Police Chief Makes Statement on Immigration Policy, Housing Group Honored at 25th Annual Watertown Unity Breakfast

Nearly 500 people packed the Hellenic Center for the 25th annual Watertown Unity Breakfast, a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. During the event, a group that advocates for affordable housing was honored, and Watertown’s Police Chief made a statement about the WPD’s stance on enforcing federal immigration policy.

Monday’s Unity Breakfast, organized by World in Watertown, was the first one held in person since the COVID-19 Pandemic. Attendees saw a video on the history of the Unity Breakfast. It started after Watertown’s first attempt at creating a Human Rights Commission was voted down by the City Council. It was envisioned as a way to bring “all kinds of people together in Watertown.”

The first year, 2001, 150 people attended the event held at the Phillips Congregational Church on Mt. Auburn Street, and now it regularly attracts more than 400 people. See the video by clicking here.

The last few years the Unity Breakfast was held virtually, with a video produced by Watertown Cable News Producer Dan Hogan that included the Unity Award winner, the student essay contest winners, and a keynote speaker.

In 2025, rather than having a keynote speaker, each table held a discussion about the Kingian Principles of Nonviolence, many of which were led by Watertown Public Schools students.

The breakfast started with a prayer led by Rev. Sophia Lyons of First Parish of Watertown, and a land acknowledgement from Claudia Fox Tree, from the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, who also spoke about the effort to change the Massachusetts flag.

Police Chief’s Message

Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan said he recently spoke to World in Watertown members Will Twombly and Bevin Croft, who wanted to know what the Watertown Police Department’s stance is on federal immigration policy.

“As a new police chief, I understand why they and many of you may be concerned about where I stand on such matters. I know there are worries about the federal immigration policies, but please be rest assured that it’s not the role of the Watertown Police Department, or actually any local police department of Massachusetts, to enforce those regulations,” Hanrahan said. “Our duty is to protect and serve everyone who lives, works or visits our city, no matter where they were born or where they call home. Dr. King taught us the power of unity, empathy, and standing up for one another. In that spirit, the role of the Watertown Police Department is to keep our community safe, and serving and protecting everyone in keeping with our commitment to serve and protect all.”

Hanrahan also introduced recent additions to the Police Department, the members of the Cadets program. They are college students interested in law enforcement who will be part of the WPD’s community policing program. They are distinguishable for wearing tan uniforms, rather than the black ones worn by sworn police officers.

Unity Award

The Unity Award can go to an individual or an organization in Watertown that works in the community embodies the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, a commitment to racial, social and economic equality, respect for diversity, and advocating for those who are experiencing economic and political injustice. This year’s honoree was Housing for All Watertown.

Xin Peng, chair of the World in Watertown, said that the group is relatively new, but has been working on one of the biggest issues facing the community: affordability of housing.

“Housing for All Watertown, World in Watertown, and our new City Human Rights Commission recognize that having safe and secure housing is a basic right for all people,” Peng said. “Adequate housing has an enormous impact on the overall physical and emotional well being of everyone, often keeping families together. Housing for all Watertown has made community education around this basic human right a big part of its mission.”

In a video about Housing for All Watertown, members said that they have heard from Watertown educators who have seen families doubling up in homes, living in cars, and that the Senior Center received 13 calls in one month from seniors facing eviction because they could not pay the rent.

The group has been visible at City meetings, as well as holding social events for members and supporters.

Housing for All Watertown Member Rita Colafella thanked the World in Watertown for the award, and said that group tries to give supporters a platform to express their views.

“Beyond Dr. King’s great mind and works, he recognized that the secret to any successful movement is to get people involved, and that’s what Housing for All Watertown has done by getting people involved,” Colafella said “It’s not just saying ‘I don’t like this,’ or ‘I want to change that.’ You need to show up, and we provide that for our members: opportunities to show up, say what we want, come into the community and get things moving.”

Student Essays

The winning essays from the Watertown Middle School and Watertown Middle School student essay contest were read during the Unity Breakfast. More than 200 students submitted essays detailing their experiences of either facing social injustice or being inspired by those who have taken on the work of creating a more just society, said Kraig Gustafson, the Watertown Schools’ Social Studies Coordinator for grades 6-12, who has facilitated the essay contest for many years.

High school winner Dylan Duong wrote about a time in elementary school when one of his friends called him a racial slur during a game of kickball. He reacted by pushing the boy and it turned into a fight. Afterward, both ended up getting in trouble at school.

“The comment hurt because it was about my race, something I couldn’t change. My reaction was to defend myself by pushing him. I felt that fighting back was the only way to get revenge on him. But instead of solving the problem, the shove made everything worse. Both of us ended up in trouble, and we both felt worse afterward,” Duong said. “I learned that violence doesn’t solve anything, it just creates more problems. Looking back, I see how Dr. King’s teachings on nonviolence could have helped me. Dr. King believed that non violence was not about being weak, but about taking strong, peaceful action to fight injustice. He thought we should respond to hate with love and understand the other person, rather than going straight to violence. If I had known about these principles at the time, I would have probably not pushed them. There were other ways to stand up for myself without going to violence.”

Middle school winner Erika Days’ essay was read by a friend. Days wrote about her experience coming out at school, and about hearing how some students called her names behind her back, and one yelled a homophobic slur while she was walking through the hallway at school.

“It disgusts me how many LGBTQIA+ people have to go through the horrendous things that homophobic people say or do to them on a daily basis. For anybody who has ever looked into a mirror and seen their beautiful self and thought, I wish I was different, I wish I was someone else. You are perfect. You do not deserve to suffer because of who you were born as,” Days wrote. “During the Civil Rights Movement, people fought for equal rights to vote. They fought to put a stop to segregation and fought for the promise that was written in the Constitution, constitution, all men are equal. They did this by holding peaceful protests, organizing sit ins and boycotts. They used non violence to fight back.

“In my situation, I was also fighting for equal rights for every person. The principle of nonviolence I followed holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence accepts suffering without retaliation. In this situation, I could have turned around and yelled hurtful words back, but I decided to leave them alone, because nobody deserves to suffer, even if they have done some horrible act to another.”

Throughout the Unity Breakfast, Watertown students read Dr. King’s quotes, and music was provided by the Watertown High School Jazz Band, and the Watertown Public Schools All-City Chorus.

Breakfast was provided by Wicked Bagel. Sponsors of the 25th Annual Unity Breakfast include the Watertown Community Foundation, Watertown Savings Bank, Point32Health, the Watertown Cultural Council, Friends of Project Literacy, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Perfection Auto, and Toyota of Watertown.