Town Meeting Opening Ceremonies

[Joshua Apgar]

Dear Select Board and Fellow Town Meeting Members,

After a long hiatus, I am looking forward to Town Meeting returning to Cary Hall on Monday. For those who are new, the Lexington Minute Men have traditionally opened the ceremony, as we do for many other Lexington town events. It’s one of the great town traditions that just did not translate well on to zoom. Right alongside our role in keeping alive the memories of those who fought, suffered, and died on April 19th 1775, our role as town ambassadors representing the people of Lexington in town ceremonies is one of the great privileges of being a Minute Man.

Unfortunately, it is this role that also compels me to write this letter today.  The keen eyed observer on Patriots Day may have noticed that while there are several women portraying British regulars on the green, there are no women portraying the members of Captain Parker's Company.   That is because the Lexington Minute Men is one of the last remaining reenacting groups that do not permit women to join. This has been a hotly debated issue in the company since before my time, and in the last few years there has been a strong push by a growing majority of members to change this rule. Unfortunately, last night the company voted to reaffirm its rule that women may not be members.

As a private group this is certainly our right, however I also think it is fair for the Select Board, Town Meeting, and Lexington as a whole to ask if the modern Lexington Minute Men organization does in fact represent the people and the values of Lexington in 2023.  While I love being a Lexington Minute Man, it is hard for me to argue that we do. Especially with the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington fast approaching, and the national attention that this will bring, I think it is right and timely that we as a community should reflect on what our values truly are, and to make sure that those values are fully on display in our town events. 

As you may know, Lexington has a long history of being a leader for social justice.  One of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. is, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  What I did not know before joining the Minute Men is that this line was inspired by Theodore Parker, abolitionist and grandson of Captain Parker, who wrote,  “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” 

I hope as a community we can continue to discuss and debate these weighty issues and each in our own way nudge the arc of history towards justice.

Yours In Liberty,

Joshua Apgar

Lexington Town Meeting Member Precinct 3

Color Sergeant, Lexington Minute Men  

[Jay Luker]

Joshua,

Thank you for speaking up about this. I’ve only been part of Town Meeting for a year and have yet to experience the opening ceremony you describe. Knowing this about the Lexington Minute Men organization will certainly lessen my enjoyment.

—

Jay Luker, Precinct 1 TMM

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[gong....@gmail.com]

Thanks for telling people like me this. I became a TMM during the pandemic. I am very excited to have an in-person town meeting with Lexingtonian tradition.

 

I look forward to seeing you all

 

Yifang

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[andrei rădulescu-banu]

Just as in 1776, the Lexington Minutemen are unprepared for the initial battle, but one can hope they eventually, will turn things around. The arc of justice can't be left to bend to the British Regulars.

Andrei Radulescu-Banu, Pct 8.

[Vicki Blier]

Thanks Josh, for bringing this to our attention.

Given our stated commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, this deserves further discussion.

I think that it's too late to act on this information this year without giving the topic short shrift. 

But I'd be very keen to use the time after Town Meeting ends to figure out what our policy should be regarding embracing an organization reported to have committed itself to an exclusionary practise.

I don't know whether this is an issue to be pursued through the Town Moderator, the Select Board, the TMMA or by TM resolution, but I look forward to a healthy discussion of this after Town Meeting wraps up.

Vicki Blier

Pct. 9

    

On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 6:38 PM Joshua Apgar <joshua...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Betty Gau]

Dear Town Meeting Members,

The vote by the Lexington Minute Men to continue to exclude women is very disappointing and sends a big message.  I invite all Town Meeting Members to join me in wearing white on Monday in solidarity to support women’s rights in Lexington, in our state and in our country.    

Women wearing white has become the symbol of solidarity and a homage to the white outfits often worn by Suffragists during the 70 year fight to get the vote. 

I invite all members of Town Meeting to wear white on Monday to make an important statement as we are once again faced with inequity in our town.  

Respectfully,

Betty Gau

Precinct 8

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[Andrea Fribush]

I will wear white.

How is it legal for our town's government to allow a private group that practices discrimination to participate in our official opening ceremonies?  Would our Town Counsel, Moderator, or Select Board members please clarify this?

Thank you,

Andrea Fribush

Pct 6

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[Valerie Overton]

Thank you, Betty. I support this action, particularly given that we have voted for resolutions to consider diversity, equity, and inclusion in everything we do. To me, those resolutions only have meaning if we actively and thoughtfully consider the implications of our decisions. For that reason, I agree with Vicky that this merits robust discussion after this Town Meeting session.

Valerie Overton (she/her)

Precinct 1

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From: lex...@googlegroups.com <lex...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Betty Gau <betty...@gmail.com>
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Cc: LexTMMA <lex...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [LexTMMA] Town Meeting Opening Ceremonies

 

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[Albert Zabin]

Hi Folks,

This is not, in my opinion, a legal issue, nor should it be.  It is clearly a moral and public issue.  I have to admit that I had not known the Lexington  Minute Man excluded women. Worse, I had never given a moment’s thought to the absence of women.  Now that the issue is laid bare, I would think that no action will be needed, because I believe, (hope) that without further to do, the Minute Men will correct the problem publicly.

 

Albert P. Zabin, TMM Pct. 1

1 Page Road

Lexington, MA 02420

ajz...@gmail.com

(339) 927-6956 (C)

(781) 861-0956

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[Kathryn Colburn]

Why is it too late to do anything about this for Monday? Can’t the TMMA decide what the opening ceremony will or will not include?  

Kate Colburn

Precinct 4

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 18, 2023, at 11:36 AM, Albert Zabin <ajz...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Folks,

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[Vicki Blier]

LAST WORD, I hope.

Personal from me:

1. TMMA has no authority over Town Meeting. We function as a service to our members.
2. If changes are to be made, they can't be made based on the reporting of one single person. There would need to be discussion of what our policy should be by some statutory entity, whether the Select Board or the Moderator, or Town Meeting itself.
There would need to be verification of the facts as well. 

Moderator Remarks:
1. DO NOT USE CC on any postings to the TMMA List, especially to people who are not members of the list. This will make our threads discontinuous since non-members can't post and pretty soon no one can figure out what the posts that get through are referring to. 
Also, the people who are CC'd are doomed to getting every single response to the topic, even long after the subject matter has morphed to something else.
This is a common courtesy rule of many List Serves.

Vicki Blier

Pct. 9
TMMA List Moderator