Human Rights Committee Chairman: Don't Respond to Protesters

A letter to residents from Albert P. Zabin, chairman of the Lexington Human Rights Committee

A hate group has advised the police department that they intend to visit us on June 6 to demonstrate against our tolerance and support of all groups, faiths and beliefs. They intend to demonstrate in front of Grace Chapel. Their right to say hateful and provocative speech is guaranteed by The Constitutions of both the United States and The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Who are these people? 

They are an extended family of three or four generations who have carried on similar demonstrations around the country for twenty years. Their number includes several lawyers, considered by some as experts in the law of free speech.  They know what limits they must observe, and they will push right up to but not over the line of legality.  They appear to finance their activities by engaging in litigation against communities that fail to adequately protect them.  From time to time they will post demonstrations in local communities and not show up at all. 

When they last visited Lexington, our citizens joined together, formed and carried out a strategy of affirming in a non-violent, non-hostile and dignified response rejecting the ideology of bigotry. A large group of our citizens, adults and young people formed a silent line, arms linked and turned their backs on the demonstrators. When another hate group came here to deliver their message, we all stayed away. Crestfallen the demonstrators left.  Our police department, which has developed considerable expertise in handling these challenges, was ready to act, but it never had to, except to have a minimal number of officers visible.

The Lexington community again plans a proactive course of action should this group come to Lexington. Working together, the Selectmen's Human Rights Committee, police, the clergy of Grace Chapel and the School Department, have decided to deal with this event by ignoring the group and staying away from their demonstration, excepting, of course congregants who attend services at Grace Chapel. Grace Chapel is alerting its congregation and will hold services at the usual times. We have decided to avoid any confrontation with this hate group, because that would only serve their purposes of disrupting our community, gaining publicity and encouraging other hate groups.

Rather than giving the Police Department several weeks of advance notice, they gave only 10 days notice, in an attempt hamper our capacity to organizes a response similar to our response to their last visit. We will not let hate disrupt our community, nor will we grant it a forum to provoke inappropriate responses. Our response as a community will have given them and all others a silent but powerful message about the nature and character of Lexington. We urge all citizens of Lexington to support our efforts to show all that hate groups are unwelcome and their destructive efforts will be unsuccessful here 

Albert P. Zabin

Chairman, Lexington Human Rights Committee