Westford’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee met on Wednesday, Sept. 30 to discuss updates on the Town Manager search as well as previous and upcoming events, including Indigenous People’s Day.
Its next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 28. At the time of reporting, the schedule and Zoom link had not yet been posted.
Town Manager search updates
DEI member Andrea Peraner-Sweet and DEI Select Board Advisor Thomas Clay gave updates on the search’s timeline for the DEI Committee.
Peraner-Sweet will serve as the Town Manager Search Committee Co-Chair alongside Finance Committee member Suneet Chadha. There are 13 members on the Search Committee in total.
The Search Committee will meet with the Select Board to discuss shared criterias for the next Town Manager. From there a job description will be created and published for potential applicants.
Next, the Search Committee will conduct initial screenings and interviews, eventually narrowing down three candidates to be presented to the Select Board in mid-December.
“It’s a really strong committee, and I think the town is really well-supported, ” Clay said. “In addition to doing the Select Board interviews, we’ve also asked the consultants to do a community listening session…the idea being [they hear] what the issues on people’s minds are, so they have that additional direct public input.”
DEI Chair Joe Diamond expressed his interest in the committee helping either directly or indirectly with conversations with the candidates. Peraner-Sweet assured that DEI will be included.
“Certainly, DEI was the focus last time, and I’m sure it will be a focus again this time,” Peraner-Sweet said. “One of the things I really appreciate about the committee that’s been put together is that it comes from all aspects of the town. I think we’ve got a really terrific balance of people who’ve had experience in and volunteered for the town, as well as new individuals who are stepping up either for the first time or just most recently.”
Indigenous People’s Day
The third annual Indigenous People’s Day Recognition Event will be held Saturday, Oct. 17 on the town common at 10 a.m. Featured speaker Larry Spotted Crow Mann, Rep. Jim Arceiro, and Director of the Westford Museum Linda Green will all speak at the event.
Spotted Crown Mann is an award-winning author, nationally recognized speaker of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe, and director of the Oketeau Cultural Center. He spoke at last year’s event and is returning this year.
“The Nipmuc [Tribe] are the folks who are indigenous to the land we call Westford,” said DEI Co-Vice Chair Wendy Gloyd. “It’s pretty special to be able to have a connection with Larry, and find out more about the history of what has taken place and is still going on with the Indigenous folks in Massachusetts.”
The DEI Committee is also working on including Taino cultural performers. The Taino are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.
“They are the people of first contact with Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean, and their cultures and communities continue today despite colonization and displacement,” Gloyd said. “Hearing from them is going to be an important step in our educational journey as we build upon learning about indigenous people of Massachusetts and the U.S. in the upcoming years.”
The Westford Historical Society & Museum and also collecting tax-deductible donations for this event. More information can be found at this link.
General updates, other events
DEI School Committee advisor Valery Young also updated the DEI Committee on her event Harmony Against Hate, which was held on August 29 at the Parish Center for the Arts. It was a free community event organized in response to antisemitic and racist graffiti found at a Westford golf course this past July.
Harmony Against Hate brought students, families, and neighbors together in solidarity, featuring youth voices, music, spoken word, and more. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and State Rep. Jim Arciero also gave speeches at the event.
“It was a really great night,” Young said. “You could feel the energy of the young performers. That was our original goal, when [DEI Committee member] Lisa [Kilpatrick] and I had that first jumping-off conversation of how to take that moment in our community and turn it into something positive and upbeat. It felt like we achieved that.”
Kilpatrick added, “I was so proud of all the kiddos that showed up and the families that supported.”
