Welcome to the project page for the Cambridge Advisory Committee on City Art, Monuments, & Markers (CACCAMM).
Charge of the Committee
The Committee will advise the City Manager and City Council on issues relating to public art, monuments, and historic markers on City-owned property. Specifically, the Committee’s charge is to develop recommendations on how the City should address City-owned monuments and markers, particularly those which may be viewed as inconsistent with the values of Cambridge, by which we mean a just City that prioritizes anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion.
The Committee will develop procedures to evaluate monuments and markers for persons associated with the slave trade or engaged in other similarly shameful acts. The Committee will also make recommendations on how to determine which individuals -particularly women, people of color, and those from other historically marginalized communities - might be newly recognized with a monument/public art, memorial or marker.
Public Listening Session: Wednesday, June 30, 2021, 6:00 PM
Questions or Comments? E-mail us here.
June 28, 2021
City Councillor E. Denise Simmons, co-chair of this committee, has organized a public listening session and is seeking public comment on the topics studied by this committee.
April 14, 2021
The date of the May meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 6:00 P.M.
January 13, 2021
The first meeting of the Advisory Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 6:00 P.M.
December 14, 2021
The City Manager reported to the City Council the formation and appointment of members to the Cambridge Advisory Committee on City Art, Memorials and Markers. This Committee, as requested in Awaiting Report Item Number 19-74, will review public monuments, memorials, and markers throughout Cambridge “to determine whether any of these commemorate those who were linked to the slave trade or engaged in other similarly shameful acts, (and) to determine which individuals - particularly women, people of color, and those from other historically marginalized communities - should be newly recognized.
Committee Meeting 1: Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Committee Meeting 2: Wednesday, February 10, 2021, 2021 6:00pm-8:00pm
Committee Meeting 3: Wednesday, March 10, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Committee Meeting 4: Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Committee Meeting 5: Wednesday, May 5, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Committee Meeting 6: Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Public Listening Session: Wednesday, June 30, 2021, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Background
In response to a Policy Order by the Cambridge City Council, the City Manager appointed the members of the Cambridge Advisory Committee on City Art, Memorials and Markers in December 2020. This Committee, as requested in Awaiting Report Item Number 19-74, will review public monuments, memorials, and markers throughout Cambridge “to determine whether any of these commemorate those who were linked to the slave trade or engaged in other similarly shameful acts, and how to determine which individuals - particularly women, people of color, and those from other historically marginalized communities - should be newly recognized.
The Council Order recommended that the Committee review the report of New York City's Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments & Markers for a similar effort to review, assess, and update their own public monuments, memorials, and public art.
Committee Charge
The Committee will advise the City Manager and City Council on issues relating to public art, monuments, and historic markers on City-owned property. Specifically, the Committee’s charge is to develop recommendations on how the City should address City-owned monuments and markers, particularly those which may be viewed as inconsistent with the values of Cambridge, by which we mean a just City that prioritizes anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion.
The Committee will develop procedures to evaluate monuments and markers for persons associated with the slave trade or engaged in other similarly shameful acts. The Committee will also make recommendations on how to determine which individuals -particularly women, people of color, and those from other historically marginalized communities - might be newly recognized with a monument/public art, memorial or marker.
Committee Membership
- E. Denise Simmons, City Councillor and Chair of the Civic Unity Committee, Committee Co-Chair
- Brian Corr, Executive Director of the Peace Commission and Police Review & Advisory Board, Committee Co-Chair and Co-Facilitator
- Greggy Bazile, Artist/Muralist, Senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, interested in Architecture and Public spaces
- Melvin Downes, Jr., Black Trailblazers representative, The Cambridge Black History Project
- Emmanuella Fede, Artist, Student in Early Education at Lesley University, works at the Community Art Center and was involved in the FLOW public art process in the Port
- Cristine Hutchison-Jones, PhD., Project Manager, Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
- Eryn Johnson, Independent Consultant in Creative Place Making, Youth Development & Organizational Strategy, former Executive Director of the Community Art Center in The Port
- Timothy McCarthy, Harvard Kennedy School, Lecturer on History and Literature, Public Policy and Education
- Tiya Miles, PhD., Harvard University, Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Public historian, academic historian, and creative writer whose work explores the intersections of African American, Native American and women’s history
- Dr. Janie Ward, Simmons University, Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies and Education
Committee Membership
- E. Denise Simmons, City Councillor and Chair of the Civic Unity Committee, Committee Co-Chair
- Brian Corr, Executive Director of the Peace Commission and Police Review & Advisory Board, Committee Co-Chair and Co-Facilitator
- Greggy Bazile, Artist/Muralist, Senior at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, interested in Architecture and Public spaces
- Melvin Downes, Jr., Black Trailblazers representative, The Cambridge Black History Project
- Emmanuella Fede, Artist, Student in Early Education at Lesley University, works at the Community Art Center and was involved in the FLOW public art process in the Port
- Cristine Hutchison-Jones, PhD., Project Manager, Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
- Eryn Johnson, Independent Consultant in Creative Place Making, Youth Development & Organizational Strategy, former Executive Director of the Community Art Center in The Port
- Timothy McCarthy, Harvard Kennedy School, Lecturer on History and Literature, Public Policy and Education
- Tiya Miles, PhD., Harvard University, Professor of History and Radcliffe Alumnae Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Public historian, academic historian, and creative writer whose work explores the intersections of African American, Native American and women’s history
- Dr. Janie Ward, Simmons University, Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies and Education
Resource Support
- Ora Grodsky, Just Works Consulting, Committee Co-Facilitator
- Suryani Dewa Ayu, Writer/Recorder
- Neal Alpert, Council Aide
- Valerie Beaudrault, Advisor
- Charles Sullivan, Cambridge Historical Commission
- Sarah Burks, Cambridge HIstorical Commission
- Jason Weeks, Cambridge Arts Council
Brian Corr
Executive Director, Cambridge Peace Commission
Executive Director, Police Review & Advisory Board
City of Cambridge, Massachusetts
51 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139
617.349.4694
bcorr@cambridgema.gov