Feasibility commission approves three initial appointees, pauses rest while staff vets nominees

The Cape Verdean Cultural Center Feasibility Commission approved three initial appointments and directed staff to develop a skills-and-region inventory to vet the remainder of roughly 19 recommended nominees.

The commission chair opened the Nov. 25 meeting by reiterating the panel’s purpose: to produce recommendations for the legislature on building a Cape Verdean Cultural Center in Boston and to carry out site visits, listening sessions and a feasibility study contract. The chair said the project is timed to ensure Cape Verdean history is represented as the city and nation mark milestone anniversaries.

Why it matters: commissioners said the commission must reflect geographic and sector diversity across Massachusetts — not only Boston. Members repeatedly urged representation from towns with Cape Verdean history, including New Bedford, Taunton, Wareham and Onset, and asked the panel to include people with curatorial, fundraising and construction experience.

During the meeting the chair read 19 recommended nominees, summarizing each person’s background and regional ties. The commission voted to appoint John Crews (Crews Companies), former state senator Vinnie Di Macedo (Bridgewater State University) and Angelo Lopes Barbosa or a designee from the Center for Cape Verdean Studies at Bridgewater State University. The chair said the center’s director, Mr. Barbosa, may be a non-U.S. citizen and staff have requested legal guidance; the commission included a designee option in the motion to ensure the center is represented even if Barbosa cannot serve.

Commissioners debated whether to vote through the entire slate or to pause and return with a vetted slate. Several members recommended an objective inventory that catalogs each nominee’s region, skills and sector experience so gaps can be identified and filled before finalizing the commission of up to 15 members. Commissioner Manuel “Manny” Lopes moved, and the commission approved, directing the chair and staff to create that inventory and present a slate at the next meeting.

Votes and outcomes: the three initial appointments were approved by majority voice vote; the chair recorded five votes in favor, one no and two members reserving their rights on the record. A separate motion to pause further appointments until the next meeting passed (chair recorded seven yes, one no). The commission also approved the November 6 meeting minutes earlier in the session.

Next steps: staff (the chair’s office and Representative Kip Diggs’s office) will compile a nominee database with geography, sector and skills tags; the commission will send letters to the three confirmed appointees and return at a later date with a vetted slate to fill the remaining seats. Members also noted an upcoming site visit trip to Cabo Verde and plans to visit Cape Verdean cultural institutions in Massachusetts such as the Cape Verdean Veterans Memorial in Rhode Island and the Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum and Cultural Center.

The commission adjourned after completing the votes and setting a tentative follow-up timeframe for January.