Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for October 19, 2017 Present: Jan Derry, Chair Kristen Cooper, Secretary David Saville Judith Wilkinson Matthew Miller Marlene Robinson Jacob Powers (Ex-officio Member) Don Spencer (Program Assistant) Meeting called to order by Jan Derry, Chair, at 6:40 PM. The agenda was distributed. There no additions requested. Pubic Session: Barry Wendell, City Council Member was briefly in attendance. He noted that he had attended a retreat at the botanical gardens where a draft of the agenda of city legislative priorities was created. Don Spencer asked that the City Council consider supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that is in the state legislature. Two Morgantown residents, Danielle Walker and Devon Walker of 26 Addison Circle, Morgantown, attended the meeting as concerned citizens. Danielle was present to show her support of the Human Rights Ordinance that recently passed. She thanked the Commission for their work on the ordinance and mentioned that it was her pleasure to speak in support of the ordinance at the City Council meetings. She said it was enlightening to hear the stories of others who spoke in support of the ordinance. David Saville thanked Danielle for her eloquent speech she gave to the City Council. Jacob Powers, the new ex-officio member of the Commission, was introduced. Jacob is a graduate of Morgantown High School and West Virginia University and wants to be more involved in community affairs. He resides at 301 Ross Street in Morgantown. Minutes: The minutes for September 2017 were distributed and reviewed with one minor change. Marlene Robinson moved to accept the minutes with the changes. The motion was seconded by Matt Miller. The minutes where approved unanimously. 1 Communications: WVU’s Diversity Week was discussed. It was noted that it got great coverage in the local newspaper. Judith Wilkinson and Don Spencer took part in the Peace Tree Ceremony. For the Peace Tree Ceremony at the University was very well attended. Tim Hairston was in attendance. In the morning a women’s drum band performed. Approx. 250 students attended the lecture after the ceremony. It was noted that we should invite the women’s drum band to work with the Commission on the Indigenous People’s Day effort. The LGBTQ Welcoming Event at the First Presbyterian Church was attended by Don Spencer, Judith Wilkinson and David Saville. A speaker at the event discussed how churches can be more open to welcoming the LGBTQ community. Judith Wilkinson said that the event gave her hope that the First Presbyterian Church will become a center for diversity. Judith Wilkinson also attended the annual interfaith event where Eve Faulkes and a local rabbi spoke. There were less people there this year, but the event was more intimate. The group Mountaineers for Progress wants to talk to the Commission about how we can respond to DACA students at WVU and throughout the state. Their goal is to do something consciousness-raising for the endeavor. Jacob Powers discussed the difficulty of the DACA process. Don Spencer attended a memorial service for Franklin Cleckley at the Creative Arts Center and learned more about Cleckley’s life and contributions to the state. It was suggested that we name our Human Rights Award after Cleckley, but Don said it would be difficult to get permission to use his name on the award. It was mentioned that perhaps Cleckley should be a posthumous recipient of the award this year. Priority Items: The Commission took time to recognize and celebrate the passing of the Human Rights Ordinance by the City Council. The passing of the Ordinance was covered in the Daily Athenaeum (with some errors in the article). It was reported that there were more than 108 people at the last City Council meeting. Don Spencer called attention to the excellent article in the Dominion Post that was written by David Saville. It was agreed that the article was a positive step in preparation for the effort to pass the Ordinance. Don Spencer distributed a rough draft of a gun violence resolution. It was created by pulling information from several sources including the book Gundamentalism. It was noted that 2/3 of gun deaths are suicides. The resolution calls on Congress to institute a “universal” background check system as well as a restraining ordinance to curtail gun owners from domestic violence. Currently 19 states have a restraining ordinance of some form in place. Don Spencer asked that everyone read the resolution and think about how it might be best used. David Saville suggested we query the City Council 2 to see if they want to take on something of this nature. It was agreed that we will not do anything on this resolution until we have another discussion and make necessary changes. The resolution will remain on the agenda for next month. The Annual Human Rights Awards were discussed. Don Spencer distributed a check list to help the commissioners better participate in the process. It was confirmed that December 19th would be the date for the award presentation. It was also decided that the reception would be held at the Aull Center. There was some discussion as to whether we needed a speaker at the reception and it was suggested that the recipients speak. It was suggested that this year the Commission will select the winner of the awards (instead of an outside committee). Nominees were discussed including Franklin Cleckley, the CCSJ, Mountaineers for Progress, Charlene Marshall and Eve Faulkes (who had done a great deal with the Osage events and the Interfaith Coalition). Judith Wilkinson suggested we take a month to consider possible recipients and then take a vote at the next Commission meeting. Duties for the event were discussed and Judith Wilkinson volunteered to handle the food, Don Spencer will handle the decorations, Jan Derry will be the MC for the event, and everyone will help with the clean-up. It was agreed that we should invite a number of organizations to attend the reception (such as the CCSJ, Interfaith Group, Mountaineers for Progress and several others). Progress Reports: A movie, “I Am Not Your Negro” will be shown on Monday (10/23) at White Hall at WVU. David Price will moderate a panel discussion that will include Marjorie Fuller. The film is centered on statements by James Baldwin. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan needs to be worked on by a committee. A meeting date was set for Thursday, November 9th at 4:45 pm at Jan Derry’s office. The Plan will affect city employees and volunteers, and it will promote diversity and encourage the city to make efforts in that vein. It was noted that the MEI survey will change next year based on the Human Rights Ordinance. Don Spencer and Matt Miller submitted rough drafts of a budget for the Commission. The budget will be discussed further at the next meeting. New Business: Matt Miller will be meeting tomorrow with the City’s communication manager to discuss what can be done with the website reorganization. He wants to spotlight the new Human Rights Ordinance and is especially focused on providing a means for citizens to file complaints based on the new Human Rights Ordinance. 3 The Human Rights Commission’s Facebook page was discussed. Currently it has event listings, news stories and notes from the Human Rights calendar. Matt has been doing updates on a monthly basis. It was agreed that the Facebook page should be closed to comments by the general public. Judith Wilkinson expressed concern that Commissioners be protected from being sued when it comes to handling discrimination complaints. Directors and officers liability will be discussed with the City Attorney. It was noted that we need to get procedures in place for handing complaints that may result from the Human Rights Ordinance. It was agreed that we need to talk to the City Attorney in a work meeting regarding this topic. The Welcome Statement will on the agenda to be discussed at the next meeting. The next meeting will be on November 16th. Marlene Robinson moved that we adjourn and the motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm. Submitted by Kristen Cooper 4