not fundamentally prioritized.

Um that's a huge concern, especially since the people become the collateral damage.

Um we have people who are losing their housing, they're losing their lives, they're losing their dignities, and and these behaviors that are um unjust are just continuing.

Um I wonder why these subject matter experts have been in these roles, and if they didn't sound the alarm, why did they not sound the alarm?

Um I'm wondering are these positions nominal and are these people still holding these positions if work is not being done in these rooms.

I want to know where the accountability is.

Um, and now I've heard that there are subject matter experts in these roles and and within this commission, but I also want to know who are the people in the community, because we have advocates and activists like myself, um, yourself and Cassandra who are happy to step into these positions.

Um it's really not about getting a paycheck, it's about making sure that the city of Boston is a safe space.

Um and so that's basically, you know, I I appreciate you all for sounding the alarm.

I hope that this is more than just a conversation, um, because we all know that if it there's no action behind it, what's the point of us being here?

So um I plan to stay involved in the conversation.

Um, and if you all need to call on myself, I'm happy to step in.

Thank you.

Thank you, Heather.

And one final statement.

I want to say thank you to both actually all three panels that that were here.

Um I want to say thank you to Rachel, to Heather, to Cassandra, to the previous panel as well, to the administration um official that was here.

But I do think Boston should have the best human rights commission in the country.

Um certainly Cambridge has an excellent human rights commission.

Um, but I think Boston should have an exceptional human rights commission.

We're not there.

And I think working with three people right here that want to be engaged and active, and there's other people across the city.

I think residents want to see us take civil rights and human rights seriously, whether it's um addressing hate crimes or discrimination against people of color, persons with disabilities, people in the LGBTQ community.

Boston is a city that we need to ensure that when people come to City Hall and file a report, it's taken seriously.

Human rights and civil rights are top issues, and I'm gonna continue to focus and work on those with my good friend Councilor Culpepper, Councilor Wrell, and um all my colleagues here as well.

Mr.

Chair, thank you very much.

Thank you, Counselor.

I want to uh emphasize that today's hearing is not the end of this conversation.

It's really the beginning of the work to rebuild the Human Rights Commission.

The council did secure 200,000 in a fiscal year 27 budget to continue the commission.

And now we have an opportunity to make sure that when it becomes active again, we're not simply recreating what existed before.

That we use this moment to build a stronger, more accessible, more effective commission that residents can turn to when they experience discrimination, and one that has the tools necessary to meaningfully protect civil and human rights in Boston.

We receive feedback today, and the testimony that we receive will help us continue working on the ordinance, including this proposed complaint and investigation process and enforcement authority.

We want to have hearing procedures, and that's the adjudicatory component that we were talking about earlier that doesn't exist right now.

And we want to develop a relationship with MCAD and other agencies and resources necessary for this commission to carry out these responsibilities effectively.

Thank you.

Thank you.