[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6117409,"mediaKeyId","2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0","parentId",2730420,"title","Needham Human Rights Committee to pursue speakers and programs on transgender rights, human library and civic education","audioSeconds",2355,"startMs",1560000,"endMs",3915000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0&start=1560&end=3915","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0/thumbnail_1560000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6117409/Town-of-Needham/Norfolk-County/Massachusetts/Needham-Human-Rights-Committee-to-pursue-speakers-and-programs-on-transgender-rights-human-library-and-civic-education","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117409-2ebe84e141c44910b894a156019fd522/orig.mp4?Expires=1771070717&Signature=mOEFCpkATy4qdDumDSt5e-cA~LNj5riaP-TTmWrya3Z7Z6BpasRsQzXUgFYr~PGKsByE-HLduiRStlWoJDkmeZZ4B0tDU9sYAJ4xFHXBv9aKApolTHigWDvSANEUFn-gOJ5z-nUpdEwo2OqADrBAfdfmR1BN9hfopaoZ0UT~D5KAGzzeuT0OEcDK6zceNZZ4GVmdCuDtXnjXD9c1ugPN3HGQDK4oCimMJLYt6q7l-9U4fEujMGzplGPkIVy8eXT8pE-LpNWFYKHrazypM8okYQBZt9lyS1I4UjlxE1cHddF3cL2fpSAz5ZnFUQuirbZ0zxu0Se8bKFrH6JVFpGVNcw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Needham, MA","date","2025-03-21T00:00:00Z","article","The Needham Human Rights Committee spent part of its meeting on community-education plans that could run alongside its advocacy work, including a transgender-awareness program, a proposal to pilot a Human Library and interest in a constitutional-education speaker.

Tina and other committee members described plans for a community event focused on transgender experiences and current policy ramifications. Committee organizers said they hoped to include legal context and perspectives from local youth groups: ‘‘we definitely want a legal perspective, ramifications of that, and how people are feeling about that here,’’ a committee member said, and they named the Queer Student Union and local PFLAG contacts as potential partners. Members suggested the program be framed for the whole community and coordinated with the high school and community groups.

A committee member proposed piloting a Human Library—a format in which attendees reserve short conversations with volunteers who volunteer as “living books” to share personal experiences. Members said the Human Library model could advance mutual understanding and serve mental-health and elder-inclusion goals; the concept would require coordination with the Needham Public Library and a volunteer roster and training.

Separately, members flagged a potential civic-education event: a retired judge who runs constitutional-education talks was reported to be available locally in September; committee members suggested the group could attend that session and then consider co-sponsoring a townwide presentation in partnership with adult-learning or religious institutions.

Next steps: committee members asked volunteers to collect program details and training requirements for a Human Library pilot and for the transgender-awareness event; staff agreed to help identify scheduling windows and to consider modest speaker fees in the committee’s budget planning.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Town of Needham: Human Rights Committee 03/20/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Committee members discussed upcoming community-education projects including a transgender-awareness program with legal perspective, a \"Human Library\" pilot to connect residents to diverse firsthand stories, and a possible lecture series on the Constitution by a retired judge.","taxTitle","Town of Needham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts","taxId",54445,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6117414,"Needham committee edits human-rights statement to add age and citizenship; plans to post and seek Select Board endorsement",557,2068000,2625000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0&start=2068&end=2625","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0/thumbnail_2068000.jpg","/articles/6117414/Town-of-Needham/Norfolk-County/Massachusetts/Needham-committee-edits-human-rights-statement-to-add-age-and-citizenship-plans-to-post-and-seek-Select-Board-endorsement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117414-35ed1295ce355c2189f55cb81799a780/orig.mp4?Expires=1771070717&Signature=kVcV2zv54c6ZPPq2x-M9EE0-WvrEyFKU5P86JceWZS3dl3iXTq9~W3ixSx90HcwQWQkQqag31h0SCkSQXmXMA2VQ2~80Rhdl6hUxFFY97W7f8gcmNUEkWReJUvw2A5NNlufNKFYWaazeZEwaunmYeaMfUtJg2gC~TojWVrqVDRXeX4~5iCAD9ruEnejVviSzy~Lz1Gl0tbGbQbi6NK4PotVb1ZVLnDHosAbznnIGkOeM6DEQPcXjgTRkVtm9LNExM8qBlpfLEnRzzIMzMFKtKeNcRYTX5RF~viKTlULIT-YH~7vsftZxOUbySl18oVW6o-dkJyadBxrLA2BUcJYBqw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Needham Human Rights Committee agreed at its April meeting to add age and citizenship to the town statement of protected classes and to publish the revised statement on the committee’s web page while pursuing formal endorsement by the Select Board.

