September 17th:  National Constitution Day

The IDEA Committee is thrilled to announce that Regie Gibson, Massachusetts' inaugural Poet Laureate, joined us as a facilitator at our National Constitution Day event on September 17th!  Regie is a poet, songwriter, author, workshop facilitator and educator.  To read some of his poetry and learn more about his work, visit his website.

The recording of the event may be found here, and you can see the slide deck by clicking the group photo below.

After the event, participants were invited to share their responses to five different questions.  Click the image below to see what they said.

Click the image above to view the slides that were shown during the Newcomer's Event on January 26, 2025.

Empty headingThe Select Board appointed the IDEA Committee in 2021 in response to residents who were deeply disturbed by the murder of George Floyd and who wanted to explore ways the town, as a government institution, could respond. A series of public forums in 2020 led to the development of the committee’s charge, members were appointed in April 2021, and the Select Board set aside some of the Town's Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to hire the consulting team, Racial Equity Group/Elite Research, in December 2022. IDEA's work with REG/ER has been to develop a baseline understanding of residents’ and employees’ lived experiences, and to look at town policies and practices currently in place. 

The following section of Lincoln’s vision statement has been one of the committee's reference points: 

"Lincoln is committed to...fostering economic, racial, ethnic, and age diversity among its citizenry through its educational, housing and other public policy.

Members of the IDEA Committee at the 2024 Trunk or Treat event.

Racial Equity Group Audit Reports:

Staff and Board Racial Equity Audit, April 2023 Click on the image to the right...
Community Wide Racial Equity Survey, July 2023 Click on the image to the right...
Focus Group Report, July 2023 Click on the image to the right...

Slides from 2023 Training Modules:

Slides from February 16, 2023 Public Forum

Recording from February 16, 2023 Public Forum

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Anti-Racism Initiative (IDEA)

In February 2021, the Select Board voted to establish the Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, and Anti-Racism Committee (IDEA). IDEA members were appointed in April 2021, and the group began meeting in May 2021. Please see the calendar below meeting dates.

For agendas and minutes, please click on the link on the left of this page.

Here is the Final Charge

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Wednesday, January 27, 2021 @ 7:00PM via Zoom
Forming a Committee focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Anti-Racism: What is the mission? Who should be on it?

The Board of Selectmen has drafted a charge for an “Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism Task Force” and is seeking feedback and input about its composition and charge. This working meeting is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or is educated in Lincoln, and we encourage and invite a wide range of experiences and viewpoints.  

Links below are to a draft charge and a draft matrix of the kind of work that needs to be done and ideas about who might spearhead those efforts.  

Draft Charge

Draft Matrix

State of the Town - Night 2, November 18, 2020

Night 2 of our Virtual State of the Town was focused on continuing the discussion that began with the roundtables.  

Slides from Night 2 are here:  https://1drv.ms/p/s!AlYG__xKmLfXknVZx0Gcyx2R237L

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Recent events across our nation have reminded us all of our individual and collective responsibilities to speak out against discrimination and racism, to acknowledge the systematic nature of racism and its dire consequences, and to use our influence as citizens and local officials to promote change.  We have heard from a broad spectrum of the community, representing both town government and private organizations, urging coordinated action.  To this end, the Board of Selectmen hosted a series of roundtable discussions this fall to begin a process of community self-examination, the results of which will inform the development of an action plan to help Lincoln become a community that more fully embraces diversity, and one that commits itself to trying to create the conditions that foster it. 

Our purpose in hosting the forums was to build a shared understanding of current policies and practices, and to lay the groundwork for deeper thinking, planning, and action.  At any time, if you have ideas or comments please use the this link to contact us:  selectmen@lincolntown.org

We appreciate that not all community members experience life in Lincoln in the same manner.  We need to listen carefully to those who may have felt alienated in some manner and be willing to be truly reflective about change that may be required to make all residents feel welcome and valued.  To this end, the current process needs to provide an opportunity for individuals and groups to share difficult and sometimes painful personal experiences.  It is vital that we create a safe environment for these discussions.