The Oct. 15 Human Rights, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (HRDEI) Committee meeting began with Emma Gargano, a Wayland High School senior and Girl Scout, discussing the results of her cultural blindness project as part of her Girl Scouts’ Gold Award. Gargano described cultural blindness as the inability to recognize cultural differences, often leading to feelings of isolation for those with diverse backgrounds. She noted that her inspiration stemmed from a speech at her sister’s graduation about cultural alienation in the community.
“People remember moments of cultural blindness. It sticks with them and impacts their lives,” she said, emphasizing the need for increased cultural awareness.
During the last Wayland Multicultural Festival, Gargano engaged children with hands-on experiences through games and crafting sessions to learn about different cultures. She encouraged the committee to add more kid-focused activities at future festivals to help sustain the initiative.
Committee members explored ways to carry over and integrate her activities into future events, suggesting partnerships with schools or Girl Scouts rising in the ranks to continue the cultural awareness efforts.
Strategic priorities for 2024-25: Equity assessment, festival planning, and incident response: The committee then moved on to setting goals for the coming year, including an equity assessment, incident response development, and the organization of a 2025 Multicultural festival.
Members also debated the committee’s role in incident response, particularly regarding hate crimes and domestic abuse. With the anticipated hiring of a social worker at the local police department, the committee sees an opportunity to collaborate on developing a community-based incident response system.
“We need to follow through on this now that we have staff coming on board who could support these efforts,” Co-Chair Marianne Mary Ann Borkowski said.
Website and social media strategy: Discussions on enhancing the committee’s online presence continued, with members considering ways to better utilize the town’s website and Facebook page. Committee member Eunjee Kang explained that the website would serve as a formal platform for announcements, while Facebook could be used more informally to engage with the community.
There was consensus on the need for a more dynamic content strategy, including regular updates about the committee’s work, relevant community events, and ongoing projects. The group identified November’s Native American Heritage Month as an opportunity to highlight cultural education initiatives on both platforms.
Committee members got updates on planning a 2025 Multicultural Festival. They discussed the decision to hold the event in the fall rather than the spring. Concerns were raised about the potential difficulty in coordinating performers, especially school groups, due to the timing. Borkowski pointed out that planning an autumn event could encounter issues with student availability and preparedness, but the fall date might work better for artists from Arts Wayland.
The committee also addressed the need to rapidly submit a budget request to the town. Last year’s organizer, Jessica Schendel volunteered to organize the groups to prepare a proposal for the town manager’s office.
The committee’s next meeting will be on Nov. 19.
