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About us

The City of Newton established the Newton Human Rights Commission in 1973 to ensure mutual understanding and respect among all persons in the City by promoting acceptance of diversity and combating discrimination.

The Commissioners and Advisory Council members come from all walks of life and are volunteers who live or work in Newton.

Commissioners

• Jane Brown
• Rakashi Chand
• Cindy Greene 
• Tamika Olszewski
• Synthia Wayne
• Eliza Spaulding, Chair

Advisory Council Members

• Lt. Amanda Henrickson, NPD

What We Do

• Educate the public by presenting inform
  ative programs and discussions on human rights issues.
• Collaborate with residents, school staff, students, and businesses to support Newton's diversity initiatives.

Documents:

• Human Rights Commission Ordinance (2014)
• Human Rights Commission Brochure
• LGBTQ+ Resource Guide
• HRC Resources

   

Would you like to report an incident of discrimination?

To report an incident of discrimination, call 617-796-1420, email hrc@newtonma.gov, or complete and submit a Complaint Form.

Once your complaint is received, a Newton HHS staff member will contact you to refer you to the appropriate organization (MA Commission Against Discrimination, Greater Boston Legal Services, etc.). Complaints against City of Newton employees are handled by the City’s Human Resources Department or, if they involve a police officer, the Newton Police Department Internal Affairs.

Deidentified, aggregate data is compiled and reported to the HRC to help the commission plan programming to increase awareness and educate the public.

To file a Fair Housing Complaint, complete and submit a Housing Discrimination Complaint Form. Information on Fair Housing

Meetings

HRC meetings are open to the public. We meet at 7:00 pm on Zoom (unless otherwise noted). Agendas with Zoom links are posted on the City's Electronic Posting Board. Upcoming meetings: None Currently Scheduled

The location of this meeting is accessible, and reasonable accommodation will be provided to persons with disabilities who require assistance. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact the city of Newton’s ADA Coordinator at least two business days in advance of the meeting: ADACoordinator@newtonma.gov or (617) 796-1253. The city’s TTY/TDD direct line is: 617-796-1089. For the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS), please dial 711.

Minutes

Programs

The Human Rights Commission educates the public through challenging and informative programs and discussions on human rights issues. Recent programs hosted or co-sponsored by the Human Rights Commission include:

Interested in working with us to host a program? Complete a program proposal form and submit to hrc@newtonma.gov.

Newton Human Rights Award

The Newton Human Rights Award recognizes an individual who, by his or her efforts has improved the quality of life in Newton by promoting greater understanding and appreciation of race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, or ancestry, or by working to reduce discrimination in areas such as housing, employment, or education. The award is based on a person's overall commitment to human rights work. Every year the Newton Human Rights Commission also recognizes Newton high school students for their involvement and advocacy in human rights issues.

LGBTQ+ Pride

Every year for LGBTQ+ Pride Month, the HRC raises the Pride flag and honors an individual or individuals for their contributions and commitment to the LGBTQ+ community in Newton.