Commission on the Social Status of African-American Males

M I N U T E S MICHIGAN CITY COMMISSION ON THE SOCIAL STATUS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES Wednesday, November 12, 2014 Commissioners Present: Commissioners Absent: Nila Williams James “Jim” Stemmler Geri Jones Rodney Washington Marty Corley Albertine Allen Joan Ganschow Lester Norvell Willie Milsap Faye Moore Pastor Damon Carnes Arthur Payne, Jr. Duane Parry- City Council Liaison (arrival 12:25 pm) Also Present: Andy Steel- Cameraman James Garrett, State Executive Director Social Status of Black Males Terry Woodard – Kunle’s Kreation Coordinator 12:20 pm Isaac Moore- Member of Social Factor Committee 12:20 pm –Larry Butcher, LaPorte County Emergency Management MISSION STATEMENT: To identify and recommend public remedies to increase, broaden and improve the economic, educational, social and professional status of the African-American male locally. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at approximately 12:00 noon by Commissioner Arthur Payne, Jr. ROLL CALL: Commissioner Faye Moore called the roll - Minutes reflect attendance and absences. We have a quorum of seven. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Payne asked for a motion to accept the minutes. Motion made by Commissioner Marty Corley and seconded by Commissioner Joan Ganschow. Motion carried. No nays. GUEST SPEAKER: Sheri Silcox, Project Manager for Safe Harbor-MCAS She passed out brochure detailing the “Hours for Ours” School-based Mentoring program. Sheri thanked Marty Corley and Arthur Payne, Jr. for inviting her here to speak to us about the program. The mission is school-based mentoring program partnering a Michigan City Area Schools student with the Michigan City adult/business community, thereby creating positive voluntary intergenerational relationships nurturing a child’s potential. They need additional mentors to meet the needs of the students. To become a mentor contact Sheri at (219) 873-2026. Some of the projects are funded through various grants, written by staff and volunteers. Partnerships are with the Visitor’s Bureau; Master Gardner’s- working with 7 schools throughout the city; Purdue Extension; Porter and LaPorte County stores and other not-for-profit organizations. The five primary areas are: Lunchtime and After School Mentoring; College and Career Readiness; FIRST Robotics; Horticulture and Special Interest. Mentoring applications were passed out to everyone present. The presentation lasted approximately thirty-five minutes with questions and answers at the end. 12:35 pm- Terry Woodard- He attended a Men’s Breakfast that was centered on schools and mentors. There were approximately 50 men at the breakfast ready to help our youth; without a plan. He will take this information back to this group and see if some of them will be willing to become Mentors for the Hour for Ours Program. TREASURER'S REPORT: A written treasurer’s report was handed out. 11/6/14 – Balance $10,175.91 with Page 1 of 4 pending transactions. The $500.00 for Trevon James to attend the 12th Annual Minority Male Empowerment Conference in Detroit, Michigan is still outstanding. The $500.00 voted for Marty Corley partial Stipend toward the Leadership Northwest Indiana Tuition is outstanding. MCAS Custodial and Stage Manager fees (Expungement) $221.60 is outstanding. When these checks clear we will have $8,954.31. Motion made to accept the treasurer’s report as written. Written request was received for supplies for Kunle’s Kreation Program at the Emmett Wise Center (Terry Woodard). There was some discussion and questions; motion was made by Geri Jones, seconded by Nila Williams for $300 to be donated for supplies for the months of October – December. Questions and Discussion, the motion was carried by a sign of ayes and no nays. 12:35 Commissioner Payne: Commissioner Payne passed out article, “When does one become “Black enough”; Written by Omar Tyree, who is a New York Times bestselling author, NAACP Image Award winner for out- standing fiction and a professional journalist. This article was in the Richmond Free Press-422 E. Franklin St., Richmond, VA. 23219 Next we received a copy of Ordinance No. 2014-93 “Legislation to provide Equal Opportunity to All Qualified Job Applicants.” This is a five page ordinance, which will be attached to the file copy of these minutes in the Human Rights Department Office. Also a copy is being given to Duane Parry, President of Michigan City Common Council and Liaison for this commission. A copy will be given to Mayor Ron Meer for his review. Each Commissioner was asked to review and bring back suggestions and or comments. For more information go to: www.nelp.org NEW BUSINESS: James Garrett, Executive Director- Indiana Social Status of Black Males 12:40 – Thank you. Out of the nine Commissions, your Commission has set the bar/standards. With the ten counties 83% of the African-American population of the State of Indiana will have representation. We have developed a Strategic Plan and every Commission member will get a copy of the Strategic Plan, which will afford us an opportunity to use this as a blue print and keep all commissions uniform There will be an Expungement Form in Indianapolis February 7, 2015. Various employers and re-entry staff have been invited to make presentations. The first week in December, we hope to have a webinar and conference call, which will probably last ninety minutes – two hours. We are looking at December 5, 2014. Mr. Garrett’s presentation lasted until 1:00 pm 1:00 pm Commissioner Corley: Passed out newspaper articles on the Expungement