Panel recommends replacing Massachusetts seal, motto

BOSTON (AP) — The commission put together to study the racial implications of the Massachusetts state seal and motto has voted unanimously to recommend that both be replaced. GBH News reports that the Special Commission on the Official Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth, made up of lawmakers, members of Indigenous tribes, historians and others, made the decision at its meeting Tuesday. The current seal that appears on state flags depicts a Native American man beneath a colonist’s arm brandishing a sword. Critics say it references the defeat of local tribes at the hands of English colonists centuries ago. The next step is seeking new designs.