Human Rights Commission Hopes to Create an Institutional Record of Rights-Related Incidents in Amherst

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Human Rights Commission, Sept. 16, 2026.

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded.

Present
Commissioners: Jayendran Pillay (co-chair), Milan Clark (co-chair), Rizwana Khan, Mattea Kramer,  Silas McClung. Absent: Rani Parker. One vacancy

Staff: Philip Avila (assistant director, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)

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The Human Rights Commission (HRC) established three subcommittees to address local racism, the weaponization of antisemitism, and the zoning bylaw that limits the number of unrelated persons that can occupy a dwelling. These subcommittees were envisioned as a means for the commission to become more actively engaged in resolving human rights concerns in town and to ensure that questions that need to be answered get answered.

To that end, commissioners also agreed to develop a standardized protocol for tracking human rights incidents, and formalized the commission’s internal structure by creating standing committees for communications and strategic partnerships.

What Can the Human Rights Commission Do?

Milan Clark presented a brief report on racist graffiti that appeared at Kendrick Park and on electrical boxes around town. Clark reported that little is publicly known about the incident and the ongoing investigation, and that the town was slow to report it to the public or to town committees. He proposed that the HRC form an ad hoc sub-committee to investigate.

A discussion followed, attempting to clarify what the commission can and can’t do in response to any human rights complaint or violation.

Rizwana Khan pointed out that the commission has no investigative authority and can’t go to the police demanding answers. She said that “this is not about generating an academic narrative; we can’t sit around and philosophize about what happened. There are things that are playing out, and we need to be proactive.” She pointed out that the commission has the capacity to raise and amplify questions that need answers and maintain a consistent institutional record of human rights concerns in town and identify incidents of harm. She suggested the commission needs to develop standardized incident-tracking protocols that include an official record of such incidents.

Mattea Kramer said that with the recent graffiti,” it’s not enough to wipe it away and say we’re all affected. We need to name who is harmed. We want to talk about that in all cases that come to the attention of the commission.” She said that the commission needs a coherent policy for talking about what happened and who was harmed, and a way to deal with these incidents without silencing people.

Clark suggested it would help to get information on how the police and town officials approached this incident: What did they do, how did they investigate, what kinds of questions did they ask, and what is their policy on communicating their actions with the public? Clark also asked about surveillance cameras and whether they might help investigate such cases. What is the policy on using cameras, and would we even want police to use them?

Pillay said the statements about the graffiti  have been “kind of like ‘all lives matter.’ They are inconsequential. These incidents target specific communities, and they impact them differentially.”

Anti-Black Racism Subcommittee

Clark and Khan agreed to serve as the Anti-Black Racism subcommittee.

Khan volunteered to create a prototype/template for an HRC protocol for incident tracking and community impact for the commission to review.

Weaponization of Antisemitism:

Kramer presented a report, drawing from work published in Jewish Currents on the weaponization of antisemitism. Jewish Currents found that reports on the explosive growth of antisemitism in the USA in the last year have identified statements in solidarity with Palestine as antisemitic incidents. The practice of using accusations or definitions of antisemitism in bad faith to suppress political dissent, delegitimize criticism of Israel’s government policies, or restrict free speech is defined as weaponization. Weaponization of antisemitism works to shut down dialogue and discourse and, in particular, to silence those who speak for Palestine rights and justice.

Kramer cited the abduction, detention, and attempted deportation of Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk because she published an editorial in the Tufts student newspaper in support of Palestine.

She went on to ask,” If we recognize that antisemitism is being weaponized to restrict protected speech, do we (the HRC) have a role in protecting speech or have something to say on this topic? Do we want to be proactive in protecting political speech?”

She concluded: “People do not have a right to silence speech they disagree with.  This can be difficult as some people regard speech they disagree with as hateful. We can oppose hate while standing for First Amendment protected speech.”

Clark pointed out that UMass arrested and banned 130 students for speaking up in support of Palestine. He said, “those students may be residents of Amherst, and they have First Amendment rights, and we could provide support for them.”

Silas McClung called attention to the recent expulsion of rapper Macklemore from the Ed Sheeran tour, for speaking out against the Gaza genocide, as an example of suppression of free speech resulting from weaponized antisemitism.

Kramer said she would share the PDF of the “Weaponization of Antisemitism” slides with the commission. Philip Avila said that he would post them to the HRC webpage. 

Kramer and McClung agreed to serve as the Weaponization of Antisemitism subcommittee and will work on a statement from the HRC supporting the protection of First Amendment speech and addressing the misuse of accusations of antisemitism to stifle political discourse.

Zoning Bylaw Subcommittee

Amherst Zoning Bylaw 12.16.2 prohibits more than 4 unrelated people from occupying the same dwelling. Clark said, “We agreed we would look into the origins of this bylaw and its history and reasoning for its creation to determine whether it is a human rights issue.” 

Pillay added,  “Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it doesn’t impact human rights.”

Pillay and Clark will investigate the human rights implications of the “4-plus unrelated” occupancy limit. 

Standing Committees

The commissioners also created the following standing committees.

Communications: Kramer and Pillay will handle public messaging and local media outreach.

Partnerships: Clark and McClung will manage institutional networking and government relations. 

Public Comments

Evan Naismith advocated abolishing occupancy limits required by Zoning Bylaw 12.16.2, which he deemed discriminatory. He noted that Colorado abolished such laws in 2024, citing Colorado Governor Polis as saying, “It is not the business of the government to tell people who they can live with.” He added that such provisions disproportionately impact historically marginalized people.

Ken Rosenthal recommended reducing the unrelated person limit from four to three, allowing accommodation of caregivers and seniors while mitigating well-documented problems caused by overcrowded student rentals. “We know the problems that have been caused by student housing in the town’s center,” he said. “I lived here when the university provided housing for all of its students. The university needs to do its share and create housing for its students.”

Member Reports 

• Student Rights:  McClung called attention to “Know Your Rights” webinars at UMass Amherst as a priority for international students.
  
• Public Safety: Pillay confirmed that the town does not use Flock cameras, noting that the only surveillance camera in town, on Sunderland Street, is operated by MassDOT for traffic estimation.
  
• International Human Rights: The commission discussed using its platform to bring international human rights violations (e.g., ICC issues) to the Town Council to amplify its voice.