Page 2 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2020 Human Rights Commission holds initial meeting By Adam Swift T he city’s newly reconstituted Human Rights Commission held its fi rst meeting earlier this month with a focus on racial equity and demographic information and the new members stating their vision for the group’s mission. Revere Fire Chief Christopher Bright served as the temporary chairperson for the commission during its initial go-round. Bright introduced Noah Coolidge, a Brandeis University graduate student who presented the racial and demographic information study. The information was broken down into racial and ethnicity numbers for the city’s residents, Coolidge said. By race, 80 percent of the city’s residents identify as white, and 5 percent as Asian, 6 percent as Black/African American, 5 percent as some other race and 4 percent as two or more races. Coolidge noted that in the race data many Hispanics or Latinos identify as white. The ethnicity demographics show 32 percent of the city’s residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino and 68 percent as not Hispanic or Latino. “Most of the data is from the American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau,” said Coolidge. “Broken out, about 44 percent of the city identifi es as a race other than white, non-Hispanic.” The demographic data shows that the older age groups are predominately white, nonHispanic, and the percentages decrease in the younger age groups. “The under 20 and 2034 ranges have a significant majority who would be considered People of Color,” said Coolidge. Nowhere is that number more evident than in the school population, where Hispanics or Latinos make up 57 percent of the students, but less than 4 percent of the teachers. Other demographic information showed that Hispanics and Latinos and Blacks are less likely to own a home than white people in Revere, and that those populations have a greater burden of their income taken up by rent and home ownership costs. “This gives us a good understanding of where the city is demographically and racially, and who has access to what and where we need to put our attention to those who probably need more access,” said Commission Member and Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Inclusion Lourenço Garcia. Commission Member and Founder of Moroccan American Connections in Revere Rachid Moukhabir noted that the numbers may undercount certain populations in the city. “There is a huge Moroccan population in Revere that is not refl ected in the statistics,” he said. “There are almost 20 percent of the students at the Beachmont School who are of Moroccan descent. It’s a huge population and we need to fi nd a way to capture that data.” Revere Chief Innovation Offi - cer Reuben Cantor said the city will continue to collect and refi ne its racial and demographic information. Mayor Brian Arrigo had some words of encouragement for the commission as the Zoom meeting came to a close. “I know that all of you are going to do some great work,” he said. “The one thing I want to impress on every single one of you on this call now is that I want all of you to think about how you can challenge us as leaders of the city to do better.” In other business related to racial equity, last week Arrigo announced that Revere, along with fi ve other Greater Boston communities, will participate in the Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan (REMAP) program, a collaboration between the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB). The program will help the city explore racial equity in Revere and help tackle causes of inequality in the community. The fi rst four months of the year-long program will focus on training, reflection and self-assessment. In the fi - nal eight months, each municipality will develop a racial equity municipal action plan and begin to implement elements of the plan. Looking for a home loan? WE ’RE HERE TO DO RIGHT BY YOU . 15 YEAR 30 YEAR .% RATE .% RATE L .% APR* .% APR* Learn more about our rates at EVERETTBANK . COM WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 STAY SAFE! www.eight10barandgrille.com We Have Reopened for Dine-In and Outside Seating every day beginning at 4 PM Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
3 Publizr Home