Board of Selectmen Statement on Racism

Below is a link to the Board of Selectmen's Statement on Racism.

Board of Selectmen Statement on Racism 

Wayland Board of Selectmen Statement on Racism

The Wayland Board of Selectmen acknowledges that the ongoing demonstrations in Wayland and throughout our country, sparked by the death of George Floyd, have laid bare the racial inequities and racism that pervade American life.  We, as community leaders, recognize the devastating harm caused by racism and commit to work toward eradicating it in our town.

We acknowledge that regardless of one’s own race or ethnicity, most individuals are at various points along an anti-racist journey.  We understand that bias can be unconscious or unintentional, and that racism is the combination of social and institutional power plus racial prejudice.  As we endeavor to be an anti-racist and ethnically unbiased community, we will strive to identify, discuss, and challenge issues of racism and the impact it has on everyone who lives, works, goes to school and passes through our community.

The Wayland Board of Selectmen commits to

Listening

  • to voices of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color that inform us of the injustices they have long endured
  • by remaining quiet during moments of discomfort, when their stories challenge the ideas we believed to be true
  • throughout conversations about racism that require humility, courage, respect, and empathy

Understanding

  • the history of racism in America and the world, and how it continues to operate today
  • how implicit bias and systemic racism affects our own ideology and actions as well as the policies, programs, and practices in every sector of public and private life
  • white privilege and the inequities and disparities that give white people material advantages over People of Color

Taking Action

  • by opposing and challenging racism in the world and the community around us
  • by promoting cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of life
  • by implementing strategies and best-practices to dismantle systemic racism and oppression
  • by supporting organizations that fight policies that create racial disparities
  • by posting accurate information on social media and promoting organizations that help the causes and advance the rights of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color

BOARD OF SELECTMEN

     LEA T. ANDERSON
     MARY M. ANTES
     THOMAS J. FAY
     CHERRY C. KARLSON
     DOUGLAS A. LEVINE