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Date: 5/2/2023
HATFIELD — If a petition’s article passes at Town Meeting, Hatfield could become the next community that supports the changing of the Massachusetts state flag from its current iteration.
One of the items on the agenda at the Hatfield Town Meeting on May 9 at the Smith Academy Gymnasium is a petitioner’s article that asks the town to vote in support of changing the state’s flag and seal, which have been under controversy for decades.
Background
According to changethemassflag.com, Indigenous leaders have been calling for the flag and seal to change for more than 50 years.
The current iteration of it depicts a white hand holding a colonial sword over the head of an Indigenous person above a Latin motto that translates: “She Seeks by the Sword a Quiet Peace under Liberty.”
The design is seen by many as a symbol of violence against Indigenous people, and as a result, many towns and cities across the state are calling for its change.
After major attempts to form a commission to study this cause, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a bill to establish a “Special Commission Relative to the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth back in January 2021 and to invite native leaders from the Wampanoag, Nipmuc and Massachusetts nations to sit with state legislators, historians and other appointees on this 19-member panel.
Since its formation, the commission has investigated changes to the state flag and seal with the hope that the legislature will eventually change the seal and flag based on the recommendations.
According to David Detmold, the coordinator of Change the Massachusetts Flag, the state’s flag has been a source of controversy and a representation of white supremacy for as far back as the 1600s.
“It is seen by many native people, and by other residents as an offensive symbol of white supremacy and the historical oppression of native people in Massachusetts and our nation as a whole,” he wrote on the chanethemassflag.com website.
In Hatfield
If Hatfield voters pass the petition, the town will join 61 towns that have already said they support such a cause.
During a meeting with the Hatfield Select Board in early April, state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) said that the commission studying this issue decided that the seal should indeed be changed, but there is no alternative design formally created yet.
“There have been very passionate conversations about whether or not it should have a figure,” Comerford. “That conversation is ongoing. The process for ratifying the final decision has not been decided.”
Comerford added that the commission intends “to finish its charge” of investigating the current flag’s legacy and offering an alternative.
In the meantime, activists in Hatfield like the Hatfield Equity Alliance are advocating for residents to join in the effort of supporting the change.
“Having our Town Meeting members vote to affirm our support to have the symbols on the state flag changed is important because it needs to be an inclusive representation of what our state wants to represent ourselves to reflect our outlook for the future; a positive symbol that supports native people’s positive image of them and our children and state and town agencies who must learn about and show our best, present values.” said Betsy Sheehan, a member of the alliance. “The Hatfield Equity Alliance want the town to join the 61 towns that have already voted to send this as our priority for the support and timely funding of a special commission.”
The alliance sponsored a history of the flag event that occurred at the Hatfield Public Library with Detmold, which readers can watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuLjr-XDw2g.
Readers may also visit the changethemassflag website to learn more about the flag’s history: https://changethemassflag.com/.
“Hatfield Equity Alliance seeks to create and foster safe, welcoming spaces for everyone in our town,” said Hatfield Equity Alliance representative Marguerite Durant. “Violent and racist images don’t belong in Hatfield. We hope people will take the time to learn more about the symbols that are currently representing the commonwealth, and come to Town Meeting and vote in support of this resolution on May 9th.”