Human Rights Comm. Adopts Its Vision

The Revere Human Rights Commission (HRC) held its regular monthly meeting Thursday evening, March 9, via Zoom.

Chairperson Janine Grillo Marra and fellow commissioners Kourou Pich, Rev. Timothy Bogertmen, Fire Chief Chris Bright, Molly McGee, and Rachid Moukhabir were in attendance.

The HRC’s new Executive Director, Claudia Correa, who is the city’s recently-appointed Chief Officer of Talent and Culture, also was on hand for the meeting.

After starting with the usual Land Acknowledgement (in which the commission acknowledges the Pawtucket Tribe as “the original overseers of this land”), Marra then led the group through a brief meditative session to “arrive and settle” prior to getting into the business of the evening.

Marra then recited the HRC’s Mission Statement:

“The Mission of the Revere Human Rights Commission is to promote human and civil rights and empower all people of Revere by ensuring that everyone, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized, have equitable opportunities, equal access, and are treated with dignity, respect, fairness, and justice.”

In the Monthly Acknowledgements section, the HRC marked National Women’s Day (March 8) and March as Women’s History Month.

The members then took up a proposed Vision for the HRC, which was derived from submissions made during creation of the Mission Statement:

“A thriving Revere where all community members live free of racism, poverty, violence, and other systems of oppression, and where everyone has equitable access, opportunities, and resources, as well as a sense of belonging.”

McGee made a motion to accept the Vision which was seconded by Chief Bright. The commission members then unanimously adopted the Vision.

The commissioners then reviewed its Yearly Roadmap of Activities for which Marra presented a first draft, which consisted of a review of the events that the  commission has undertaken thus far this year and those that it hopes to accomplish in the upcoming months

The items the HRC will be highlighting in the coming months include:

— April: The 21-day Racial Equity Challenge in April, a celebration of Diversity Month, Arab-American Heritage Month, Cambodian New Year, and Autism Awareness Month;

— May: National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Jewish-American Heritage Month, Haitian Heritage Month, Indian Heritage Month, and Older American Month;

— June: Juneteenth Celebration and Pride Month (Tea Dance);

— September: Hispanic Heritage Month;

— October: Italian Heritage Month. Domestic Violence Awareness Month. and Indigenous People’s Day;

November: Native American Heritage Month; and

December: Universal Human Rights Month.

The commission’s next meeting is set for Thursday, April 6.