City of Eugene Human Rights Commission

City of Eugene Human Rights Commission Human Rights Commission Meeting 2-20-18 Packet Contents Draft Agenda Page 1 Draft Minutes from 1/2018 Page 3 Budget Update Page 13 Funding Request – SURJ Page 14 WeCU Work Group Update Page 28 Homelessness Working Group Update Page 29 March Draft Agenda Page 30 Office of Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement | City of Eugene | 99 W 10th Ave | Eugene OR 97401 | (541) 682-5272  City of Eugene Human Rights Commission The mission of the Human Rights Commission is to promote implementation of universal human rights values and principles in all City of Eugene programs and throughout the wider community. To carry out this mission the commission shall affirm, encourage and initiate programs and services within the City of Eugene and in the wider community designed to place priority upon protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the full range of universal human rights as enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To support and promote human rights, the commission will: provide human rights education, be proactive in human rights efforts, address human rights violations, ensure active public participation, be transparent and open, be publicly accountable for human rights progress. Human Rights Commissioners: Edward McGlone (Chair), Joel Iboa (Vice Chair), Ibrahim Coulibaly, Ela Kubok, Ibrahim Hamide, Andrew Thomson, Bonnie Souza, Aria Seligmann, Julia Johnson, Aimee Walsh, Councilor Emily Semple Equity and Human Rights Center Staff: Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen, Katie Babits The Human Rights Commission meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Tuesday, February 20, 2018 5:30 – 8:30 PM Meeting Sloat Room, Atrium Building, 99 W 10th Street Contact: Katie Babits, 541-682-5177 katie.e.babits@ci.eugene.or.us ITEM _______________ACTION______ TIME 1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:30 - 5:35 (5 min) 2. Public Comment (Chair) 5:35 - 5:45 (10 min) 3. Support Request (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:45 – 6:00 (15 min) 4. Police Chief Recruitment Update 6:00 – 6:15 (15 min) 5. Council Update 6:15 – 6:25 (10 min) 6. EPD Unmet Needs Assessment Discuss/Vote 6:25 – 6:35 (10 min) 7. Overview of Meetings with Mayor and City Manager 6:35 – 6:45 (10 min) 8. Report from BIG and Freedom Fund Dinners 6:45 – 6:50 (5 min) 9. Place Naming: Councilor Ortiz and Dr. Coleman Discuss/Vote 6:50 – 6:55 (5 min) 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 |ehrcenter@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/hrc 1  10. Youth Work Group Comment 6:55 – 7:05 (10 min) 11. Work Group Lead Updates 7:05 – 7:15 (10 min) 12. Commission Liaison Updates 7:15 – 7:25 (10 min) 13. Staff Update 7:25 – 7:30 (5 min) Upcoming events, activities or meetings of which the HRC needs to be aware: 2/17-18 10am-7pm – 33rd Annual Asian Celebration. Lane Events Center. 2/18 4-7pm – SURJ: Becoming a Better Social Justice Ally. Central Presbyterian Church. 2/20 1:30pm-3:30pm – Equity and Human Rights Board Meeting. Eugene Downtown Public Library, Sunstone Room. 2/20 7:30pm – Council Meeting: Community Justice System Update. Harris Hall. 2/21 5pm-7pm Better Housing Together. Erb Memorial Union Ballroom. 2/22 5:30pm-7pm – Beyond Invitation: How Do We Create Inclusive Communities? Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room. 2/24 12:30pm-2pm – HRC WeCU Work Group Meeting. Washington Park Center. 2/27 12pm-1:30pm – HRC Homelessness Work Group Meeting. Atrium Building, Sloat Room. 2/28 6:30pm – Economic, Political, Historical Debts: The Case of Puerto Rico. Knight Law Center, Room 175. 3/1 6-8pm – Equal Means Equal Film Screening and Discussion. Bijou Art Cinemas. 3/2 5pm-7pm – ECC First Fridays Communities of Color and Allies Network. Campbell Community Center. 3/8 9am-7:30pm – CLLAS Symposium: Justice Across Borders: Gender, Race, and Migration in the Americas. Knight Library, Browsing Room. 3/22 5:30pm-7pm – What is Cultural Appropriation? Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room. 3/22 5:30pm-8pm – Together We Shelter. First United Methodist Church. 3/22 5:30-7pm – Conversation Project: What is Cultural Appropriation? Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room. The Eugene Human Rights Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. This meeting location is wheelchair accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM-assistive listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours’ notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours’ notice. To arrange for these services, contact staff at (541) 682-5177. La Comisión de Derechos Humanos agradece su interés por participar en los asuntos de esta agenda. El local de la reunión tiene acceso para personas en silla de ruedas. Para las personas con dificultades auditivas ofrecemos sistemas FM para ayudarlo a escuchar, o intérpretes de lenguaje de señas. También ofrecemos intérpretes de español. Si necesita cualquiera de estos servicios por favor solicítelos con 48 horas de anticipación, llamando al (541) 682-5177. 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/hrc 2  City of Eugene Human Rights Commission MINUTES Tuesday, January 16, 2017 5:30pm – 7:30pm Meeting Atrium Building, Sloat Room, 99 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene Present: Human Rights Commissioners: Joel Iboa (Vice Chair), Andrew Thomson, Ibrahim Hamide, Julia Johnson, Aimee Walsh, Ibrahim Coulibaly, Aria Seligmann, Ela Kubok, Bonnie Souza, Councilor Emily Semple Staff: Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen, Katie Babits 1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval Motion: Move to approve the January 2018 agenda. Made by: J. Johnson Second: E. Kubok Vote: Unanimous Motion: Move to adopt the minutes from November 2017. Made by: J. Johnson Second: E. Semple Vote: E. Kubok, A. Walsh abstain due to November absence. 2. Public Comment J. Iboa: Thank you for bringing your concern to the Human Rights Commission. It is critical that we hear about issues such as this. Please understand that the Human Rights Commission is a policy advisory body to the City Council and is not designated to resolve issues at its public meetings. The Commission has a full agenda tonight and will not discuss or make decisions immediately on the issue you have presented us. If you need additional information on this issue before the next Human Rights Commission meeting, please contact Office of Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement staff at (541) 682-5177. Due to time constraints, we are permitting three minutes for each commenter. You will be given notice when 30 seconds remain and when your time is finished. Michael Gannon: I wanted to talk to you because I have been going to the Homelessness Working Group meetings, with which I am extremely disappointed. I think there is a lot that can be done with homeless in Eugene, but it’s apparent that at every possible corner there is opposition from the City. There does not appear to be useful dialogue. We need to have public shelter. I realize I was caught up in Eugene as a homeless person and very little has happened in Eugene. I am pretty disgusted. I brought up issues about LTD and we still have not met with them since I brought it up in June 2017. I suggested having the HRC write a letter, we as the working group cannot write a letter, and we can’t even have a meeting without a member of the HRC present. It’s a reminder that we are a citizens but the City is not interested in listening. I came here in 1962 to go to the University of Oregon. I am trying to get a driver’s license, I made the mistake of not getting it renewed before they made it a requirement to have your birth certificate. I grew up in the Medford area, the 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 |HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 3 librarians were very kind. I’ve had a business here for 25 years and I can’t get a library card. I was at a meeting when Ken Neubeck was running the meetings, he made it clear that there were opportunities for people to be heard and I can’t find a way to actually be heard. Human rights are being violated on so many levels, we can make a lot of difference but we don’t. 3. Support Requests J. Iboa – We have a support request this evening for Our Bodies, Our Voices, Our Open Mic. Katie Schuessler: Hi, I’m Katie and I’m co-organizing an event at Tsunami Books where the stage is open for those who identify as women. I am trying to hire an ASL interpreter and I am here to seek funding for that portion. Girls Rock will open, it is a local music organization that empowers young girls to express themselves through music, and we will have