Baker agrees to create state seal commission Share Updated: 10:38 AM EST Jan 12, 2021 By Michael P. Norton/State House News Service Massachusetts State Flag Share Updated: 10:38 AM EST Jan 12, 2021 By Michael P. Norton/State House News Service A commission will be created to recommend a new seal and motto after Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday signed a resolve.The resolve (S 2848) emerged for votes last week as the two-year session was winding down. It calls for the panel, after study, to recommend a new or revised seal or motto by Oct. 1 to ensure that they faithfully reflect and embody the historic and contemporary commitments of the commonwealth to peace, justice, liberty and equality and to spreading the opportunities and advantages of education. The seal depicts a Native American standing beneath a disembodied arm wielding a sword and the Latin motto, By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty. Elizabeth Solomon
Updated: 11:00 AM EST Jan 11, 2021 By Chris Lisinski/State House News Service Massachusetts lawmakers last week took a step toward potentially replacing the official state seal and motto, a victory for activists who have argued for decades that the current versions disparage Native Americans. A legislative resolve creating a commission to recommend a new seal and motto (S 2848) emerged in the final hours of the 2020-2021 lawmaking session, earning support from both branches and landing on Gov. Charlie Baker s desk just after 4 a.m. The panel would be tasked with studying the state s seal and motto to ensure that they faithfully reflect and embody the historic and contemporary commitments of the commonwealth to peace, justice, liberty and equality and to spreading the opportunities and advantages of education, then recommending a new or revised version by Oct. 1. Native leaders and other racial justice activists have pushed for decades for Massachusetts to change i