Did you, your parents, your grandparents or your ancestors come to this great nation by land, sea or air? Well, then this event is for you! Event Opening Speaker: Vivek Bald - Sikh American MIT Scholar, writer & documentary film maker. Join us in this discussion moderated by Dr. V. Kasturi Rangan, Professor of Marketing and co-chair of the Social Enterprise Initiative at Harvard Business School.We are honored to have an outstanding panel consisting of:
- Commissioner William Evans - Boston Police Department
- Genevieve Nadeau - Chief, Civil Rights Division, Office of Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Kashif Syed - Community Outreach, Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC)
- Robert Trestan – Executive Director, New England Region Anti Defamation League
Event Closing Speaker
: Dr. Kenneth Oye - Japanese American MIT faculty and political scientist.In light of rising hate crimes and a sense of fear among residents who could be the target of such crimes, the panel will discuss effective strategies and tactics to help you. Learn about your rights, how to reach out to law enforcement officials when needed and live a normal life without fear. This is an opportunity for concerned citizens, including all segments of the South Asian community, to come together to share your experiences, learn from the panel and develop your community's coordinated response plan.This event is organized by The Indian American Forum for Political Education (MA Chapter) and hosted by the MIT India and MIT South Asia. It is supported by numerous South Asian and other organizations.
Pluralism Project Summary:On Saturday, May 6, 2017 over 200 concerned members of the community gathered together at MIT’s Wong auditorium to address issues of local racism and to denounce recent hate crimes. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts chapter of the Indian American Forum for Political Education and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the event featured a panel discussion comprised of members from different walks of life, in order to foster a broad understanding of how different organizations respond to these horrible incidents. The panel included leaders such as Commissioner William Evans from the Boston Police Department and Genevieve Nadeau, Chief of the Civil Rights Division at the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. Mainly geared towards South Asian community members, the panel focused on strategies for community members to learn about their rights, reach law enforcement officials when necessary, and live lives without fear. Following the panel discussion, attendees mingled together to discuss community action plans during the event reception.
This summary is written by a Pluralism Project staff member who attended the event.