a featured performer, Ruby McConnell. She is an author of the Women’s Guide to the Wild. Then it will be open mic for up to 15 people to perform. We did receive funding from the Lane County Cultural Incorporation. We still need funding for an ASL interpreter. E. Semple: Is this the first time you have run this program? K. Schuessler: That is a great question, thank you so much for asking it. This is the second time; we did four performances last year. Our first was on the eve of the Women’s March. It was a powerful way to launch the events the next day. The other events had varying attendance and we learned a lot about how to publicize the events and partnering with organizations. A. Seligmann: Have you lined someone up for this Friday? K. Schuessler: I have not yet been able to locate an interpreter, please let me know if you have any suggestions. A. Seligmann: In my experience they generally charge about $75 per hour. K. Schuessler: In that case we would only do them for one or two events then. E. Semple: You could return to request more for the future months. Motion: Move to sponsor the Our Bodies, Our Voices, Our Open Mic request of up to $200 for ASL interpreter. Made By: E. Semple Second: A. Seligmann Vote: Unanimous Rick Pettigrew: I’m Rick Pettigrew, the Executive Director of the Archeological Legacy Institute. You supported us last year, and this is Lane County’s oldest film festival, it’s all about cultural heritage film. We are a non-profit organization that uses media to tell the human story. We believe media is a way to tell our story. It is fundamental to improve how people respect one another, how to learn about those who are different from us. We’re not overly preachy, we believe providing this opportunity to understand one another is essential. J. Johnson: Is there a theme for the festival this year? R. Pettigrew: There is not a theme for the films. There were 800 entries and we selected 30 films for this competition. We received entries from 45 countries. The topics are from all over the world, there were many indigenous entries, for example. B. Souza: Who has been your audience historically? R. Pettigrew: We aim for a general audience, but there are certain segments which are more attracted. We advertise through social media, KLCC, newspapers, direct email to our email list, educators, and we are open to ideas for other methods so we can reach the broadest audience possible. B. Souza: Which segments are more attracted? R. Pettigrew: The older set, those interested in public broadcasting programming, people who have time to attend these events and also educators in the community, those are our prominent groups. B. Souza: As you narrowed it down you ended up with indigenous films, have you contacted the Long House on campus? R. Pettigrew: We have not directly contacted the Long House, but we have been in contact with a number of tribes. Last year David Lewis from the Grand Ronde spoke at our event and the Cow Creek tribe donated 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 4 financially. We are open to any ideas you have about outreach. We would like for more films to come in from underrepresented communities, for example the entire continent of Africa is not represented. A. Seligmann: Will the films be closed captioned? R. Pettigrew: No, the films are not close captioned, but a number do have subtitles for the films in a foreign language. Closed captioning is very expensive, especially for a small non-profit like our organization. We do have a number of titles that are on Amazon and we have been able to provide them in closed captioned through that capacity. I. Hamide: Did you say there will be 45 films shown? R. Pettigrew: We will show 30 films over 4 days, and we will show all of the films available through our film channel. Motion: Move to sponsor the Archeological Legacy Institute Film Festival request of up to $200. Made By: E. Kubok Second: I. Hamide Vote: Unanimous 4. HRC Recruitment and Selection J. Iboa: The recruitment period for open Human Rights Commission positions will open this month through the end of March. Andrew Thomson’s tenure with the HRC is coming to an end, and Bonnie Souza and Edward McGlone are eligible to reapply for another term. Who would like to be on the recruitment and selection committee? Ela Kubok Aria Seligmann Ib Hamide Ibrahim Coulibaly Andrew Thomson J. Iboa: Katie will send the matrix out to the 5 on the recruitment and selection committee so they can review the scoring criteria and respond back with their recommendations. J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: If anyone is considering leaving the Commission during your tenure, please let us know as it will be helpful to include the opening during this recruitment period so people could apply now. It would be helpful to know within the next week, and up to one month from now would be convenient for planning purposes. 5. Homelessness Working Group Changes E. Kubok: I wanted to come back to all of you to discuss how we can help the work group be successful. Our lead’s working schedule changed dramatically making them no longer able to be involved in the work group. This left Aimee and I to lead the work group which affected how we were able to hold the meetings in December. Edward and I went to the work group to discuss with them how we can support them; they are a group of dedicated people. They want to meet twice a month for 90 minutes to be able to implement their work plan. In order to do that successfully, we need more support from the HRC to be able to accommodate the time commitment. They expressed concerns in being able to know what information is being reported back to the HRC in our meetings. They ask for a complete feedback loop. They are motivated to understand the role of the work group in HRC and City Council. While there is frustration that things are not moving fast, some members attend meetings on homelessness throughout the community and share updates in their meetings. I brought a list of dates through the end of June. Edward and I felt that we need to accommodate the group. I can take every first Tuesday of the month for 90 minutes, but I need another Commissioner to attend the meetings on the second meeting of the month. If I could fill this list by the end of today to show them we can support them, it would be helpful. E. Semple: Do we need to do anything other than be there? 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 5 E. Kubok: Be there and facilitate the agenda. They put together an agenda. The HRNI intern takes minutes, so you can read those to understand what will be discussed in the upcoming meetings. J. Iboa: Ideally there should be continuity to have people who are able to alternate, perhaps we can alternate with two people every other month. A. Seligmann: I was the lead and I had been in communication with the work group that my schedule would change, and I remained in contact to try and find alternative dates and times. I also wanted to clarify that when Jen Frenzer was the lead she constantly reported back and maintained the feedback loop. E. Kubok: We have some internal work with refreshing our bylaws that will affect this work group, but for the rest of the fiscal year, we need to fill in this gap. A. Walsh: I can do one meeting most months. I think the group needs a more focused scope. We may not be able to address all of their concerns and it would be helpful if there was specific direction. E. Kubok: With LTD, our scope is that we can submit a letter to Council explaining our concerns, but we cannot hold LTD accountable and there is no expectation that LTD would attend any of the work group meetings. The members felt they could have a small side group to write a letter to LTD and bring it back to the larger work group. A. Walsh: All but January 23rd work for me; I am able to attend the rest of the second Tuesday of the month meetings through the end of the fiscal year. A. Seligmann: Was there any flexibility with time of day the meetings are held? E. Kubok: I explained I am only able to do 90 minutes a day, and since they were adamant that they be 90 minutes, and I told them if we were unable to fill the other meetings with an HRC member, they would be restricted to one meeting a month. A. Walsh: All the spots have been filled. B. Souza: Is criminalization of homelessness being addressed? E. Kubok: It is being discussed, and a gentleman from California was attending the meetings to build a case to address criminalization of homelessness in Oregon. However, he had to leave Oregon to address a case in another state. He found it difficult to build his case here in Oregon. With this work group it is interesting because this is an area of interest, but there needs to be a lead in the group to begin taking