December 1, 2022 |City Council, City of Lynn, City Services, From the Mayor, News

Op-Ed | Lynn Recognition Committee Seeks Nominations, Launches Community Survey

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The op-ed below was submitted to us by Mayor Jared Nicholson’s office:

Two leaders in our community brought a request to me after I was elected mayor and before I took office. Item publisher Ted Grant and City Councilor Buzzy Barton proposed naming the Lynn Library after former Mayor Pat McManus.

I have a great deal of respect for both Mr. Grant and Councilor Barton, as well as the legacy of Mayor McManus. In responding to their request, I also took into account some context outside of my feelings for Mr. Grant, Councilor Barton, and Mayor McManus.

First, the Library Board of Trustees had previously rejected a proposal to rename the library after Mayor McManus. Second, we have seen a great deal of feedback from the community, particularly people of color, about feeling left out of City decision-making processes and not being reflected in the composition of decision-makers themselves.

For example, the Housing Lynn plan found that “[f]eelings of disconnection from City government and leaders was one of the most common challenges cited by Lynners participating in the Housing Lynn process” and that “[f]ostering a more representative local government and ensuring more consistent and transparent communication between the City and residents will empower different segments of the community, build trust between residents and the City.”

There is also the national context of debates playing out around the country about how we collectively remember our country’s past, who we choose to honor, and what that says about the country we are today. I agree with those who feel that a more complete story about our past, including our struggles with racism and discrimination helps us better understand and address the challenges of the present. These narratives along with the positive points we already tell and retell need to be closely held together and addressed carefully and thoughtfully.

Taking nothing away from how highly I regard Mr. Grant, Councilor Barton, and Mayor McManus, I responded to the request from Mr. Grant and Councilor Barton with support for the idea of honoring Mayor McManus as well as concern that there should be more process and more diversity in the full roster of who we recognize in Lynn. I decided to bring more diverse voices to the table to help make these decisions and formed a committee led by the City’s Arts and Culture Planner, LaCrecia Thomson, that included Mr. Grant and Councilor Barton (who both graciously agreed to participate), the City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Faustina Cuevas, Lynn Museum/Lynn Arts Director Doneeca Thurston, North Shore Juneteenth President Nicole McClain, Human Rights Commission Chair Audrey Jimenez, Prevent the Cycle President Adriana Paz, and Harry MacCabe of Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development.

I let this committee know the impetus for their convening, which was the proposal from Mr. Grant and Councilor Barton, my support of their proposal, and my goal to identify others we could recognize through a transparent, inclusive, and efficient process that engages the community in making these decisions. I also highlighted that any decision about actual naming will need to be made by the body that controls the landmark being named. While I will plan to put my full support behind the set of names that they put forward, depending on the naming, that decision will likely not be up to me.

In order to ensure equity in the process and that everyone’s voices are heard we hired a consultant experienced in facilitating dialogues and creating processes. The next step in this process is to hear the community’s voice. Therefore, the committee is now soliciting suggestions from the community. I think it offers a wonderful opportunity to recognize past contributions to the City of Lynn and spotlight individuals who can continue to serve as role models for future generations.

We all love stories about who we are and where we come from. It is how we make sense of our identities and the world around us. The names we recognize on public properties are stories about who and what we honor as a community. Particularly in these turbulent times, with storytelling disrupted and, in many ways, distorted by new technologies and with pernicious stories being told to undermine our country’s stated goal of a diverse democracy, it is important that we tell our own story thoughtfully.

I am grateful to Mr. Grant, Councilor Barton, Lynn Recognition Committee Chair LaCrecia Thomson, the entire Lynn Recognition Committee, and all those from the community who we are asking to participate by sharing their suggestions for their help in telling Lynn’s own, very compelling, story. The current outcome for this group is to deliver names of candidates that have emerged from the committee’s conversations and from the community survey and send those names to me by the end of the year for consideration of recognition.