Human Rights Commission

MORGANTOWN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING ON April 18, 2024 At the Morgantown Public Safety Building, 300 Spruce St, Morgantown, WV Attendance: Commissioners Present: Chair, Annie CRONAN YORICK; Vice Chair, Bonnie BROWN; Secretary, Bronson HERR; Commissioner Ashley SWANSON Liaisons: Tim HAIRSTON, State of WV Human Rights Commission Members of the Public: Don SPENCER Absent: Commissioner Danny TREJO (excused) 2 Vacancies Call to Order: There being a quorum present, the Chair called the meeting to Order at 6:55 p.m. Public Portion: Don Spencer advised he wants to donate books and materials on urbanization and make them available to the public. He also suggested the HRC should streamline its practice of using Proclamations. The HRC agreed it should consider using Resolutions to reduce the number of annual Proclamations. Minutes: The Minutes for the Regular Meeting on 03-21-2024 were reviewed in advance. Changes were discussed and agreed to. Herr moved to adopt the March 21, 2024, Minutes; Swanson seconded. The Minutes were unanimously approved. Swanson moved to adopt the updated Cinco de Mayo Proclamation as Amended; Brown seconded. The Proclamation was approved unanimously. Priority Business: Annie advised that the Juneteenth proclamation draft will be provided to the HRC, and the Cinco de Mayo Proclamation is scheduled to be read at April 30, 2024, Committee of the Whole meeting. Communications: Annie received a voicemail on the HRC line from a Morgantown resident. Three attempts to return the call were unsuccessful, but she left a voicemail message for the caller to contact us by email if she still needed help. There has been no contact since. Updates: Chair – Annie Cronan Yorick • She spoke with members of the city management about having the HRC charged with addressing homelessness issues. There was no affirmative response. • Plans to contact the Kingwood - Morgantown NAACP, inviting them to join us in the Juneteenth Proclamation. Regardless of their reply, she will prepare the Proclamation. • She attended the April Social for the National Organization for Women to represent the HRC. • She will contact PRIDE to see if they want to co-sponsor the PRIDE Month Proclamation. Vice Chair – Bonnie Brown • She reported on the 2024 Human Rights Film Series’ success. Attendance was good, and the audience responded positively. • She shared that the WVU Library has a license for online viewing of AMÁ, one of this year’s films in the Human Rights Series. • She has been invited to the Jim Thorpe Sports Day event at the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, now the Army War College. Secretary – Bronson Herr • None Commissioner – Danny Trejo • Absent Commissioner – Ashley Swanson • Now has access to the HRC Facebook page. Chair Annie authorized her as a page administrator. Liaisons: • None Adjournment: As there was no further business, Brown moved to adjourn; Swanson seconded. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:45 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for May 16, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Public Safety Building. Minutes prepared by Secretary Herr and edited by the Chair, Cronan Yorick, for adoption at the May 16, 2024, meeting.