We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Belmont Pride Celebration and Juneteenth Observance!

Belmont Pride Parade - Saturday, June 17. Meet at 12:45 PM at Town Green adjacent to 404 Concord Avenue. Volunteers: Please contact Leslie at letalmadge@gmail.com

Juneteenth Observance - Saturday, June 17 at the Watertown Free Public Library from 9am-1pm, and Sunday, June 18 in Belmont at the Beech Street Center/Town Field from 2pm – 6pm. Volunteers: please email belmont.hrc@gmail.com.

Please see this flyer for information on Belmont LGBTQ Alliance Upcoming Events

Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy some great music from 6 to 8 PM on Sunday, June 18!

Live and free Asian music concert is returning for season three in Belmont, presented by the Belmont Chinese American Association and New Moon International.

Due to the Payson Park renovation, this year's concert will be temporarily moved to the Winn Brook soccer field.

The Festival is supported in part by a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

June is National Caribbean American Heritage Month!

In 2006, a presidential proclamation first established June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month. This year, President Biden's proclamation opened with: "During Caribbean-American Heritage Month, we celebrate the achievements and dreams of the millions of people of Caribbean origin now living in the United States while honoring the shared history of joy and perseverance that has united and enriched life across our region for centuries."

Visit caribbeanamericanmonth.com to read the full proclamation, read about celebratory events and happenings around the country, and learn more!

Belmont Human Rights Commission & Watertown Community for Black Lives have teamed up to provide a weekend of celebration!

• Saturday, June 17: Watertown Free Public Library, 9 am - 1 pm

• Sunday, June 18: Beech Street Center / Town Field 2 pm - 6 pm

Come celebrate Juneteenth! Festivities include a DJ, food, vendors, entertainment, a kids corner, free ice cream and more!

Sponsors: Watertown Free Public Library, Belmont Public Library, Belmont Against Racism, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, Belmont Democratic Town Committee.

For more information:

• see these flyers: Saturday and Sunday events, Sunday Belmont event

• email: belmont.hrc@gmail.com

• visit event page: https://linktr.ee/juneteenth2023.

May is both Mental Health Awareness Month and AAPI Heritage Month, and the Belmont Pan-Asian Coalition has been doing a social media campaign to promote mental health awareness. Please see this flyer for more information.

AAPI Heritage Month - Student Essay Contest deadline has been extended!

Belmont Celebrates AAPI Heritage is sponsoring an essay contest for 7th to 12th grade students in Belmont. Winners will receive gift certificate prizes and publication in a book!

Important Note: One does not need to be of AAPI heritage to submit. AAPI influences are everywhere (e.g. food, culture, travel, experiences, books, music) and we encourage you to share your own personal, unique, and creative perspective!

Deadline has been extended to: Wednesday, 11:59 PM, June 7th, 2023

Click this link for submission instructions and other details.

The Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance would like to invite you to join us for the Belmont Pride Event and March on Saturday June 17th at 1 pm.

Hosted by the Belmont Alliance

• Where: Town Green adjacent to 404 Concord Avenue in Belmont

• When: June 17th, 1 pm 

We will begin with opening remarks. This year we’ve changed the march route to make it shorter, flatter, and more accommodating for everyone.  

Here’s a link to the event with a map of the parade route.

Volunteers are needed! Please contact Leslie at letalmadge@gmail.com

May is Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Heritage Month.

Belmont Celebrates AAPI Heritage is organizing various events to celebrate!

Student Essay Contest

We are sponsoring an essay contest for 7th to 12th grade students in Belmont. Winners will receive gift certificate prizes and publication in a book!

Important Note: One does not need to be of AAPI heritage to submit. AAPI influences are everywhere (e.g. food, culture, travel, experiences, books, music) and we encourage you to share your own personal, unique, and creative perspective!

Deadline: Wednesday, 11:59 PM, May 24th, 2023

Click this link for submission instructions and other details.

AAPI Restaurant Week

From May 7 to May 14, some AAPI restaurants in Belmont will showcase diversity of Asian cuisine. Special dishes and/or discounts will be offered. Please click here for details.

Meet your Muslim neighbors at Open Mosque Day hosted by Islamic Center of Boston Wayland on Saturday, May 13, 2023. Learn about the Islamic Center and the Muslim community: informative displays, short lectures with Q&A, and refreshments! Groups, individuals, families, students, teachers - all are welcome!

openhouse@icbwayland.org  www.icbwayland.org

You can now sign up to be notified about new events on the DEI News page. When you join the new DEI_News email list, you will receive an email when new events are posted. To join:

1. Click the blue "Sign Up" button at the top of the DEI News page

2. Enter your name and email address on the Google Form

3. Submit your Google Form response. 

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD to anyone interested in DEI at BPS!

