The City Manager is requested to work with relevant departments to create a plaque to be placed at the entrance of or inside City Hall that demonstrates the values that the Cambridge City Council upholds of the separation of church and state and gender equality

O-13 FIRST IN COUNCIL March 3, 2025 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR NOLAN COUNCILLOR SIDDIQUI COUNCILLOR WILSON WHEREAS: The City of Cambridge has long been dedicated to and supports the separation of church and state, along with gender equality; and WHEREAS: Cambridge City Hall recently finished a project to restore the building’s grandeur, replace failing stone masonry and make repairs to the envelope of City Hall. a landmark structure, which was gifted to the City of Cambridge in 1889; and WHEREAS: The project included restoration of the tower clock hands and faces and restoration of the balcony, which bears an inscription written by the donor, Frederick Hastings Rindge; and WHEREAS: The balcony Inscription highlights that the word of God should dictate laws that govern the people, yet this wording contradicts a core value of the Cambridge City Council of inclusion, and a clear separation of church and state; and WHEREAS: The balcony inscription includes language excluding women from government, with a statement that commandments to govern were given to “men” and it is the duty of “men” to create the laws; and WHEREAS: The inscription refers to the general public as the “people,” demonstrating the unequal ideology that policy making and enforcing is the sole authority of men due to the distinct separation between terms, while recognizing the role of all people in city life; and WHEREAS: Given that the frontage of City Hall has media with the pride flag, trans flag, and Black Lives Matter, the inscription does not align with the messages presented by the City in these other elements of public display; and WHEREAS: The historical preservation of the City is important, and the inscription is part of the historic structure; and WHEREAS: The Historical Commission has been working to address these issues through an explanatory statement to be placed in the lobby of City Hall, and has not finalized a draft, and the Cambridge City Council requests that there be steps taken in a timely manner to address these issues surrounding both church and gender; now therefore be it

ORDERED: The City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with relevant departments to create a plaque to be placed at the entrance of or inside City Hall that demonstrates the values that the Cambridge City Council upholds of the separation of church and state and gender equality; and be it further ORDERED: The City Manager be and hereby is requested to work with relevant departments to ensure that such a plaque is displayed in a manner that communicates how the City Council conducts its government in a fair unbiased manner; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council by April of 2025.