Although Hattie Kerwin Derrick doesn’t like being the center of attention, Newton officials praised her dedication to inclusivity when they honored her during Tuesday’s Pride Month flag-raising ceremony.
Kerwin Derrick, Newton’s Director of Community Engagement & Inclusion, said she felt humbled and honored by the recognition of her work, adding that the award is for everyone who fought to be themselves.
“There’s still so much work ahead of us,” she said. “Change doesn’t happen by chance.”
Eliza Spaulding, chairwoman of Newton’s Human Rights Commission, said they chose to honor Kerwin Derrick because she “has been an incredible advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Over her many years of work in the city, she has looked “for ways to be inclusive [and] … have Newton be a community of belonging,” said Spaulding.
When asked how she felt about Kerwin Derrick being honored, Demie Stathoplos, who attends the same church as Kerwin Derrick, said “I thought – ‘Of course!’ … She’s so deserving.”
(photos: Julie M. Cohen)
Both Middlesex DA Marian Ryan and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller praised Kerwin Derrick and spoke about the need to fight against injustice.
After wishing the crowd happy Pride, Ryan said that “the world is different from when we were here last year.”
She noted that although Massachusetts residents are lucky to live in a state where marriage equality has been legal for 21 years, democracies are under attack.
Ryan encouraged attendees to “have a real conversation” with someone whose views differ from theirs. It’s vital to speak with people face-to-face who don’t think the same as you do and “disagree in a reasonable way,” she said.
Praising Kerwin Derrick, Fuller said she has a “deep and unwavering commitment to justice” and has worked toward the goal of “inclusion for all.”
“We really need to stand together” and support the LGBTQ+ community, said Fuller. “Every person … has the right to live freely [and] authentically.”
She encouraged residents to come together in solidarity, “and, yes, defiance” against moves by the federal government to “erase human beings.”
At the end of the ceremony, Newton residents and state Reps. Greg Schwartz and Amy Mah Sangiolo gave Kerwin Derrick a proclamation honoring her for her work.
Fuller then called up children in the crowd to help her raise the rainbow-colored Pride flag outside City Hall, where it will fly for a month.