This year, Ramadan - the Islamic month of fasting, prayer and reflection - begins on March 23 and ends on April 21.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims every year as a month of obligatory (fard) dawn-to-sunset fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community. This year, Ramadan begins on March 23 and ends on April 21 - to wish someone well, say Ramadan Mubarak!

You can find more information about this observance, and what it means to your observant friends and community members, in the new Religious & Cultural Observances section of the DEI Resources page. 

If you would like to see information on another important religious or cultural observation added to the DEI Resources page, please email the Director of DEI at cwashington@bemontschools.net

This year, Passover begins on April 5 and ends on April 13.

Passover, or Pesach, is celebrated by Jewish people every year, commemorating the anniversary of the Biblical Exodus from Egyptian slavery. This year, Passover is celebrated from April 5 to April 13.

You can find more information about this observance, and what it means to your observant friends and community members, in the new Religious & Cultural Observances section of the DEI Resources page. 

If you would like to see information on another important religious or cultural observation added to the DEI Resources page, please email the Director of DEI at cwashington@bemontschools.net

BHS PTSO is sponsoring a pair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion events:

• "Cultivating a More Inclusive Community: It Takes All of Us," Wednesday, March 15 at 7:00 pm Zoom with Q& A --       click here to join Zoom meeting

• "Building an Inclusive Community," Tuesday, March 21 at 7:00 pm BHS Auditorium

• March 21 meeting will be preceded by a Parent/Caregiver Social @ 6:30 pm

Presenters will be:

• Christina Horner, MS Ed, co-president of World of Wellesley and trustee on DESE's Racial Imbalance Advisory Council

• Michelle Chalmers, MSW, antiracist educator, author and facilitator.

Christina and Michelle have worked with many other districts in building inclusive communities.Topics will include understanding how differences and similarities in identities can be bridged, language to use in engaging on these subjects, and thinking differently about these issues.

Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance and Belmont Against Racism Community Meeting and Discussion – Thursday, March 9, 2023 7:30 pm (virtual)

Meet and learn more about the Alliance, what we do, and hear about volunteer opportunities. Engage in conversation and share your thoughts about how to make Belmont a more welcoming and inclusive town.

• Virtual (Zoom) meeting on Thursday, March 9th at 7:30pm

• Click here to RSVP: https://forms.gle/zDW4Z9nLqC4y8oyz7 or send an email to belmontlgbtqalliance@gmail.com. You will receive a Zoom link by Wednesday.

NEW! Parents of Trans Youth Bi-Monthly Support Group – first meeting Tuesday, March 28, 6:30 pm (virtual)

Do you have a transgender or nonbinary child?  Are you struggling with feelings about the changes your trans kid is making?  Join this bi-monthly support group supporting families of trans youth. Hosted by Lou Duquette-Holmes and Malik Marrero. Both are trans men who have experienced transphobia, family rejection, and discrimination. Lou is a transgender parent of two transgender teens. Malik is a trans man, son, husband and father. Through their experience and understanding, they will offer a safe space without judgement, for parents to process their child's journey.

• Please contact Lou or Malik with any questions:

  • Louis_Duquetteholmes@waysideyouth.org

  • Malik_marrero@waysideyouth.org

• Families interested in joining should email Lou or Malik to be added to the Zoom list - the link will be sent out prior to the first group meeting.

• Sponsored by the Parent-Peer Partnership Program, Wayside Youth & Family Support Network

Trans Day of Visibility – Friday, March 31, 2023 7pm at Belmont Library - Details to follow soon

Future events:

• BELMONT TOWN DAY - Saturday, May 20, 2023

• PRIDE PARADE - Saturday, June 10, 2023

Volunteers Welcome!

Please contact us if you would like to get involved with the Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance!

All are welcome to One Love One Belmont, an informal non-partisan gathering of community groups to encourage civic engagement.

Hear how to get involved in town and community organizations, help fill empty seats on Town Committees, learn about each other, and create a more welcoming town.

Also: Free pizza and soft drinks!

Beech Street Center on Saturday, March 11, 3:00-5:00 pm

Event is free - please RSVP at bit.ly/OneLoveOneBelmont so we know how much pizza and drinks to get!

Sponsored by

• The Belmont Human Rights Commission

• Belmont Against Racism

• The Belmont Democratic Town Committee

• The Belmont Republican Town Committee

DO NOT MISS THIS online Ed Prep program for aspiring teachers of color, "Why to Consider Teaching," happening THIS AFTERNOON 2/16/2023 from 4-6 pm. RSVP is required - see link below.

