At their final meeting of 2016, the selectmen responded to reported incidents of bigotry in town—particularly the painting of graffiti on the Bromfield rock during the Thanksgiving holiday—by voting unanimously to adopt an anti-hate pledge and by urging the Harvard police to find those responsible.
Introduced by Selectman Stu Sklar at the board’s Dec. 20 meeting, the pledge affirms that Harvard is a community “that cares about its citizens and those who work, play, or simply come to visit” and that the selectmen oppose “all expressions of hatred, intolerance, and discrimination.” The statement encourages residents “to continue showing that we are a caring and supportive community for all.” (See complete text below.)
The pledge is identical to the one adopted by the Natick selectmen on Nov. 29, which Sklar said he learned about in a Boston Globe article published that day.
“I thought it’s something we should do,” Sklar told his colleagues. In a city, he said, residents expect the mayor to speak out against acts like the defacement of the Bromfield rock. “For lack of a better word, we [the Board of Selectmen] are the mayor.” Sklar said the incident had upset a lot of people in town, “more people than I thought, actually.” He said that a number of constituents had told him their children were upset about what happened, as were they. “I think they’re right,” he concluded.
Discussion of the pledge lasted less than 15 minutes. Chairman Ken Swanton thanked Sklar for bringing it to the board. “I don’t think Harvard is a town with hate in it,” he said, “but when you go paint a swastika, that, to me, is deplorable. … I think it’s a good idea [for the board] to take a stand.”
Selectwoman Alice von Loesecke said she liked that the board was standing with the community and saying “we do care.” She said, “Whether it’s some young person trying to be funny or whether it’s truly somebody with a hateful intention, doesn’t matter; we just don’t tolerate things like that.”
Selectman Ron Ricci said that he saw a picture of the Bromfield rock on Nextdoor Harvard while on vacation in Georgia. Unfortunately, he noted, when the painting on the rock was discovered, the first act was to take a picture of it. He said that in his view posting the picture online had been “irresponsible” and that the person who took it should have called the school authorities or the chief of police.
Pursue the perpetrators
“What I could see was pretty disgusting,” Ricci said. What stood out for him, he said, were the words “Trump 2016” and a swastika, which he viewed as someone trying to paint Trump as a Nazi. Rather than making a “hollow statement,” said Ricci, “I think you should go after the persons who did this, and you ought to deal with them.” Ricci said he’d like to have that sentiment “factored into” the pledge. “I like your statement,” he said, “but I think we should be stronger about making sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace said she wanted the board to leave the pledge as is, but she suggested they add a statement in their minutes encouraging the chief of police “to do due diligence” to find those responsible for the Bromfield rock graffiti.
The board then voted unanimously on the original motion, made by Wallace and seconded by Ricci, to adopt the anti-hate pledge as submitted. Following the vote, Swanton asked Executive Assistant Julie Doucet to add Ricci’s request for more aggressive police work to the minutes.
“If we don’t follow through, we’re just making words to make people feel good,” said Ricci. “I’m not about making people feel good. I’m about doing things.”
As of Wednesday, the Harvard police had yet to apprehend anyone for defacement of the Bromfield rock, but Detective Daniele Fortunato did tell the Press that no further such incidents had been reported in town since November. Bromfield School Principal Scott Hoffman said he was unaware of any breakthroughs in the case.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, reports of hate incidents nationwide declined significantly following a surge immediately after the election. During the period from Nov. 9 to Dec. 12, a total of 1,094 incidents were reported. Massachusetts reported the fourth highest number (53), behind California (125), New York (94), and Texas (71).
Anti-Hate Pledge
In response to recent acts of intolerance, the Board of Selectmen reaffirms that Harvard is a community that cares about its citizens and those who work, play, or simply come to visit our community. Harvard has always shown that each individual should be treated with dignity and respect, and we oppose all expressions of hatred, intolerance, and discrimination. The Board of Selectmen encourages our community to continue showing that we are a caring and supportive community for all.
Source: Minutes of the Harvard Board of Selectmen, Dec. 20, 2016