Forums held in Michigan City on October 11th and 18th; Article with picture on “Commission to offer centers for tutoring, education, employment by Richard Chambers; Ivy Tech, Commission help send Trevon James to conference. Commissioner Moore: Thanked Mr. Kentaft for presenting at the NAACP Town Hall meeting on October 23. Commissioner Milsap: Thanked everyone for their support during the election and introduced Mr. Larry Butcher, Emergency Management Director for La Porte County. Indiana has 92 counties and Mr. Butcher is the only Black EMA Director. Commissioner Joan Ganschow: Thanked Commissioner Milsap and Dr. Kora and the entire County Commissioners’ Board for their support for special needs individuals earlier this year concerning their transportation problems and how the County Commissioners came forward and provided temporary services until they could get another provider. October 18th the LaPorte County Minority Health Coalition Real Men Wear Pink Ball was very successful and a very enjoyable evening, Carnessa Carnes was awesome as well as the other entertainment. TERRY WOODARD: The after school program is in its 6th week and he has had great participation. He has been having 18-20 youth attending everyday from 2:30 pm-5:30 pm at the Emmet Wise Center on the Blvd. The program will end December 4th, but he hopes to start back after the holidays. He would like for the program to Page 2 of 4 continue until the end of the school year, but that has not been worked out with North Central Community Action Agency Board. NOTE: If you need assistance with toys, let us know. Commissioner Nila Williams:  If we want to put an ad in the Cultural Diversity Booklet that the Human Rights Department is going to distribute to MCAS students, we have until December 15th. These booklets will be distributed during Black History Month to k-4th graders; two thousand will be printed.  The Human Rights Commissioners are working with Knapp, Lake Hills and Marsh schools with their, Anti-Bullying Program. Each school will receive $100 and some of the commissioners will be mentoring.  They have two new commissioners: Kay Hill and Maria Valdez.  The billboard is up on Michigan Blvd. A motion was made by Commissioner Corley to donate $250 toward the printing of the booklets, seconded by Commissioner Ganschow. Discussion- Motion amended by Commissioner G. Jones that $250-$500 is donated toward the cost of printing the booklets. Motion carried. No nays. Commissioner Geri Jones: H.O.P.E. is alive and well, currently two churches have invested in the facility, Community Center of Faith and Freedom in the Word Ministry. I recently attended a conference in St. Louis, Mo. And Commissioner Carnes will give the rest of this report. Commissioner Carnes: I am the new president of the board for the H.O.P.E. Program. We were down to three board members but we hung in there and our board has increased and I have been voted in as the new president. Mrs. Geri Jones will still be active as a board member. The vice-president is Ray Isabel (daughter of Becky Williams). We had a fund raiser at Al’s and we sold out. The telephone number is the same (219) 874-4606 if anyone is interested in donating to HOPE or have any questions. If I am not there, leave a message and I will get back to you. The Ministerial Alliance has met with members of Tonn and Blank and they have offered us ten positions in construction jobs through the Indiana Plan, six people have already tested and are ready for the jobs. Thanks to Jeff Deuitch, Human Rights Department, and Wes Scully-NAACP we are moving forward. Commissioner Duane Parry: I attended one session of the Expungement form and was a little disappointed in the hard requirements. Attorney Kiner did an excellent job of explaining everything. Very good presentation. How do we get this information out to the public? All the information he received today and at the forum, he will be meeting with attorneys and see how the Common Council of Michigan City can help the residents move forward. Commissioner Milsap: No comment. Introduced Mr. Larry Butcher and he made a statement/complaint that the County Commissioners are not letting him do his job. He feels it is because he is “Black”. Every time he goes before the County Commissioners with a request for funding, they turn him down; all other departments are approved for their request. One of the Commissioners is even questioning the way he was hired. Commissioner Milsap stated that he was hired the same way the previous persons who held his position and this was a more diverse board of County Commissioner than the previous board. Mr. Butcher is qualified for the position. There was some discussion. GUEST: Isaac Moore wants to get a “Youth Committee” together to attend various organizations and give them a youth perspective on things. He wants the youth to be from the Middle School and High School age. He can be Page 3 of 4 reached at (219) 561-6645 or isaacmoore319@hotmail.com ANNOUNCEMENTS: Jarrett Jones will be accepting toys for tots you can facebook Geri Jones or email Gerryholly@comcast.net NEW COMMITTEE- Scholarship –I need some help, please contact me, if you are interested in working on this committee or know someone who could and would assist.-Faye Moore – 879-5554 (Thank you) Commissioner Arthur Payne, Jr. entertained a motion to adjourn AT 1:47 pm. All agreed. Meeting adjourned. The next Michigan City Commission on the Social Status of the African American Males is scheduled for January 14, 2015 – Noon – City Hall West Room-Mayors Conference Room. Respectfully Submitted: W. Faye Moore, Secretary Page 4 of 4