This program presents a panel of educators from diverse backgrounds and several schools with Ed Prep Programs and opportunities for aspiring teachers of color.

Teachers of diverse backgrounds are in great demand, and colleges and universities now have programs including SUBSTANTIAL discounts on Masters in Ed programs. With other loan forgiveness programs, grants, scholarships, you may be able to obtain your Masters for FREE!!! Come join the discussion to learn why and how to become a teacher, the most noble and important profession of all! The teacher shortage is CRITICAL and impacts us all. More schools have been added to the panel, more opportunities available!!

See https://lnkd.in/eCr9g7jV for information - REGISTER NOW!!!

Belmont Wellness Coalition and The NAN Project Present A Community Conversation: Know the FACTS about Suicide

Who: All Belmont Residents
What: Suicide Prevention
Where: Chenery Community Room
When: Monday, March 6, 2023 7-8 PM

• The NAN Project - Saving Lives and Healing Families

• Wayside Youth & Family Support Network - Building Strength, Hope & Resiliency

• BWC Belmont Wellness Coalition

Join us for a presentation from renowned historian and lecturer Erica Armstrong Dunbar, author of She Came to Slay - The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman and Never Caught - Ona Judge, the Washingtons, and the Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave.

This presentation will focus on Harriet Tubman and her Boston connections.

This program is sponsored by Belmont Public Library, Belmont Human Rights Commission, Belmont Against Racism, Network for Social Justice, and the public libraries of Chelmsford, Danvers, Franklin, Groton, Hopkinton, and Wellesley.

Rainbow Artists is a creative expression group for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies ages 8-11 and 12-15

Rainbow Artists

• Ages 8-11: Thursdays 6:00-7:00pm, January 26 to March 23 (skip February 23)

• Ages 12-15: Tuesdays 5:00-6:30pm, January 24 to March 21 (skip February 21)

LexPride offers Rainbow Artists as an opportunity for LGBTQ+ youth and allies to learn and grow creative expression skills with a community of peers. An experienced creative expression art therapist and an art therapy intern facilitate the meetings, which take place via Zoom.

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/49jpyw6j

The second annual Henry Tapia vigil and memorial walk will be held on 1/28/2023 at 3pm on Upland Road (Belmont MA), the location of Henry’s murder on January 19, 2021.

Join us to honor and celebrate Henry's life as we mark the second anniversary of his murder. Organizers welcome Belmont community leaders to make remarks at the top of Upland before we begin our walk to Henry’s family apartment in the Belmont Housing Authority (BHA).  

Please spread the word, and thank you for your support of this event in our community.

The Belmont Chinese American Association (BCAA) extends a warm invitation to join in the Chinese Culture Festival & New Year Gala and celebrate 2023, the Year of the Rabbit. These will be the first in-person celebrations since 2020 - the BCAA is excited to finally be able to bring these popular festivities back to our community.

For centuries, people in China have celebrated the Lunar New Year in Temple Fairs with performances and food to start off a good year. The Belmont Temple Fair is to celebrate the upcoming Year of Rabbit - the fourth year in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. This zodiac sign embodies elegance, peace, and a dash of luck. Activities feature lion dance, tea ceremony, lantern riddles, calligraphy, papercutting arts, traditional costume experience, handcrafts, folk music, dance and martial arts performance. A great opportunity to taste authentic Chinese food, and get to know our community.

Date & time: 1-7 pm, Sunday, 1/15/2023
Location: Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St, Belmont, MA 02478

• Chinese Culture Festival (1-4 pm): The festival will be in the cafeteria, featuring lion dance (around 2 pm), art demonstrations, classic music & dance, food tasting, and many more activities. Free admission. Everyone is welcome.

• Chinese New Year Gala (5-7 pm): The gala will be in the auditorium. Performers mainly include local talents in Belmont, as well as some invited artists in the greater Boston area. Tickets are required for admission, and they sell out very quickly. You can purchase tickets here.

All profits of food sales will be donated to Belmont Library Foundation. 

Special thanks to our sponsors, Chenery Middle School, and Belmont Media Center for their support.

The Belmont Human Rights Commission invites you to
Belmont's 29th Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community (virtual) Breakfast

Monday, January 16, 2023 at 9:00 a.m.

The Keynote speech will be "Understanding and Resisting Hate in New England" by Calum Farley, Investigative Researcher, ADL Center on Extremism. Q&A to follow.