Committee members said the town’s existing employment EEO statement already lists a broad set of protected categories used in job postings and suggested borrowing that language rather than attempting to enumerate every possible group. Taylor, the committee liaison from town staff, said the town’s job postings include race, age, gender, national origin, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy and veteran status, and recommended using an ‘‘or any other protected class’’ catch-all where appropriate.

Members flagged that the town’s discrimination-complaint form and its web link were not clearly available in the materials they reviewed. One member said a QR code had been circulated during a recent presentation but that the digital complaint form had not been finalized for the public site. The committee asked staff to locate and post the complaint form link alongside the statement so residents can find both the statement and the complaint process in one place.

The committee also discussed the document’s opening paragraph and historical context: members asked that the statement reference the committee’s long history and suggested adding an origin line noting the committee’s establishment in 1995 by the Board of Selectmen.

Next steps: committee members agreed to finalize a small set of edits, post the statement and complaint-form link as soon as practical, and prepare a request that the Select Board consider endorsing the statement at a future meeting.","The committee revised a draft Human Rights statement to include age and citizenship as protected categories, agreed to post the statement on its webpage and to ask the Select Board for formal endorsement; members also raised that the town complaint form needs to be linked and accessible.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6117419,"Needham committee weighs how to sustain townwide multicultural festival, targets spring 2026 kickoff",467,372000,839000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0&start=372&end=839","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2730420-17fc171a149000e46c899d921fe78fc0/thumbnail_372000.jpg","/articles/6117419/Town-of-Needham/Norfolk-County/Massachusetts/Needham-committee-weighs-how-to-sustain-townwide-multicultural-festival-targets-spring-2026-kickoff","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6117419-67f793047f0a68b53e51e9b8b09ff97e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771070717&Signature=IPmiGHnr1BZoCcTNU35vOJqIWE94u6rhFionnpx9gask0ympZf2zgNiFvxQGqn2WiNlPEBGUF3lC6Qu0ak-Q8PI8phym0zpN0nj4-bi6J0X9HLNtRntD0-kS~1E3tkJX8qcKhOMxiAnUryjK~OJ~FDiQg9p8-~lSykDA1D8nRc8eK-~V1c-Su9q2pdMmVgmAAGbvQZWjWg3gxrnAS0la-YbEQ85ip5uFduMYcUmcqdiv-YaAzf~6lLSR5FVmE3SRUjxGCTXLA3DSkE4heXGtnA4lzjppRSoKcO~Ze1zqZSkVPvbIfz7hYxsdaiOTO9OxU25k1tAr2OyAJjglQRASaA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Members of the Needham Human Rights Committee spent the bulk of their April meeting discussing whether to make the townwide multicultural festival an annual event and how to avoid overburdening volunteers.

The committee resolved to form a working group to begin preliminary planning now and target a spring 2026 kickoff rather than holding the event this year. Committee members said the group should coordinate early with elementary school parent–teacher organizations and school calendars to avoid clashes with existing school multicultural events.

“Maybe reaching out to [the] PTCs first” was suggested as a first step, a member said, noting the festival in past years drew from the same small pool of volunteers who also run school events. Committee members emphasized that finding dates that do not conflict with the Elliot, Newman and Williams elementary schools’ activities is central to recruiting presenters and families.

Speakers also raised the workload placed on lead organizers and recommended a two-chair model—chair plus vice chair—to build continuity and reduce burnout. One member recounted that organizers who led the most recent festival ‘‘said how much work that we shouldn’t do it every year,’’ and another said a biannual or otherwise staggered schedule could preserve volunteer interest.

The committee discussed outreach to potential volunteer pools, including the high school National Honor Society, as a practical source of event volunteers and helpers. A student at the meeting said seniors often need community-service hours and could help with set-up, staging and hospitality.

Budget and communications needs were also part of the conversation. Members discussed creating a durable, weatherproof vinyl banner and a consistent logo for use at town events; a sample vendor price for an 8-by-12 vinyl banner was cited at about $200. The committee agreed to collect logo options and compare costs before deciding whether to hire a designer or use an existing human-rights symbol.

Next steps: committee members agreed to start the working-group legwork immediately—identify chairs, compile school-event dates and recruit volunteers—and to return with a short planning checklist at the next meeting.","Members of the Needham Human Rights Committee discussed volunteer capacity, school-event conflicts and forming a working group to plan a townwide multicultural festival, tentatively aiming to kick off in spring 2026.","actionData","errors"]

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Needham Human Rights Committee to pursue speakers and programs on transgender rights, human library and civic education

Needham committee edits human-rights statement to add age and citizenship; plans to post and seek Select Board endorsement

Needham committee weighs how to sustain townwide multicultural festival, targets spring 2026 kickoff