Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for October 27, 2016 Public Safety Training Room Present: Jan Derry, Chair Marlene Robinson, Vice Chair Kristen Cooper David Saville Billie Murray Don Spencer (Program Assistant) Tim Hariston (Liaison with State HRC) Meeting called to order by Jan Derry, Chair, at 6:30 PM. The agenda was distributed. It was discussed that we want to invite the Police Chief to join an upcoming meeting. Jan attended a recent public forum featuring the current sheriff (Palmer) and challenger (Panico). Palmer denied the existence of any racial bias issues in the city; Panico felt we need a better strategy for dealing with the problem. Pubic Session: There were no public participants attending the meeting. Minutes: the commissioners looked at the minutes from September 15, 2016. Marlene Robinson moved to approve the minutes; David Saville seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously. Communications: Jan Derry circulated the current Welcome Statement for the city and asked if we wanted it to be on the city’s website. Additionally, Dave Bott asked for a “transgender statement” from the commission and Jan considered providing the Welcome Statement for this purpose. It was asked if we want to make a separate gender identity statement, but Marlene Robinson and others agreed it should just be added to the current Welcome Statement. Additionally David Saville recommended adding religion to the statement which was agreed upon by the commissioners. It was suggested that Jan ask Dave Bott about the specific purpose of the transgender statement he requested. David Saville moved we accept the Welcome Statement with the 2 additions; the motion was seconded by Marlene Robinson and passed unanimously. It was mentioned by Don Spencer that we should recommend that the statement be posted at City Hall. 1 It was determined that no one on the Commission attended the Peace Tree Ceremony on September 21st. Don Spencer attended the “Co-existence and Common Challenges” program on October 23rd. He reported that it was a quality event featuring good speakers. Approximately 140 people attended and there is talk of making it an annual event. Priority Items: A meeting took place on October 17th to discuss the Human Rights Ordinance for the city. Don Spencer distributed minutes from that meeting (which are attached to these minutes). David Saville acquired a copy of Lewisburg’s ordinance and distributed it to the commissions by email last week. It was noted that Lewisburg does not have an enforceable element to their ordinance, however it provides a law suit. The committee agreed to obtain ordinances from other WV cities to review their wording especially in regards to enforcement. It was stated that we may not be able to enforce an ordinance because it is not acceptable in the state. Nevertheless, it was decided we should create our ordinance even if there is no enforcement element – in hopes that we get enforcement capabilities at a later date. It was agreed that we need to keep working on this and a meeting was set for November 4th at NCIL offices at 2 p.m. Human Rights Day activities were discussed. A copy of the press release and nomination form for the Human Rights Day (Don Spencer) Award were reviewed. It was agreed that Kristen Cooper would distribute these to the whole committee by email. The discussion included the need to get in touch with the potential judging committee members: Nora Sheets, Larry Schwab, Erick Jordan, Joe Hampel, David Freyson, and T. Anne Hawkins. David Saville will contact Schwab, Hawkins, and Jordan. If those three accept they will make up the judging committee. If we need to reach out to other possible judges, Tim Hariston will contact Sheets, Jan Derry will contact Fryson, and Don will contact Hampel. Jan Derry acknowledged that we want to name the Human Rights Award for Don Spencer based on his outstanding work on the Commission. It was agreed that Don Spencer’s name would be on the award for the individual winner and not the organization winner. It was decided that winners need to be determined by November 28th. Marlene Robinson volunteered to research plaques/statues for the winners. It was decided that the selection criteria for the awards would be 1) their contributions benefit the city, 2) organization serves the city of Morgantown, 3) their contributions have advanced human rights. Jan will type up these guidelines/criteria. Progress Reports: Regarding the Human Rights Film Festival, Don Spencer reported that the committee met recently to discuss last year’s festival. Minutes from meeting are attached. They are now looking for a location for the 2017 festival. Suggestions for films were made including “15 to Life.” It was noted that the Human Rights Commission is a co-sponsor of the festival; Don Spencer is our representative to that committee. Jan Derry inquired about getting a fair housing film included and she will submit a list of suggested films to Don Spencer before November 4th. 2 There have been no calls to the 24/7 Human Rights Hotline. There were no emails received. In regards to Affirmative Action, EEOC and ADA, Jan will send the transition plan to anyone who is interested. Dave Bott was not in attendance so there was no further discussion. The Diversity Plan Development is currently on hold. Inclusive City Planning will stay on the agenda until we have some action on it and we have more time to discuss it. The HRC Advisory Board will remain on agenda for the next meeting. New Business: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is available for our participation. Tim Hariston will see if the commission can have a table for a display. It was suggested we create a brochure. Kristen Cooper agreed to write a draft of the brochure (including “Who we are”, “What we do”, and human rights calendar). The brochure will be needed for January. Regular Meeting Items: The Annual Calendar was discussed and Jan Derry asked for any additions to the calendar. The Annual Plan for the commission is in the Annual Rep ort and is in the Orientation Packet. Tim Hariston reported that the State HRC had one commissioner retire but picked up 2 new commissioners – they now have 8 out of 9 of the commissioners mandated. The commission met the mandate for the number of cases reviewed. The commission will be funded for the fiscal year. Marlene Robinson presented information to the NAACP Charleston Chapter. Another presenter/representative from the State of WV was at the meeting and mentioned that one way to balance the state budget would be to close the smaller community colleges and trade schools. Marlene found this to be an unworthy proposition. Don Spencer asked if we would like to discuss Native American Day at the next meeting. Motion to adjourn was made by David