Council on Human Rights Planning Reading of Frederick Douglas

The Attleboro Council on Human Rights is currently planning a shared public reading of the works of Fredrick Douglas this fall, council members said during it monthly meeting at the Monday night. 

The group is still hammering out the details, but at the moment intends to have the event run from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. and is looking into a variety of locations including in Attleboro.

The event will include members of the public reading a portion of an 1852 speech by Fredrick Douglas entitled “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro.”

Additionally, the council is hoping that the Massachusetts’s Foundation for Humanities, better known as Mass Humanities, will assists with the promotion of the event as well as providing a discussion leader to talk about the speech.

“We really try to have to one main function each year,” Council Member Iona Bonneville said. 

The group will also be looking to involve the local schools in the function.

The Council is currently without a chairperson though longtime member and former chairperson Mary Whelan was acting chair for Monday's meeting. The group decided to hold off on selecting a new chair until the next meeting, slated for August 22, when more members may be in attendance.

Five of the seven council members were present including Merill Falk, Iona Boneville, Mary Whelan, Carol Wartenberg and Portia Gray-Goffigan. JoAnn Cohen Vaida and Juliet Teixeira were absent. Additionally, ex officio members Joseph Mai, Walt Thibodeau and Thomas Wellman were also absent.

The Council was established in 1994 and works to promote mutual respect and understanding among individuals and groups in the city by improving the quality of discourse and eliminating unlawful discrimination.

Citizens can call to contact the council and report an incident of discrimination.