action on the topic, and there doesn’t appear to be a lead currently. A. Seligmann: I shared with the group that someone could pair up with an HRC member, to work on this topic. E. Kubok: Only Heather was potentially interested in it. E. Semple: How many people are in the work group? E. Kubok: There is a google group with about 40 subscribers. E. Semple: I am not prepared to do this on a continuous basis, but if they need an HRC member, I am free on an as needed basis. A. Walsh: I would recommend other members attend, it is very interesting group and they are very involved, it would benefit you all to sit in on a meeting. J. Iboa: I would also note that we have 7 liaison opportunities for HRC members to participate in and learn of areas where human rights affect our community. E. Semple: I would like to see when all work groups and liaison groups meet. 6. IHRD Report B. Souza: There were a lot of new faces at the International Human Rights Day event, including many from marginalized communities. All the HRC members who were in town came and helped, thank you very much for your participation and your help. The food was awesome and the entertainment was awesome. There were some technical difficulties, we debriefed and there were suggestions if there were future events. Ib Hamide, Andrew Thomson and Ibrahim Coulibaly were all in the work group. Andrew brought in Danceability who put on an amazing performance, Aand all of the performances were wonderful and were donated. I still have not squared away all the money so I can disburse reimbursements. I. Hamide: It was a great event, people enjoyed coming, the Mayor was there and read her proclamation, and the kids’ corner was well managed. It was a labor of love and it was heartwarming. 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 6 B. Souza: Andrew, Ib and Ibrahim, I want to thank all of you for the work you put into it. I. Coulibaly: The community was involved, enjoyed the performances and they participated. In the last meeting we debriefed and talked about the event, everyone had something to offer and was happy about how it went. J. Iboa: If you all have pictures, could you send them to Katie and Jen so we can all see them? A. Seligmann: I have some pictures, too, I will send them to Katie and Jen as well. B. Souza: I really wanted to video tape the performances but I wasn’t able to get anyone to do that. I will send pictures to Katie. E. Semple: I cannot believe how much work went into that. It was delicious, fun, entertaining, and informative. It is a great thing for the HRC to do and for the City to do. I hope it continues. J. Johnson: I really appreciated the organizations that tabled and it was a great addition to the event. B. Souza: The venue was great and you could fully participate, whether you were in the audience, talking with the tabling organizations or even over by the food. 7. Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change Lisa Arkin: I am the Executive Director of Beyond Toxics and I am here with Mysti Frost who is one of our organizers. We are here for your support and we are not asking for funding. We have offices in Eugene and southern Oregon. We are on the front lines of environmental injustices, we work with communities of color, children and women. Our primary partner is the local NAACP. Mysti Frost: What a year we have had right? Every day it seems like we are moving backward. Natural disasters, the reemergence of fascism and white supremacy, not just here in our community but across the globe. It seems so daunting and scary right? What can we do? I often ask myself this every day. Repeatedly! I look into the eyes of my daughter and wonder what will become of her? What can we do? Well? We can fight back. We can take responsibility here and now. We can be a positive example to the world. Let us begin 2018 in positive light. Let us pave the way for a new, sustainable and fair future for our children and our community. As Beyond Toxics began sharing This Declaration, we got a lot of positive feedback. Many businesses, organizations and individuals like: Eugene-Springfield NAACP, 350.org Eugene, Our Revolution, Lane County Integration Network NatureLee Inspired Eugene Saturday Market Cascades Raptor Center Huerto de la Familia Maple Microdevelopment MEChA, University of Oregon Chapter Grupo De Accion Directa del Condado de Lane (GLAD) Cornucopia Restaurants Centro Latino Americano Mountain Rose Herbs Friends of Trees SURJ And the list is growing every day. Our community is already excited about the Declaration. Also, we have noticed strong support for youth. At the moment there is a new idea that youth organizers are working on. It is called Just Transition. The Declaration directly supports the Just Transition framework. This is for our future, for our children's children. Something we can be proud of. I want to highlight some key principles of the declaration: 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 7 1. Human rights and a profound commitment to climate justice are interdependent and indivisible. 7. All human beings, animals and living systems have the right to fairness, equity and justice in respect of responses to the threat of climate change. This includes protection from deleterious impacts caused by adaptation and mitigation efforts to develop climate resilience, and by the potential deployment of climate geoengineering technologies. 13. All human beings have the right to active, free, and meaningful participation in planning and decision- making activities and processes that may have an impact on the climate. This particularly includes the rights of indigenous peoples, women and other under-represented groups to equality of meaningful participation. This includes the right to a prior assessment of the climate and human rights consequences of proposed actions. This includes the right to equality of hearing and the right for processes to be free of domination by powerful economic actors. This includes the rights of indigenous peoples to participate in the protection of their rights to their lands, territories, natural resources, tenure rights and cultural heritage. 18. All Parties shall, in all climate change related actions, respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the rights of indigenous peoples. Such rights include support to facilitate mitigation measures; rights to collective self- determination and to free, prior and informed consent; to full and equal participation in environmental and political processes; and to respect and protection for indigenous traditional knowledge. This shall include respect and protection for indigenous customary laws, and proper recognition of the role of indigenous peoples in ensuring the integrity and resilience of natural ecosystems. We ask for the Human Rights Commission's endorsement. L. Arkin: This declaration was put together by an international group of authors with feedback from many communities. Organizations, cities, and universities are adopting it worldwide. We hope Eugene is the second city in the nation to adopt this declaration. The first city was Yachats, Oregon. Dr. Tom Kerns is on the group of authors and he lives in Yachats. If Eugene adopts it, it will impact the rest of the country to follow suit. J. Iboa: I’ve taken a look at this and it is in line with our goals and missions. It is in line with our Climate Recovery Ordinance, and the City is hiring someone to work on that ordinance. It is in line with what Eugene is known for. B. Souza: Are there other cities who have signed onto this declaration? L. Arkin: No, Yachats is the only city in the country which has signed on thus far. I. Hamide: Are there other cities which have signed on elsewhere in the world? L. Arkin: There is a list on their website, it is an interesting list. It is long and diverse. We are hoping if a local government adopts it, it will lend to legitimizing the endorsement governmental entities. I. Hamide: Have any state governments endorsed the declaration? L. Arkin: No state governments have adopted it, though I think it will have to bubble up from the ground. M. Frost: I think it is relatively new concept to promote change and a future for our children. Just Transition is a framework spoken in millennial groups for a just future, so they plan for the society we want to build for ourselves, it gives them a nice starting point for equity. J. Johnson: One of the items on our Commission’s work plan is the youth objective, which is made up of students of color and others who identify as being disenfranchised in our community. At one alternative high school we went over universal human rights declaration and they were annoyed there was nothing about climate change and environmental justice. I can take this back and show them. It shows there is more work to be done but this shows it is being done. B. Souza: Are there any workshops at environmental law conference coming up? M. Frost: We have considered the idea of a workshop on this and with the Just Transition framework as it pertains to environmental justice. A. Thomson: I am in full support of this, it is a great topic and document. I like the idea of Just Transition as well. The document shares that developing communities are vulnerable to climate change, and as they industrialize they invoke massive pollution, so climate change polices can help as they develop. E. Semple: Alan Zelenka and I will be presenting this to Council on Monday, the Mayor is on board, and I really encourage us to endorse this and ask the Council to pass this. 