Human Rights Commission

City of Morgantown Human Rights Commission Meeting Minutes for October 15, 2020 Present: Jacob Powers, Chair Kristen Cooper, Secretary Ramsey Kinsella Amy Chandler Ash Orr Tim Hairston, State HRC Liaison Don Spencer, Volunteer Dee Dee McIntosh, PFLAG Liaison Meeting called to order by Jacob Powers, Chair, at 6:31 P.M. The meeting took place online due to pandemic restrictions. The agenda was distributed and approved with no changes. Public Session: There was no one present from the public at the meeting. Minutes: The September 2020 minutes were reviewed. Amy Chandler moved that the minutes be approved as written with the one change, Ash Orr seconded the motion. The minutes where approved unanimously. Communications: Jacob Powers had no updates regarding the social media or phone calls. It was noted that the 24/7 phone line has been disconnected, and Jacob has asked the City Hall office to reconnect the line. Tim Hairston reported that the State HRC has not had a quorum in the past 4 meetings, and the announcement of the meetings has not appeared on Secretary of State’s website. Tim is optimistic that the State HRC will have a quorum at their October meeting. Priority Items: Ash Orr reported that a gender reformation bill has been sent to the state legislature which would recognize non-binary individuals. 1 Not much has been done about the Minority Liaison Coordinating Council, but Ash Orr stated that the HRC needs to get it going again. There was a discussion of the Police LGBTQ liaison officer. Jerry Carr from the Mon and Preston County NAACP asked to be copied on correspondence about the Coordinating Council. Amy Chandler volunteered to reach out to Detective Ball who may be interested in assisting in the LGBTQ liaison position. Ash Orr volunteered to reach out to the acting City Manager to discuss the position. Jerry Carr thanked the HRC for their efforts to put the Police Review and Advisory Board Ordinance forward to the City Council. Jerry was also thankful for the letter of support from the HRC. He asked that the HRC remind the committee working on the ordinance that the HRC stands behind the efforts to make this ordinance work. Amy Chandler volunteered to speak in support of the ordinance at the upcoming committee meeting on Monday, October 19th. Jacob Powers will let the city know that Amy Chandler will be involved in the upcoming committee meetings. Tim Hairston will also try to attend the committee meetings on behalf of the CCSJ. Jerry Carr commented further that the ordinance has been examined in great detail in regards to its scope. He recognized data about Morgantown and its areas of growth. At the last committee meeting only one council member was present. Jerry Carr reminded the HRC that we have to keep advocating the right thing even when it becomes challenging, and the NAACP needs allies to stand with them in those situations. There are ongoing questions about who will eventually serve on the advisory board. There has not been a great deal of opposition to the ordinance at the committee meetings, unlike the opposition comments seen in the press and online. The Annual Human Rights Awards were discussed. Voting for the recipients will take place online. Nominations for the individual award included Laura Jones at Healthright, Mavis Grant-Lilley from PFLAG and Empty Bowls, and Eve Faulkes from WVU. Nominations for the group award were the First Presbyterian Church and the Friendship House. The qualifications for all of the nominations were discussed. Amy Chandler suggested that the award recipients record their acceptance speeches, and that video will be shown at the awards event followed by a keynote speaker. The video would be released to the public. Suggestions were requested for the keynote speaker. A group email will be sent to the commissioners with more information on the event plans. For the City’s iteration of “Open to All”, the new name will be “All are Welcome.” It was suggested that the pledge be rewritten so that it is original to our effort. Don Spencer will ask Eve Faulkes to rework the logo. The Bartlett House gave the OK for the HRC to use the side of their building as the canvas for the Inclusivity mural. New Business: 2 Amy Chandler will send out a doodle poll to determine a date for the upcoming Orientation meeting. The meeting will take place via video conference. Ongoing Projects: There has been no movement on the WVU about the Community Film Series. The Indigenous Peoples Day idea will be discussed at the next meeting. Tim Hairston commented that it has been difficult to find someone for the Indigenous community to speak on behalf of the effort, but Tim is willing to help if necessary. Don Spencer suggested that we share our efforts with the CCSJ and the NAACP to get their support. Everyone was encouraged to check the HRC Annual Calendar and Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th was added. Announcements: The next meeting will take place on November 19, 2020 and will be via video conference. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm. Submitted by Kristen Cooper 3