There will also be an update on the METCO program and the METCO Support Fund.

• Admission is free - click here for Zoom link.

• Watch from anywhere on belmontmedia.org/infotv  

• Watch in Belmont on BMC InfoTV - Comcast Ch. 96 or Verizon Ch. 30

From Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance - BELMONT WELCOMES!

Be on the lookout for Belmont Welcomes stickers around town! Belmont Welcomes, a new program organized by Belmont’s LGBTQ+ Alliance, believes that visibility and inclusivity are key to making our town a more welcoming place for LGBTQ+ People, Families and Allies. When you see a sticker, you know that business or organization has agreed to 

• Serve all customers/members equally, without discrimination

• Educate themselves and their staff about LGBTQ+ people and experiences

• Make sure they have non-discrimination policies and a clearly stated and easy-to-follow process if something doesn’t go quite right

• Provide equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and their families

When you see a sticker, try to thank the business for being part of the program.

Go to https://www.belmontlgbtq.com/stakeholders to see which business and community groups have become Stakeholders and Partners!

Learn more about Belmont Welcomes at https://www.belmontlgbtq.com/belmont-welcomes 

Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance would like to share information on some upcoming reading groups and learning opportunities:

1. Battle of the Books Young Adult Book Club (in person)

When: Tuesday, December 20th from 3-4pm in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

Recommended for grades 8+. Registration required: 12/20/2022 | Battle of the Books (YA Book Club) | Belmont Public Library (assabetinteractive.com)

This month's Battle of the Books for teen readers pits two LGBTQ+ YA titles against each other: one contemporary novel set in a dystopia future and one novel-in-verse set in WWII Germany. Books:

• The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson

• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

2. RainbowLit: New LGBTQ+ Book Club (virtual)

When: First meeting Monday, January 23rd, 7:00-8:30 PM.

Co-sponsored by the Belmont Public Library and the Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance, this group will start on January 23rd and will meet every fourth Monday of the month to read and discuss fiction, non-fiction, and sometimes poetry. For more information: 01/23/2023 | RainbowLit: LGBTQ+ Book Group | Belmont Public Library (assabetinteractive.com). Registration opens 12/20 at https://belmontpubliclibrary.net/events/

3. Sharon Pride LGBTQ+ Book Club (virtual)

When: January 12th, 7:00-8:30 PM

The Sharon Pride Steering Committee presents a virtual book club featuring Malinda Lo's National Book Award-winning novel, Last Night at the Telegraph Club. For more information: https://www.lgbtqplussharon.org/lgbtq-book-club

The Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance warmly invites you to attend Belmont's second annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) on Sunday, Nov. 20. Please join our community for a vigil memorializing those transgender individuals who have been murdered this year as a result of transphobia. The vigil will be held on the green space (Town Green) in front of the bank at 2 Leonard Street, beginning at 6 p.m.

•  Wednesday, November 16 to Sunday, November 20: Public installation on the Belmont Center Town Green will commemorate each of these individuals.

•  Sunday, November 20:  Nationwide Day of Trans Remembrance. A vigil with the reading of the names will be held at 6 p.m.

We host TDoR activities to continue efforts locally and nationally to make America truly more inclusive to all – and to help make it safe for our LGBTQ+ community to live their lives in peace. Please see more on TDoR below.

We look forward to seeing you soon, and we thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

The Belmont LGBTQ+ Alliance Leadership Team

************

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual event held across the country on November 20. Its purpose is to raise awareness about transphobic violence, honor lives lost, and foster allyship.

The number of transgender and gender nonconforming people known to have been killed in transphobic violence has increased every year, from 27 in 2016 to 44 last year. So far this year, that number is at least 43. The majority of these were Black and Latinx transgender women. We do not know exact numbers because police and media often misgender or do not report violent deaths of transgender people.

The emergence of Transgender Day of Remembrance is local and personal. On November 20, 1995, William Palmer brutally murdered Chanelle Pickett in Watertown. Despite strong physical evidence, Palmer was only convicted of assault and battery. On November 28, 1998, Rita Hester was stabbed to death in Allston; no one has been charged for this heinous crime. This year, Jahaira DeAlto was murdered in Boston. Chanelle, Rita, and Jahaira were trans women of color who were beloved in the greater Boston area.

These murders sent a chill through local and national transgender and LGBTQ communities. In response, and to honor transgender lives, transgender activist Gwen Smith created the first Transgender Day of Remembrance in 1999. Transgender people will continue to be harassed, persecuted, and murdered until society moves beyond outdated views of gender identity and recognizes the rights and dignity of the transgender community.