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 8 J. Iboa: I also want to recognize that we have a Sustainability Commissioner in the room today and you may want to catch him after and Councilor Semple, as she is the new Sustainability Commission liaison from Council. Motion: Move that the Human Rights Commission endorse the Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change and urge City Council to endorse it as well. Made by: E. Kubok Amendment: J. Iboa Second: I. Coulibaly Discussion: Move to amend that the Human Rights Commission ask the Sustainability Commission to co-sign a letter urging Council to endorse the Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change. Accepted Vote: Unanimous L. Arkin: Thank you to everyone for hearing us and putting this on the agenda today. We appreciate your endorsement. E. Semple: I would like to see people at the Council meeting to represent this declaration at public comment. J. Iboa: I will connect with you and make sure we are represented. 8. BIG Dinner and NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner J. Iboa: The Blacks In Government Dinner is on Friday, February 9th at Valley River Inn. As a Commission, we want to have representation and show our support. Who would be interested in attending? Ibrahim Coulibaly Aria Seligmann Joel Iboa J. Iboa: Also in February is the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. It is on Friday, February 16th also at Valley River Inn. Who is interested in attending this dinner? Aria Seligmann Bonnie SeligmannSouza Aimee Walsh Joel Iboa J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: As a Commission you will need to determine how much of your budget you are willing to dedicate to these events. The City may have extra seats available, and in the event that they do not, it would be good for the Commission to determine the amount which you are willing to budget to send members. J. Iboa: If we allocate $560 total that would cover the seven seats for all those expressing interest in attending. If the City ends up having seats available, we would not need to use the entire amount, and I think it is important for us to attend both of these events. Motion: I move to allocate up to $560 to attend the Blacks In Government and NAACP Freedom Fund dinners. Made by: J. Johnson Second: B. Souza Discussion: E. Semple: How much is currently remaining in our budget? J. Johnson: $2,175 minus what was allocated tonight for support requests. B. Souza: If the City has available seats that may help us alleviate some of the cost. E. Semple: We might want to consider what the public thoughts are on us spending $560 on a fancy dinner instead of support requests. We have a small budget and it is important to prioritize for future spending. J. Iboa: I would like to make a friendly amendment to change the amount to up to $400. 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 9 E. Kubok: How many commissioners will be there? J. Iboa: With that amount we would be able to send five people total. Accepted Vote: Unanimous 9. Commission Liaison Updates CDBG: This group has not yet met. Moving Ahead Transportation Panel: This group also has not yet met. Vision Zero Task Force: Information has not yet been communicated. K. Babits: I will connect with the Boards and Commission support staff to see if there are updates and sure they are able to make connections with all of you. 10. Council Update E. Semple: Thank you for endorsing the Declaration on Human Rights and Climate Change. There has been a discussion about the performance auditor and whether they should be elected vs. appointed. Council was asked to put a proposal on the ballot. It has been contentious and it is something to watch. It doesn’t come up very often that a group gathers 10,000 signatures and then have an alternative group ask Council to put an alternative on the agenda. We were supposed to have a second larger meeting for emergency shelter for long term inclement weather emergency strategies. The performance auditor discussion took the place of this meeting. There is also a large need to discuss rats. There was a small meeting, a work session to be scheduled, and a pest company said it’s happening in Corvallis and have many ideas on solutions. I do hope the work session will happen soon. We still have not discussed public shelter. The County received $50,000 from the state for a feasibility study and the Mayor is waiting to hear on the findings from the study. There has been a discussion about funding for parks, since there is currently not enough funding to maintain the parks we have. One solution is a levy and the topic will come back to Council. Also, I am the new liaison to Sustainability Commission. E. Kubok: Do you know the timing for the feasibility study? E. Semple: I am not aware of the timeline at this time. J. Iboa: There is a video about the damage that rats have done in NYC, it is a large scale the amount of damage they are capable of doing. Has there been an assessment of foreseen damage by rats in Eugene? E. Semple: Nobody has done a survey. Friendly has a map where you can identify where damage has happened. We are really trying to get people not to put out poison, because it seeps into our sewage and it kills cats. 11. Work Group Lead Updates B. Souza: The WeCU work group debriefed and we discussed continued leadership through 2018 and beyond. This work group is a high priority for me. The work group very much wants to continue and wants me to continue to lead it. I have not decided if I want to remain on the Commission. Ib Hamide is on the Commission and oin the work group. I want to inform the Commission that it is something I am considering and if I do go off I will continue in the community to do this work. I. Hamide: I said you will drive the engine, I will be there. B. Souza: In our work plan we list anti-Semitism training as something we hoped to offer to the community. CALC is planning on doing something as well, and we plan to offer two trainings for activists. I hope HRC members will all attend. One is on anti-Semitism. For the second training, Ib did trainings after 9/11 on Arab and the Muslim culture and religion and culture. Ib would take a lead on the second training. Also, the president of the Muslim Student Association is an intern at CALC right now and will likely help pull together a panel of students and community members and there is also interest from the Muslim student association. Their president is an intern right now at CALC and worked on a panel from the Muslim student association to talk about their experiences living here and on Iislamophobia. I talked to Marion Malcolm and we are hoping 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 10 to schedule the training sessions on the last Sunday in April (29th) and first Sunday in May (6th) and I wanted to run it by your calendars. E. Kubok: Are you scheduling the session on Sundays for particular reason as opposed to something during the work week? People may be out of town for the weekends. B. Souza: Sundays were the only days Ib could do it and we wanted people to be able to plan ahead. I. Hamide: I could do a Monday as well. B. Souza: We are thinking maybe a three hour training. A. Seligmann: You wanted me to participate in this work group and now that I am not in the homelessness working group, I can now participate in WeCU. Please don’t leave me out of the discussion about an anti- Semitism training. It makes sense that I would be involved. B. Souza: For the anti-Semitism training, we will probably want money for food and we still need to figure out where we will hold it. J. Johnson: The youth work group did not meet over the holidays. E. Kubok: You all have heard my update, if there are any other questions please ask. A. Seligmann: I do want to put on record that I apologize for my work schedule change and being unable to participate in the homelessness work group any longer. E. Kubok: I think this work group needs more structure and direction, they would benefit from a fresh start. 