Did you know that the Worcester Police Department (WPD) is using cameras, automatic license plate readers and other surveillance equipment in our communities? WPD implemented these technologies without a single public hearing to allow the public to understand or approve their use. We demand accountability.

Join us on Thursday, September 20 at 6:30 p.m. to learn how you can help win community control over police surveillance.

Without proper oversight, these tools threaten our civil rights and liberties – especially those of Muslim, immigrant, and Black and Brown people. Local law enforcement agencies across Massachusetts have already been shown to unjustly target our immigrant and Muslim neighbors and more aggressively police communities of color. 

The community should have a voice in determining how police use invasive surveillance technology and military equipment in Worcester. The people most impacted by these technologies need to have a seat at the table.

We have a plan to gain community oversight over police surveillance, but we can’t do it without your help.

We hope to see you there!

From efforts to drop the Johnson Amendment, to FEMA policy changes benefiting houses of worship, to SCOTUS drift jeopardizing women's bodily autonomy, the past few years have presented numerous challenges to American secular governance, threatening to stall or reverse much of the progress made by the historical struggle for separation of religion and state in the US. We at the Secular Society of MIT have brought together representatives from three organizations that have long been standing guard over and advancing secular civil liberties and rights for Americans, to take stock of the situation, and to discuss the question of where to go from here.

Members of the panel:

• Carol Rose, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
• Ronal Madnick, President, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Massachusetts Chapter
• Zachary Bos, Co-Chair, Secular Coalition for America, Massachusetts Chapter

This event is free. Free light refreshments. The event will be photographed and recorded.