Chestertown Equity Advisory Committee
Chestertown Unites Against Racism
June 8, 2021
Present- John Queen, Vic Sensenig, Kate Livie, Bishop Ronald Fisher, Jenn Baker, Maegan White, Ruth Shoge,
Absent- Thomas Hayman, Reverend Robert Brown, Jenn Baker
Executive Action: Minutes from May 11, 2021, were approved by Ruth Shoge, seconded by Bishop Fisher.
Chairman: Meeting began at 7:11 PM.
Updates:
Juneteenth Celebration June 14th-19th, 2021
Scheduled to begin next week, as part of the unification pillar.
Community Dialogues #1 and #2 (Technical issues)
Chairman Queen reported that the technical issues were related to his hard drive storage, and that he is waiting on a new computer to be able to upload the dialogues once it arrives.
Committee Agenda:
EAC Juneteenth Celebration w/Banners and Signs
These will be sold at Juneteenth, with extras sold at Farmer’s Market afterwards. Committee members will man the table and will be organized by Livie.
Trainings for the Town Council
Ruth shared that she has spoken with Arlene Lee, and that the SACRJ is interested in presenting their training to the committee. Ruth felt this was an unnecessary step, and felt that they could go directly to Councilman Tolliver with the details of their training, especially given that the previous training recommended by the committee was rejected. Chairman Queen felt that the SACRJ should come through the EAC, but in this circumstance, they should work directly with the Council.
Plan Implementation: Education, Legislation and Unification
Unification w/Juneteenth
The black Union presented the agenda for the town council last night, everything is ready to go. Chairman Queen reported that the former mayor will be in attendance.
Research Charlie Graves Uptown Club (Historic Signage)
Chairman Queen reported that the copy for signage is in development, and the fabrication of the signage is currently being sent out for bid. Once that work is complete, the signage will be submitted to the committee for approval.
Historic Video Selection upcoming:
Juneteenth ‘2021
Queen reported that once this is created, this will be archived on the Town of Chestertown website.
Freedom Riders in Chestertown
Queen reported that this is the next video in the series. Ruth reported that the CV Starr/ Heartland Project has the historic footage. Meagan reported that she would be happy to connect with the Starr Center. Kate suggested that they work with the Center to have one film focus on the different stories and oral histories the organization has archived, and the highlights— and allow the organizations already doing this outreach contribute to the series.
Black Business showcase (Big Mixx)
Queen reported that this is a potential video to develop further.
Seeking Community Ideas
Ruth reported that Sumner Hall recently did an exhibit on Chestertown black businesses that might be helpful. Sumner Hall itself would be a good subject, and the organization already has a video that the EAC might be able to highlight in the series.
Kate mentioned that Black watermen might be a good focus.
Bishop Fisher said that other Black entrepreneurs might be good to focus on— individual Black business owners known within the community.
New Business
Data collection and research for Legislative pillar
Queen reported that work has started, and Thomas Hayman will be involved in this element of the plan.
Public Comment: Agenda
Individuals or groups will be provided 2 minutes (NO EXCEPTIONS)
No public joined the meeting.
Next meeting Tuesday July 13th, 2021