12. Items for Meetings with Mayor and City Manager J. Iboa: Edward and I are meeting with Mayor and City Manager on February 13th. Please let us know if you have specific questions on succinct topics, as we have less than an hour with each. A. Seligmann: We want to see the agenda. E. Kubok: I would like for you to ask them about the topic of public shelter, the feasibility study and the timeframe for the process. Many people do not understand why we need the study, why they are stopping the conversation at Council and spending money on the study. Community members are frustrated and do not understand the process. Any information they could provide on the timing and the procedure would be appreciated so we may communicate it back to the community. E. Semple: The reasoning behind the study is because we need to know how many people need to be housed and the cost per person. Having those numbers will help determine if we build a building or remodel a building. There of course will be unknowns but the study should identify a window of possibilities. The budget committee only put aside a million dollars. The $50,000 was provided through the state as additional funding specifically for the feasibility study. We need to know what is possible before moving forward. I do not know the timing, but I believe because we are waiting for the study to be completed is the reason for the pause. We do have a two year deadline to use the one million dollars allocated by the budget. I. Hamide: When is meeting with the Mayor and the City Manager? J. Iboa: The meeting is on February 13th, the second Tuesday of February. If you think of any questions you would like us to ask in the meetings, please forward them to Katie or Jen and they will forward onto us. E. Kubok: I wanted to share with everyone that HACSA has changed their name to Homes for Good. The change is an intentional investment in future of the community. I will send out information about the change later tonight. 13. Staff Update J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: The police chief process had its first priority deadline and they have received 33 applications. More people may apply after the first priority deadline, but the first review will be on the 33 applicants. There is a small staff team determining the next steps for an interview process in an effort to ensure the final candidates are the best fit for the community. Kristie Hammitt will be at next meeting to share anupdate at that time. Nothing about the interview process is set in stone moving forward. A. Thomson: Can you tell us anything about the demographics for the first 33 applicants? J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: We do not have any of that information yet. All candidate information currently lies with the recruiting firm, Strategic Government Resources (SGR). 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 11 B. Souza: The woman who was overall in charge of the recruitment came to the HRC, can she come give us an update? J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: Yes, her name is Kristie Hammitt and she has agreed to come to your next meeting. We are still working on a hate and bias toolkit for neighbors and any community members so that people can proactively address hate and bias issues and prepare the community to give neighbors opportunities to talk about the kind of community want to live in and impact how many crimes and incidents occur in our community. I. Coulibaly: Is it online? J. Lleras Van Der Haeghen: Not yet, but we have a plan to have a meeting to review the content, and we can also send it via email after that meeting. Then it will be presented to the NLC before the final decision on content. We will send out a meeting invite with details. B. Souza: I am interested in being a part of the discussion. 14. Agenda Setting – February J. Iboa: Are the any items folks would like to add to the February agenda? E. Kubok: I would like to hear a report back from the Blacks In Government and NAACP Freedom Fund dinners. Also regarding the Archeology Film Festival in May and the event at Tsunami Books, who is going to those? J. Iboa: Is anyone willing to attend the event at Tsunami Books? J. Johnson: I can do one in March or April. J. Iboa: For the film festival, I can attend one of the films. I. Coulibaly: I can also attend a film for the festival. A. Seligmann: I wanted to report back regarding the HRC MLK Award given to Mo Young. She received thunderous applause. B. Souza: I would like to revisit the recommendations from the Marginalized Voices report on the February agenda. J. Johnson: I hope to have youth comment at the February meeting; it should be 10 minutes or less on agenda. Motion: Move to adjourn the January Human Rights Commission meeting. Made by: E. Semple Second: E. Kubok Vote: Unanimous 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC 12 Human Rights Commission Budget Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) DATE REQUESTING GROUP EVENT OR DESCRIPTION AMOUNT BALANCE 7/1/17 $4,500.00 SPONSORSHIP 11/20/17 Leah Reidlinger Lunch Match Request $200.00 1/26/18 Archaeological Legacy Inst. TAC Film Fest $200.00 1/16/18 Our Bodies, Our Voices Our Open Mic at Tsunami Books $200.00 SUBTOTAL $600.00 WORKPLAN EXPENSE 8/1/17 Anti‐Discrimination Workgroup Marginalized Voices Printing $400.00 9/19/17 Homelessness Working Group Oregon Coalition on Homelessness and Housing Conference $275.00 10/17/17 WeCU International Human Rights Day $1,000.00 11/20/17 All Workgroups $150 each for workgroup meeting refreshments $450.00 SUBTOTAL $2,125.00 TOTALS $2,725.00 $1,775.00 13 From: Rose Wilde [mailto:rose.i.wilde@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2018 2:07 PM To: Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement <hrni@ci.eugene.or.us> Subject: Dear Members of the Eugene Human Rights Commission: Showing Up for Racial Justice Springfield-Eugene Chapter (SURJ) would like to request co- sponsorship and financial support for a community event on May 9, 2018, centered on the topic of addressing mass incarceration, particularly of people of color in Oregon, to build upon the themes raised in the documentary 13th and in Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow. The event will bring together members of the community who have participated in our winter project – Viewing in the Valley (VV). Four local SURJ volunteers created a facilitator’s guide for community members to watch and discuss the movie 13th in 2017, in consultation with NAACP Eugene-Springfield, ACLU of Oregon, and the Oregon Justice Resource Center (OJRC). The guide is attached for further reference. Our team researched the topic, found resources and organizations involved in leadership, and drafted the discussion guide. We next worked with 5 local faith communities to conduct pilot viewings and discussions among their members. After participating in these discussions and receiving feedback from the participants, we finalized the discussion guide and have begun wider outreach and dissemination of our facilitator’s guide. We also can now offer volunteer facilitators for groups who request an external volunteer, although groups can and do facilitate their own discussions. The project reach has now broadened beyond the original faith community groups to books clubs, neighborhood discussions, political organizations, and campus groups. The May 9event will be open to the public, although we encourage participants to watch the movie first, if possible On May 9, we have confirmed speakers from ACLU-Oregon, Sponsors, and the Oregon Justice Resource Center, to share their perspective on mass incarceration in Oregon and how people can take action in their own communities to address racism and injustice in our legal and prison systems. SURJ aims to engage members of the community interested in uprooting racism and other forms of oppression through specific actions, but connect people to organizations leading these efforts, such as the NAACP, Sponsors, ALCU-Oregon, OJRC and others as we continue to learn about the issues and stakeholders. We are in the process of identifying appropriate follow up opportunities for advocacy, including communication with local and state elected officials, monitoring and accountability tracking of key institutions including criminal justice and educational institutions, building inter-racial personal relationships and networks, and supporting through volunteerism or philanthropy community organizations that support justice and leadership among people of color. SURJ has several conversations with local leaders scheduled for the next few weeks to identify the most effective, appropriate, and timely actions. We hope to continue to build a coalition and join a movement - we