02/17/2026 MASHPEE INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE Minutes (2)

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IMP. IMBO d"fr,,{ynr,fw VhP. w Mashpee lncCusion and'Diversity Committee 16 Great Neck Road -Vort(- MasGtpee, M-A 02649 The MIDC Town Report is done and will be printed in the blue book. The Chair mentioned Mr. Kupferman's addition about incorporating the donated pizza vendors from last RAD. Political Action DEI is being threatened and villainized. The Chairwould like the Committee to think aboutthis in terms of our role, when we identify what we do here, and how that translates into the community. Guest Speaker— Daphne Burt, Braver Angels Daphne Burt introduced herself. She has been a Mashpee resident since 2023, and is an Ambassador, Moderator, and former State Coordinator of Braver Angels. Last month, she attended the MLK breakfast in Falmouth. There was an assumption about the audience, that everyone there was good hearted, and that everyone was a democrat or a liberal. Given that, there was no recognition by anyone speaking, despite the fact we recognize race and ethnicity, there was no recognition that good hearted people aren't confined to one political party. Braver Angels is a volunteer run committee aiming to end the polarization we are all feeling right now. That is a commitment we have made together, across the aisle. The world focuses on political divides, especially following the 2016/2017 election. We talk about reds and blues, people in the middle, republicans who disagree with republicans, and democrats who disagree with democrats. It's not a clean divide! It is, however, one that people understand. The Braver Angels are committed to having every level of leadership filled with a blue and a red at every tier. To heal the divide, we must work together. Originally, the organization began as Better Angels, named after Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address, talking about appealing to the better angels of our nature, but they ran into copyright issues. We aren't necessarily better, but we are brave, and it takes courage to engage in this enterprise. The first gathering of any event of this type happened in 2017 in Ohio. There were 12 people present, half approved of Trump, half were against him. These twelve individuals were invited to come for a weekend, tell stories, get to know one another, and see if there could be some bringing together. There is video documentation that includes interviews or participants before and after the experiment. The interviews before were full of anxiety, worry, anger, and the fear of being dismissed. At the end of the gathering, these volunteers worked hard to get to know one another and see one another as people, rather than someone who voted in a certain way. 3