Help us Change the Massachusetts Flag and Seal!

November 19th – Action Alert!

ChangetheMassFlag.com, MAIndigenousAgenda.org and Mass Peace Action are calling for a broad based mobilization to support pending legislation to Change the Massachusetts Flag.

Please join us for the hearing in Boston, at the Statehouse: and for a Rally and Press Conference on the Boston Common beforehand.

We invite you to lobby your State Legislators to Support the entire Mass Indigenous Agenda: maindigenousagenda.org

400 Years after the Pilgrims Landed in 1620 – the time has finally come – to eliminate the use of Native Mascots at public schools in the Commonwealth, change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, and Change the White Supremacist Flag and Seal of Massachusetts!

Here in Massachusetts, we can all play an important role in elevating the voices and supporting the causes of Native people, as the 400th Anniversary of the Pilgrim landing approaches in 2020. National media will soon be turning its attention to the Colonial relations with the Native Nations of the Commonwealth, and exploring the origins of the genocidal expansion and desecration of Turtle Island that has led us directly to this current crisis.

If you cannot be in Boston with us on Tuesday, November 19th, Please Contact the Legislators who will Vote on this Legislation (see below).

Folks in Western Mass who are interested in taking a chartered bus from Greenfield to Boston early in the morning on Tuesday, November 19th, please email daviddetmold@gmail.com as soon as possible. Thank you!

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Flag and Seal Bill (House Bill H2776 / Senate Bill S1877) will be presented at a hearing at the MA State House on Tuesday, November 19th before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. That hearing will begin sometime after 10:30 a.m. We will give more details as they become available.

ChangetheMassFlag.com , MaIndigenousAgenda.org and Mass Peace Action are calling for broad support for this bill. Here are some of the ways you can be involved. The legislation will be heard on November 19th before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

Go to the Change the Flag and Seal website for information and background on the bill.

Go to the Massachusetts Indigenous Agenda website for information and updates about this and four other bills supported by Indigenous People of the Commonwealth, currently awaiting action by the MA legislature (including changing the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day and banning the use of Native mascots for sports teams at the 38 public high schools in Massachusetts that continue to use them!) Mass Peace Action. Is also working to support the Flag and Seal Bill.

ALSO: PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY gathering at PLYMOUTH ROCK on Thursday, November 28th, 2019 for the NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING – 12:00 Noon – Cole’s Hill – Plymouth, MA

In Boston, we plan three forms of action at the Statehouse on Tuesday, November 19th:

9:30 AM Rally on State House steps. Make your own sign. Encourage others and friends to attend the rally and support the legislation.
Join the Hearing starting 10:30 AM in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House

Testify before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight
Submit written testimony to the Committee – Each piece of personal testimony – sharing your own views in your own words – is essential for the legislators to hear.

Lobby your legislators in MA House and Senate about the Flag and Seal legislation (which has been awaiting passage now for 35 years!) We will have materials available for a visit to your legislator. Check https://malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator to find your State Representative and Senator. If you cannot join us on the 19th, call, write or email them ahead of time – please!

Additionally, please contact the members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and ask them to support Bill S.1877/H.2776. If possible, include a personal anecdote about how you or someone you know has been harmed or offended by the Commonwealth Flag and Seal, with its image of a white hand holding a sword over the head of a Native person. Please cc your own state representative and state senator. Sample letter below.

Contact each of the members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, or at least the Senate and House chairs of that committee:

Senate

Chair Marc R Pacheco- marc.pacheco@masenate.gov

Vice Chair Barry R Finegold– barry.finegold@masenate.gov

Rebecca L. Rausch – becca.rausch@masenate.gov

Paul Feeney – paul.feeney@masenate.gov

Nick Collins- nick.collins@masenate.gov

Dean A. Tran- dean.tran@masenate.gov

House

Chair Danielle W. Gregoire- – danielle.gregoire@mahouse.gov

Vice Chair Sean Garballey- – sean.garballey@mahouse.gov

Marcos A, Devers- marcos.devers@mahouse.gov

Daniel J. Hunt- daniel.hunt@mahouse.gov

Carmine Lawrence Gentile- carmine.gentile@mahouse.gov

Carlos Gonzalez- carlos.gonzalez@mahouse.gov

David Biele- david.biele@mahouse.gov

Maria Duaime R. Robinson- maria.robinson@mahouse.gov

Norman Orrall (Ranking Minority)- norman.orrall@mahouse.gov

Mathew J. Muratore- mathew.muratore@mahouse.gov

Be sure to cc info@MAIndigenousAgenda.org and info@masspeaceaction.org so we know what kind of support we have.

Sample Email/Letter to Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Chairs and Members

Dear( Member Chair) of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight: I am a resident of (town). I am writing in support of Bill S.1877/H.2776 “Resolve providing for the creation of a special commission relative to the seal and motto of the Commonwealth.” I am (a parent, teacher, therapist, person of Indigenous descent, social worker, etc.) and this issue concerns me because (specific reason/s). I ask that this bill be reported out of committee with a favorable vote.

Sample Email/Letter to Your State Representative or Senator

I am a resident of (town). I am writing in support of Bill S.1877/H.2776 “Resolve providing for the creation of a special commission relative to the seal and motto of the Commonwealth.” I am (a parent, teacher, therapist, person of Indigenous descent, social worker, etc.) and this issue concerns me because (specific reason/s). I ask that this bill be reported out of committee with a favorable vote.

Dear {Your District Legislator name}

I am deeply concerned about the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Flag and Seal in its present form. For many years it has been the symbol of our State and yet it is overtly racist and offensive. I support the (House bill 2776) (Senate Bill 1877), which would help remove this symbol of hatred and start a search for a more appealing and creative symbol to represent our Commonwealth. I hope that you can also be a sponsor of this bill.

Thank you for supporting this Legislation.

“A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.” – Tecumseh