see our role as a partner and supporter rather than leading in this national movement for justice. As we build local 14 relationships and our coalition, we would like to maintain contact with participants from the April 25th event and invite them to further events over the year. We would like to request support for expenses related to the May 9th event, including marketing/advertising expenses, printing costs, facility rental, speaker fees and expenses, and refreshments. We are seeking in kind contributions from local organizations and businesses to keep the expenses low, but would like to request up to $500 from the Human Rights Commission to assure we can pay for those expenses not donated. Our event will be free and open to the public, but if HRC guidelines permit, SURJ will provide an opportunity for participants to donate voluntarily to cover expenses. SURJ will only access HRC funds necessary to cover the cost of the event and not contributed by participants or other co-sponsors. In addition to financial assistance, SURJ would welcome HRC involvement in planning and executing the event, promoting viewings of 13th, and advice about building our local movement in context with past events and current community efforts. Thank you for considering our proposal and for your work to promote equity and respect for all. Rose Wilde, Lina Van Brunt, Ruth Hollander, and Jan Wagner Members of SURJ Springfield-Eugene, External Education Committee P.S. We are pleased to learn UO will host a viewing and discussion this Friday, Feb 16th, at 5:30pm at the EMU Diamond Lake Room. Free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the College Democrats 15  Showing Up for Racial Justice: Viewing in the Valley Mass Incarceration in the United States: 13th Viewing and Discussion Guide Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Springfield-Eugene Chapter is promoting community-wide viewing and discussion of the documentary film 13th because the film illuminates the causes and history of one of our country’s most serious issues: mass incarceration, particularly of people of color. 13th refers to the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery except in the case of individuals convicted of a crime. The historical perspective and present-day realities exposed in the film will enlighten communities and can spur people to action. Through increasing understanding of the problem, we build the political will to end mass incarceration among our own families, neighbors, and communities in Lane County. Thank you for your participation! Table of Contents Film Summary 2 For Hosts Only: Logistics and Schedule 3 Speakers for Follow-Up Events 5 Group Discussion Guidelines 6 Group Discussion Questions 7 What’s Next? 8 Ways to Take Action Now 8 Additional Resources 9 Evaluation Form 11 Publicity Flyer for Your Event 12 16  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE Film Summary Adapted from The Influence Film Club: www.influencefilmclub.com In the years prior to the release of Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th, the Black Lives Matter movement and social media helped increase awareness of the amount of prejudice African Americans continue to face in the 21st century. The historical roots of this oppression run deep, as 13th reveals. The film looks back to the ratification of Amendment XIII, which states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime [emphasis added] whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” DuVernay argues that a prison-industrial complex that disproportionately imprisons black men and allows for their disciplinary servitude has taken advantage of America’s black population and questions if this system acts as a form of modern-day slavery. Featuring a wide range of interviewees, including civil rights activist Angela Davis, “The New Jim Crow” author Michelle Alexander, New Yorker reporter and professor Jelani Cobb, social justice author and attorney Van Jones, and many others, 13th moves from the media-induced criminalization of black persons to the corporate privatization of prisons with eloquence, poise, and a cavalcade of statistics to back up its thesis on the dehumanization of black people in America. While sobering in its historical recontextualization of race in America, DuVernay’s film remains hopeful in acknowledging her fellow African Americans’ diligence and grace in their fight for equality under intolerable conditions. No one knows how bright or dark the future of America will be, but as Jones vigilantly states, “It will be.” 2 17  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE For Hosts Only: Logistics and Schedule Logistics What you need to show the movie: • Netflix streaming account • Internet access that’s fast enough for streaming video • A way to show the movie to your audience (projector, TV, etc.) Netflix has made 13th available for public screenings. You may show 13th on your home television, project onto a screen, or use any other method that allows viewers to see and read text on the screen. To prevent streaming issues, schedule the showing when others won’t be using the internet, or download 13th from Netflix before the event. Before the event: • Test your setup to ensure everything works. • Download 13th (if you don’t plan to stream it). • Invite friends, family, neighbors, and other community members to your event. (See sample flier.) • Identify a facilitator to lead the event. (It could be you!) • Make enough copies of the group discussion guidelines, discussions, What's Next Resources (pages 6-10), and evaluation form (Page 11) for everyone who's coming. Create a sign-up sheet with names and email addresses for attendees. This will be used for notification about follow-up speakers and events. Suggested Schedule Please plan a 3-hour event to allow an hour for discussion. Adjust this schedule based on your start time. 6 pm Event Start and Welcome Some hosts may include refreshment. 6:10 pm Begin Showing 13th is 100 minutes long. Start the film promptly to save time for discussion. As the movie ends, make sure to roll the credits, which show positive, healthy images of black people to counter the disturbing images in the movie. 3 18  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE 7:50 pm Begin Discussion Start out with a moment of silence. Have everyone take a few deep breaths, to settle any strong feelings. Begin by sharing group agreements and requesting agreement. Since the topic can bring up strong feelings, agreements are useful for a positive group experience. If the group is small (5-10 people), stay together and address as many of the discussion questions as time permits. Break up larger groups into smaller discussion groups and divide the questions among these groups. If you form multiple groups, save time for sharing among groups in the end. Group discussions can benefit from designated roles, such as someone to keep time and someone to monitor the group participation to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts. Allow at least 5 minutes per question. Groups may only have time to address a few questions, so be sure to include a question about what actions people can and will take to address mass incarceration (end of question 5). 8:20 pm Check In If multiple groups have formed, give each group 2-3 minutes to share some of the ideas that came up in discussion. Remember there are multiple valid responses to the information. The point is to learn from each other and grow in our understanding. 8:30 pm Commit to Action Make a group or personal commitment to action. Hosts may choose to share a list of resources (included in this guide) and brochures from SURJ and other organizations, or even invite a guest speaker to follow up on the viewing. A list of organizations and individuals willing to answer questions from their expertise on mass incarceration in Oregon is included in this guide. Hosts may also invite one or more of these speakers to participate in the viewing. Given the length of the movie, it may be useful to schedule a follow up with a guest speaker, rather than invite a speaker to attend the movie viewing, in order to have more time for discussion and questions. Use this time to discuss what next steps each person would like to take to address mass incarceration and make a commitment to follow up on those commitments. 8:50 pm Final Comments Conclude the event with each person saying one or two words about how they are feeling as they complete the discussion. Ask participants to complete evaluation form, 4 19  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE and collect the forms. Please contact us again at surjvv@gmail.com so that we can arrange to pick up the sign-up sheet containing names and email contacts of the attendees, as well as the collected evaluation forms. 