Natick May Create New Committee Focused On Diversity, Equity

NATICK, MA — The Natick Board of Selectmen on Wednesday will discuss moving toward creating a town committee that would handle issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Select Board members Karen Adelman-Foster and Sue Salamoff have proposed setting up a task force to study creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. The task force would report back with a recommendation on how to create the new committee within four months.

The task force would be comprised of one Select Board member, two people picked by the School Committee, and six town members who either work in Natick government, have professional or life experience related to racial justice, or have experience in community engagement.

If created, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee would be available to hear about incidents of racial discrimination in Natick.

The idea of a racial justice committee comes as cities and towns across the U.S. grapple with protests related to police violence, and the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on people of color. In Framingham, Mayor Yvonne Spicer and the Board of Health released a joint statement declaring racism a public health crisis. Boston made a similar declaration.

In moving toward the creation of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Adelman-Foster and Salamoff referenced a 2016 Board of Selectmen vote opposing discrimination — that fall following the election of President Donald Trump, a Natick man received racist letters demanding he stop bringing Black people into a local neighborhood.

The Board of Selectmen could vote on creating the task force idea as soon as the July 15 meeting.