THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS DIVISION
1350 MAIN STREET
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 01103-1629 MARTHA COAKLEY TEL: (413) 784-1240 ATTORNEY GENERAL FAX: (413) 784-1244 www.mass.gov/ago December 30, 2011
Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts 377 Amostown Road West Springfield, MA 01089
To Whom It May Concern, I was recently appointed to serve as Assistant Attorney General in the Attorney General’s WesternMassachusetts regional office. In this position, I will focus on local consumer protection and civil rightsissues. As you may already know, the Civil Rights Division (“CRD”) of the Attorney General’s Officeworks to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of Massachusetts residents and visitors and to enddiscrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, and disability.The Attorney General’s Office fields civil rights inquiries and complaints on a daily basis and respondswith information and referrals. The CRD may also choose to take legal action in response to a complaint.Among other things, the CRD enforces the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act by obtaining civil rightsinjunctions to protect victims of bias-motivated threats, intimidation, coercion, or violence. The CRD alsoprosecutes housing discrimination cases when the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination hasmade a finding of probable cause of discrimination and the case has been removed to court. I invite you to refer individuals to the Office of the Attorney General should they feel that their civilrights have been violated. Our phone number is (413) 784-1240. Additionally, you can refer individuals tothe CRD’s portion of the Attorney General’s website (www.mass.gov/ago). There are educationalmaterials available on the website, including a brochure titled Massachusetts Civil Rights Act: A Guide forResidents and Visitors. Moreover, if you are interested in hosting a training for staff or constituents on aspecific civil rights topic, such as housing discrimination, I would be happy to work with you. Finally, if you would like more information about the CRD or if you would like to discuss a localcivil rights issue, please feel free to contact me directly at (413) 523-7710. Sincerely, Assistant Attorney General (413) 523-7710 Ann E.lynch@state.ma.us