9:00 pm Close Go home and remain committed to action! Speakers for Follow-Up Events Schedule a follow-up event with a speaker to continue exploring these issues. • ACLU of Oregon speakers bureau: Call 503-227-3186 and follow the menu. • Senator Floyd Prozanski: email Sen.FloydProzanski@oregonlegislature.gov to make arrangements with aide Kevin Moore. • Sponsors Inc.: Paul Solomon, Executive Director: pjsolomon@sponsorsinc.org, 541-543-3237 or 541-505-5652 and Ron Chase, retired Executive Director: ronchase@comast.net 541-688-3404 or 541-525-5879. • Kate Gonsalves, Oregon Justice Resource Center: kgonsalves@ojrc.info or 503- 944-2270, extension 212. Acknowledgements This Guide is a volunteer-driven effort of members of the Showing up for Racial Justice Springfield-Eugene Chapter, including Lina Van Brunt, Jan Wagner, Ruth Hollander, and Rose Wilde. The committee has consulted with several experts on the topic, including Eric Richardson and members of the NAACP Legal Redress Committee, Kate Gonsalves of Oregon Justice Resource Center, and the pilot sites for this project: Temple Beth Israel, Wesley United Methodist Church, and First Christian Church, all of Eugene, Oregon. 5 20  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE Group Discussion Guidelines It is important to set some guidelines before breaking into small groups or beginning a group discussion. Here is a list that may be helpful. • Listen actively—respect others when they are talking. • Speak from your own experience instead of generalizing ("I" instead of "they," "we," and "you"). • Do not be afraid to challenge respectfully one another by asking questions, but refrain from personal attacks—focus on ideas. Meet people where they are; avoid judging others coming from a different perspective. • Participate to the fullest of your ability and leave space for others to contribute— community growth depends on the inclusion of every individual voice. • Share your own story and experience. Avoid invalidating somebody else's story with your own spin on their experience. • The goal is not to agree—it is to gain a deeper understanding. • Be conscious of body language and nonverbal responses—they can be as disrespectful as words. 6 21  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE Group Discussion Questions 1. What was your initial emotional reaction after viewing 13th? Did you feel helpless, inspired, stirred to action, shocked, overwhelmed, or some combination of these emotions? Was the message of the film ultimately hopeful? Why or why not? 2. Were you surprised by the deliberate criminalization of black people, especially males, after emancipation in order to create another free source of labor? The film argues that there is a direct link between American slavery and the modern American prison system. What is your take on this argument? 3. What is the difference between structural racism and individual acts of racism? What examples of structural racism did you see in the movie, and what other examples do you see in society? 4. How much did you know about the war on drugs and war on crime before watching the film? Were you surprised to learn about the racial underpinnings of these legislative policies and the active role of the state in criminalizing and targeting communities of color? Consider this quote: John Ehrlichman, aide to Richard Nixon: “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt their communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” 5. In a reversal of Eric Holder’s guidelines that advised refraining from long sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo instructing prosecutors to “charge suspects with the most serious provable offenses, those that carry the most substantial guidelines sentence, including mandatory minimum sentences.” Fellow Republican Rand Paul countered with a memo stating: “Mandatory minimum sentences have unfairly and disproportionately incarcerated a generation of minorities.” Sessions has also rescinded the Justice Department’s commitment to reduce the use of private prisons. In light of information presented in the film, how do you feel these policies will affect the future of the criminal justice system in the United States? What actions can and should we take to have an impact on these policies? 7 22  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE What’s Next? In the spring of 2018, Showing Up for Racial Justice Springfield-Eugene will co-sponsor a larger community event, including those who participated in group viewings of 13th, to address mass incarceration in our community and state. Stay informed by ‘liking’ and ‘following’ SURJ Springfield-Eugene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SURJSpringfieldEugene/. In the next few months, SURJ would like to create a wave of interest and energy to address mass incarceration. Taking action now will spread this interest to more people in Lane County. Please consider taking one or more of the following steps to build up community awareness—and let your friends, family, and others know what you’re doing. Ways to Take Action Now • See Oregon Justice Resource Center’s “20 Actions You Can Take Now” handout: http://ojrc.info/disrupting-mass-incarceration-at-the-local-level. • VOTE. Especially in local elections. The first stages of the criminal justice system happen in local government. • Share what you’re learning. Lots of your friends and family get their news from Twitter and Facebook. Remember: Sharing is caring. • Learn more about some of the organizations represented in the film: - H.O.L.L.A.: https://holla-inc.com/ - Center for Media Justice: http://centerformediajustice.org/ - Vera Institute of Justice: https://www.vera.org/ - Prison Fellowship: https://www.prisonfellowship.org/ - Color of Change: https://www.colorofchange.org/ - Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org/ - #Cut50: https://www.cut50.org/ - Legal Services for Prisoners with Children: http://www.prisonerswithchildren.org/ • Urge your U.S. Senators to support the federal Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) are committed to moving the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act again this year. The bill aims to lower mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and apply sentencing changes to people currently in federal prison. We need to gather enough support from our senators to ensure a successful reintroduction. Please contact your senator. 8 23  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE • Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper about what you’ve learned from 13th and about the local impact. • Email or call your state legislators to urge them to support ending racial profiling, de-felonizing drug possession, and recording grand jury proceedings. • Join or support a local organization working on racial justice or mass incarceration: - SURJ Springfield-Eugene (or your local SURJ chapter): http://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/ - ACLU-Oregon: https://www.aclu-or.org/ - LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens): http://lulac.org/ - GLAD (Grupo Latino de Accion Directo): https://www.facebook.com/latinocommunityactiongroup - Lane Equity Coalition: http://unitedwaylane.org/what-we-do/strategic- priorities/health/lane-equity-coalition/ - Sponsors: https://sponsorsinc.org/ - NAACP (local chapter): http://naacplanecounty.org/ - Oregon Justice Resource Center: http://ojrc.info/ - Partnership for Safety and Justice: https://safetyandjustice.org/ Additional Resources Educate yourself with these resources for further reading and discussion. National • 1994 Crime Bill: “20 Years Later, Parts Of Major Crime Bill Viewed As Terrible Mistake” on NPR: http://www.npr.org/2014/09/12/347736999/20-years-later- major-crime-bill-viewed-as-terrible-mistake • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander • Marie Gottschalk interview with Susan Page on the Diane Rehm Show: “Caught: The Prison State and the Lockdown of American Politics”: https://dianerehm.org/shows/2015-01- 07/marie_gottschalk_caught_the_prison_state_and_the_lockdown_of_american_ politics • “The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration” by Ta-Nehisi Coates: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/10/the-black-family-in-the- age-of-mass-incarceration/403246/ • “UN sounds alarm over ‘structural and institutional racism’ in US”: https://www.rt.com/news/350270-un-institutional-racism-us-killings/ 9 24  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE • NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet: http://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact- sheet/ • “The War on Marijuana in Black and White”: report from the ACLU Campaign Zero • “Jeff Sessions