As a former member of the Northampton Human Rights Commission, I have had mixed feelings about all the publicity generated in the Gazette. Despite our efforts at visibility, until Tara Ganguly’s insensitive tweets made front page headlines, it’s likely that few people even knew that a human rights commission existed.
Shortly after I was appointed a commissioner in 2009, the commission chose the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a vision for our city. Proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on Dec. 10, 1948, the declaration promotes “the inherent dignity and … the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.”
My interest in serving on the commission was sparked by my involvement in the Darfur Action Committee of Congregation B’nai Israel. As part of our efforts to advocate for an end to the genocide in Darfur, we asked the commission to join with other Massachusetts communities to co-sponsor a resolution condemning the genocide and urging state agencies to divest from companies doing business with the Sudanese government.
My heart swelled when City Council members passed the resolution. I applied to be a commissioner, excited by the opportunity to make a difference locally and globally.
Each monthly meeting of the commission began with a reading of one of the Declaration’s 30 articles, followed by discussion of how it could guide our mission “to promote human rights in the city of Northampton.”
For the roughly five years I served on the commission, we identified and responded to individual and community issues. Realizing the vision of the Declaration of Human Rights necessitated community education, programming, advocacy and dialogue. Representatives from community organizations often came to our monthly meetings requesting support for a bill or proclamation.
In 2011, the commission sponsored the Massachusetts bill, unanimously passed by the City Council, adding gender identity and expression to the commonwealth’s list of hate crimes and to non-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit.
Joining with Jobs with Justice, we sponsored a Right to Organize bill unanimously passed by the City Council in 2012. We joined the Living Wage Coalition in its efforts to enlist city government and businesses in aspiring to pay employees a living wage.
We brought refugees, veterans, union workers, people of color, members of the GLBTQ community, religious leaders and others together for a Human Rights Day celebration, including a moving reading of the Declaration of Human Rights.
In conjunction with Forbes Library’s “On The Same Page” program, we organized a panel of refugees and who told their stories, and joined with the Veterans Education Project to sponsor a panel of war veterans. Our Human Rights Day luncheon in 2010 brought about 30 representatives of city and local social service organizations to collectively discuss how the commission could better address the needs of vulnerable populations in Northampton.
The Bring our War Dollars Home resolution created conflict between those who wanted to target money used for defense on education, and other local needs, and those who believed in the importance of defending one’s country.
The Human Rights Commission responded by facilitating a town meeting to create a safe space to promote mutual respect and understanding on both sides.
My monthly column was an outgrowth of my membership on the commission.
Recent coverage has focused on the commission’s role in addressing human rights complaints. During my tenure, the commission took complaints from individuals who felt their human rights had been violated. However, we were clear that we could only act in an advisory capacity.
Complaints often dealt with landlord-tenant or employee-employer situations. We provided information, referral and advocacy. We had no legal authority, but others’ perceptions of our moral authority sometimes made a difference.
Despite the informational brochures we circulated all over town, in reality, we received few complaints. Complaints were discussed in executive sessions to protect confidentiality. When Alan Seewald, the city solicitor, informed us that human rights complaints had to be part of the public record, we were confronted with an ethical challenge.
How could we continue to take human rights complaints if we couldn’t maintain the confidentiality of complainants?
Sadly, I believe that Mayor David Narkewicz, in spite of our efforts, never really valued the commission. Vacancies were left unfilled. The mayor’s policy of restricting membership on city committees to Northampton residents resulted in the loss of a long-time commissioner. A letter from the commission imploring him to let her serve out her term fell on deaf ears. Demoralized feelings led to resignations, including my own.
Northampton may be a progressive community, but like every other community, it’s still confronted with social challenges.
The Human Rights Commission should be the conscience of this city. But Northampton needs a commission that is committed to respecting each member’s voice, and a mayor who will actively respect and support the commission’s work.
Sara Weinberger of Northampton is a professor emerita of social work and writes a monthly column.