Presentation by Claudia A. Fox Tree aimed at adult and high-school-aged audiences -- REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Missing information, inaccurate stories, and stereotypes perpetuate myths about Columbus and Thanksgiving. When we can't describe an accurate First Nations perspective, it's often because we have grown up in a system that has made hard truths invisible. In this presentation, we will explore this colonial system through primary sources and examine how language perpetuates invisibility and how we can dismantle oppression to bring accurate counter-narratives to life.

Registration is required. Please fill out the form here to sign up. Zoom access details will be sent in a reminder email prior to the program.

Claudia A. Fox Tree (she, her) identifies as a multiracial Indigenous woman. She has been a middle school special education teacher for over 35 years. During this time, she has also taught professional development and social justice courses at the college level for Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for all Students (IDEAS) and presented about decolonizing anti-racism initiatives at numerous national and local conferences. Claudia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts (Boston), teaching certification in elementary and special education from Fitchburg State College, and a Master’s Degree in Education from Northeastern University in educational research. She is currently a doctoral student at Lesley University. Claudia is also a polymer clay artist, blogger, and mother to five young adults (and four cats).

Since 2000, Claudia has been on the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness (https://www.mcnaa.org/) board. MCNAA’s mission is to preserve Native American cultural traditions; to assist Native American residents with basic needs and educational expenses; to advance public knowledge and understanding, to dispel inaccurate information about Native People, and work towards racial equality by addressing racial issues inequities across the region.

Since 1998, Claudia has been a Massachusetts liaison for the United Confederation of Taino People, headquartered in New York. UCTP (http://uctp.blogspot.com/) spans the Greater and Lesser Antilles and the United States and beyond. The UCTP is dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights, cultural heritage, and spiritual traditions of the Taíno and other Caribbean Indigenous Peoples for present and future generations and endeavors to assist its citizens in their social, economic, and educational, cultural, and spiritual development. Claudia is a tribal member of the Iukaieke Guainia Taino-Arawak Tribal Community.

This program is cosponsored by Belmont Against Racism and the public libraries of Belmont, Brookline, Chelmsford, Lincoln, Maynard, Natick, Norwood, Stow, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley, and Weston.

Belmont’s educational leaders gathered at METCO HQ to connect with their Boston families on October 18, 2022. In addition to the usual tour of the space and overview of HQ’s initiatives, the 40+ person crowd learned about Belmont’s beautiful new $295 million high school for grades 7-12. As a result of this grade-level restructuring, they have the capacity to enroll more Boston students in the future. Superintendent John Phelan emphasized to parents the need for enthusiastic recruitment. “I need everyone to be ambassadors for Belmont!” he stressed. Then, Belmont Against Racism (BAR), a community group led by resident activist Kimberly Haley-Jackson with Boston mom Angela Middleton on the board, presented a check for $7,000 to the School Committee that will fund taxi vouchers, after-school programming, fun events, snacks, book clubs, guest speakers, and other expenses for the METCO program. METCO Director Rosa Inniss shared new initiatives, including the training of METCO high school students to be bus monitors, while earning money and gaining work skills; Belmont’s Social Justice By the Numbers classes, allowing students to take math, science, and social studies classes together; creation of affinity groups; and hiring of a METCO para-professional. Chon’tel Washington, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and a Roxbury native, was also introduced along with all the diversity initiatives that Belmont is implementing and committing to do. These include a DEI sub-committee of the School Committee, protocols for addressing racial incidents, and the hiring and retention of diverse staff. Milly congratulated Superintendent Phelan for all the great work taking place and the solid foundation that has been laid for program and school improvement. He acknowledged the need to continue to work on creating a welcoming community and building stronger peer-to-peer and peer-to-teacher relationships and is committed to tackling these areas with enthusiasm. 

Source: Photos and article courtesy of METCO, Inc.

Belmont celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day with a performance by Eastern Sun Drummers and Dancers on Sunday, October 9, 4 p.m. at Beech Street Center, 266 Beech Street, Belmont MA. Free and open to the public.

Eastern Suns share songs as a way to keep traditions alive. As song keepers, they honor the sacredness of sound as healing modality and community-builders. Come feel the beat of the universal heart through their drumming. For those with noise sensitivity, please note the drumming will be loud.

Contact belmontagainstracism@gmail.com for information. Sponsored by Belmont Against Racism, Belmont Human Rights Commission, Belmont Public Library, Black & Brown in Belmont, Arlington Human Rights Commission, Henry Frost Children's Program, Belmont Religious Council, Community Organized for Solidarity, Belmont Helps