Rolls Back Obama-Era Drug Sentencing Reforms”: Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-sessions-doj-drug-sentencing- trump_us_59155c78e4b0fe039b339a20 • “United Shades of America” with W. Kamau Bell: http://www.cnn.com/shows/united-shades-of-america • “A History of Racial Injustice,” Equal Justice Initiative: https://racialinjustice.eji. org/timeline/1860s/ • “Slavery and Prison: Understanding the Connections” by Kim Gilmore: http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/gilmoreprisonslavery.html Oregon • “Unequal Justice: Outlawing Bias”: http://invw.org/2017/02/07/outlawing-bias/ • Oregon Justice Resource Center Action Kit: Disrupting Mass Incarceration at the Local Level: A Guide to Mapping Reform: http://ojrc.info/disrupting-mass- incarceration-at-the-local-level • “Fix the racial disparities in Oregon’s prisons”: http://www.sentencingproject.org/news/fix-racial-disparities-oregons-prisons/ • Oregon profiles/Prison Policy Initiative: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/OR.html and https://www.oregon.gov/doc/RESRCH/docs/inmate_profile_201701.pdf 10 25  13TH VIEWING & DISCUSSION GUIDE Evaluation Form Thank you for participating in this new project to learn about and address mass incarceration in the US and Oregon. The SURJ Springfield-Eugene Basebuilding committee would appreciate any feedback you have about the discussion to help us improve before we promote these discussions in more places in Lane County. Please take a moment to complete this form and return it to your host for today’s event. What did you like about participating in this event? What is something you might change about participating in the event? What was one thing that you learned that you didn’t know before participating in this discussion/viewing the movie? What is one thing you will do to address mass incarceration (in the next 2 weeks)? 11 26  Showing Up for Racial Justice: Viewing in the Valley Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Springfield-Eugene is promoting community-wide viewing and discussion of the Netflix documentary film “13th,” as it illuminates the causes of one of our country’s most serious problems: mass incarceration, particularly of people of color. LOCAL SCREENING DATE: LOCATION: FIND OUT WHY the United States has 5 percent of the world’s population & 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. 27 Human Rights Commission Work Group Updates Date: February 12, 2018 Work Group: WeCU Work Group Prepared by: Bonnie Souza Date of last meeting: January 27, 2018 Summary of last meeting attached? No What were the main topics discussed in the last meeting?  Two upcoming trainings for activists, including WeCU members: o Anti-Semitism, April 29, afternoon o Islamophobia, May 6, afternoon  Hate Crime Reporting – Katie from HRNI office will give us a presentation about a new tool kit at our February meeting  Recommendations in Marginalized Voices report, discussion about priorities and possible steps necessary to move each recommendation forward Do you have a proposal for the HRC to consider or any issues you need the HRC’s feedback on during the next meeting? No 28 HRC Homelessness Work Group Report (2/14/2018)  Thanks to the support of all the HRC the work group will be meeting twice a month, on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays for 90minutes starting at 12.00 in the Sloat Room  The work group would like to acknowledge Commissioner Ib Hamide for stepping in and facilitating the meeting in January  The group is working to put together a forum – exchange of ideas event bringing together other homeless advocates and organizations working on issues surrounding criminalization of homelessness  The group is also interested in putting together a screening of the movie “Under the Bridge” (Under The Bridge: Criminalization of Homelessness is a documentary film about one summer in Indianapolis, a tent city under a bridge, and the criminalization of homelessness in the United States.)  In the last work group meeting the group discussed the Homeless Point in Time Count – there was a verbal agreement during a meeting with the PIT organizers, County Health and Human Services and City of Eugene staff and Eugene Police Department that in order to get a most accurate count the EPD would not cite or remove people who are experiencing homelessness during the week of the PIT count. (the PIT count determines the amount of funding the federal government can supply for the continuum of care grants that fund services for our community). On the day of the count nearby the West 11th Walmart PIT voulounteer experienced a lot of police activity disturbing the count. The HRC work group would like the Commission to consider submitting an official complaint about these incidents or a letter to the City Council  The HWG also discussed the Police Chief recruitment and materials that are currently available on the City of Eugene website, there is very little reference to competences relating to serving people experiencing homelessness and mental health issues which is a very big concern, the expectations for the new Police Chief in the flyer on the City of Eugene website do not reflect that.  The HRC HWG is also working on a proposal how to devote more resources within the City of Eugene to issues on homelessness  The HRC HWG is working on meeting best practice document to determine how the meetings will be run and how will the work group operate, set its agenda, share minutes etc.  The HRC HWG would like Councilor Semple to join the next possible meeting to talk about the budget process and how the work group can help in the process 29  City of Eugene Human Rights Commission The mission of the Human Rights Commission is to promote implementation of universal human rights values and principles in all City of Eugene programs and throughout the wider community. To carry out this mission the commission shall affirm, encourage and initiate programs and services within the City of Eugene and in the wider community designed to place priority upon protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the full range of universal human rights as enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To support and promote human rights, the commission will: provide human rights education, be proactive in human rights efforts, address human rights violations, ensure active public participation, be transparent and open, be publicly accountable for human rights progress. Human Rights Commissioners: Edward McGlone (Chair), Joel Iboa (Vice Chair), Ibrahim Coulibaly, Ela Kubok, Ibrahim Hamide, Andrew Thomson, Bonnie Souza, Aria Seligmann, Julia Johnson, Aimee Walsh, Councilor Emily Semple Equity and Human Rights Center Staff: Jennifer Lleras Van Der Haeghen, Katie Babits The Human Rights Commission meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Tuesday, March 20, 2018 5:30 – 8:30 PM Meeting Sloat Room, Atrium Building, 99 W 10th Street Contact: Katie Babits, 541-682-5177 katie.e.babits@ci.eugene.or.us ITEM _______________ACTION______ TIME 1. Agenda/Minutes Review and Approval (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:30 - 5:35 (5 min) 2. Public Comment (Chair) 5:35 - 5:45 (10 min) 3. Support Request (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:45 – 6:00 (15 min) 4. 6:00 – 6:15 (15 min) 5. 6:15 – 6:25 (10 min) 6. Discuss/Vote 6:25 – 6:35 (10 min) 7. 6:35 – 6:45 (10 min) 8. 6:45 – 6:50 (5 min) 9. Discuss/Vote 6:50 – 6:55 (5 min) 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 |ehrcenter@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/hrc 30  10. Council Update 6:55 – 7:05 (10 min) 11. Work Group Lead Updates 7:05 – 7:15 (10 min) 12. Commission Liaison Updates 7:15 – 7:25 (10 min) 13. Staff Update 7:25 – 7:30 (5 min) Upcoming events, activities or meetings of which the HRC needs to be aware: The Eugene Human Rights Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. This meeting location is wheelchair accessible. For the hearing impaired, FM-assistive listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours’ notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours’ notice. To arrange for these services, contact staff at (541) 682-5177. La Comisión de Derechos Humanos agradece su interés por participar en los asuntos de esta agenda. El local de la reunión tiene acceso para personas en silla de ruedas. Para las personas con dificultades auditivas ofrecemos sistemas FM para ayudarlo a escuchar, o intérpretes de lenguaje de señas. También ofrecemos intérpretes de español. Si necesita cualquiera de estos servicios por favor solicítelos con 48 horas de anticipación, llamando al (541) 682-5177. 99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5177 | HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/hrc 31