Saville and the motion passed unanimously at 8:42PM. Minutes submitted by Kristen Cooper 3 Attachment HRC Committee Meeting on Human Rights Ordinance October 17, 2016 Attendees: Commissioners - Jan Derry, Dave Saville, Judith Wilkinson, Marlene Robinson Program Assistant Volunteer - Don Spencer Background The attendees reviewed the Morgantown Human Rights (!53.01 ff) noting that the existing City Ordinance does not specify human rights violations in relation to employment, housing, public accommodations and bullying as do several other human rights ordinances from Boulder, CO, Eugene, OR, Gainesville, FL, etc. The Morgantown Human Rights Ordinance provides a Declaration of Purpose with an expressed intent for “a commitment to encourage and endeavor to bring about equal opportunity, mutual understanding and respect for persons of all ages, abilities, ancestry, blindness, color, disability or handicap, ethnicities, familial status, national origins, sex, sexual orientations, races, religion and other backgrounds or orientations.” The current ordinance also includes Definitions, provision for the establishment of a Human Rights Commission, directives on Composition and Membership, provisions on Meetings, Bylaws and Rules; Commission Status and Rules; Powers, Functions and Services; and Complaints and Procedures. Accordingly, the lack of specific provisions in the Ordinance protecting diversity in sexual orientation and gender identity led the Commission to report the City’s lack of compliance with Municipal Equality Index standards to the Human Rights Campaign in 2015. The City received a low compliance MEI score for 2015 (43) and contacted the Human Rights Campaign in January 2016 – requesting a copy of a model ordinance which the Commission could use to redraft the City HR ordinance. Instead Xavier Persad of the HR Campaign staff went on line and developed a redraft of the Morgantown City ordinance and sent the proposal to the Commission in February 2016. The Commission reviewed the redraft in February and March and decided to refer the draft document to Professor Bob Bastress, Constitutional Law Professor at the WVU Law School. It was hoped that Dr. Bastress would be able to assist the Commission in making changes in the document which would make the enforcement provisions of the ordinance more consistent with WV law. Dr. Bastress made several recommendations for the Commission to consider. 4 HRC Committee Meeting on Human Rights Ordinance, page 2 Meeting Actions The Commissioners reviewed the changes recommended for Persad’s draft of Section 546.08 on Enforcement and found that they were questioning the basis for the Commission’s exercise of power as expressed in the City ordinance. And even though the Commission may have the power to establish rules of procedure – with the approval of the City Council – the Commission has no staff or designated legal support for processing complaints or alleged violations of a City ordinance. Fair Housing violations can be referred to authorized federal enforcement agencies, but such resources are not available for complaints or alleged violations related to employment, public accommodations or bullying. A Commission comprised of volunteers is not in a position to address the potential legal complexities of such issues on its own – even with rules of administrative procedure. The Commissioners present decided to review the municipal human rights ordinances in the State which had received high marks in the MEI scoring. During the meeting members researched the Chapter 62 Human Rights Ordinance in the Charleston City Code. Even though there are provisions for enforcement in the ordinance, Jan Derry believes that the enforcement provisions were probably established when the City itself was the HUD designated “FHAN” agency for Fair Housing violations in the Charleston area. The City no longer has this HUD designated and supported role. Dave Saville volunteered to check out the Lewisburg, WV ordinance adopted in February of this year. Judith Wilkinson agreed to do more research on Chapter 62 in Charleston. Don Spencer offered to explore the Huntington Human Rights Ordinance. Shepherdstown is also believed to have a local Human Rights Ordinance. With this information the Commissioners present believe that they can generate another draft for review by Dr. Bastress. A next committee meeting date will be set at the regular HRC meeting on October 27. Respectfully, Don Spencer 10/20/16 5 Attachment Human Rights Film Festival Planning Meeting Minutes Friday, October 21, 2016  Balance o $920.69 in the Foundation Account o Majority of the expense were for programs, signage, and tech fees o In-kind cost were for the popcorn, catering, hotel and Honorarium  Summary of Last Year’s Film Festival o What went well o What went wrong o What changes do we need to make o How can we get the Faculty more involved  Possible Location for 2017 Film Festival o Gluck? o Ming Hsieh Hall o WVU Art Gallery – Contact Paul Crider o Eiesland Hall o CPASS o WVU Connector  Film Suggestions o 15 to Life – Didn’t get to do this one due to snow storm o The White Helmet - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6073176/?ref_=nv_sr_1 o Dirty Wars - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2532528/?ref_=nv_sr_1 o Citizen Four - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4044364/ o Triumph of the Will - http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/triumph-of-the-will-special- edition/ o Documentary Now! - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4677934/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt o Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA - www.makingakilling.com 6 Human Rights Film Festival Planning Meeting Minutes, page 2 Some Film Suggestions by groups  Refugees  The Sharp’s – rescued children from Nazi Germany and their current foundation is concentrating on Islamophobia – PBS Special on September 20  Child trafficking  Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians  “Camera” – about Palestinians  Lack of food for kids in the USA (by Health Right Clinic)  More on trafficking (by Health Right Clinic)  Transgender ((by First Presbyterian Task Force)  More on Muslim prejudice (by Interfaith Committee)  Race and criminal justice (by Human Rights Commission)  Incarceration in the USA and private jails (by WV-ACLU) Other Discussion: Dr. Shibley Talked about asking his Chair for interns to help out with this year’s Film Festival Ed also stated he would look at the school of Media as they have eager students that need projects to work on next semester Potential organizations and Faculty that may help us out  Sharon Ryan  Campus Ministry  Honors College  Reed College - Ed Cole, WVU Div. 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