Human Rights Commission Meeting

NORMAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES October 24, 2016 The Human Rights Commission of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met in the Municipal Complex located at 201 W. Gray Street on October 24, 2016, at 5:31 p.m., and notice and agenda of the meeting were duly posted 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. PRESENT: Commissioners Mary Lou Drywater, Daniel Dukes, Kirsten T. Edwards, Jackie Farley, Kay Ham, Lucy Mahaffey, Marjaneh Seirafi-Pour, Mary Womack, and Harry Wright ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Officer Ali Jaffrey, Kristina Bell, Jayme Rowe ***** Item 2, being: APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA OF THE OCTOBER 24, 2016, MEETING. Commissioner Farley moved to approve the agenda of the October 24, 2016, meeting of the Norman Human Rights Commission, which motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Wright. A vote was taken with the following result: YEAS: Commissioners Drywater, Dukes, Edwards, Farley, Ham, Mahaffey, Seirafi-Pour, Womack and Wright NAYES: None The Chair declared the motion carried; and the agenda of the October 24, 2016, meeting of the Noman Human Rights Commission was approved. ***** Item 3, being: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 25, 2016, NORMAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING. Commissioner Farley moved that the minutes of the July 25, 2016, Human Rights Commission meeting be approved, which motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Mahaffey. A vote was taken with the following result: YEAS: Commissioners Drywater, Dukes, Edwards, Farley, Ham, Mahaffey, Seirafi-Pour, Womack and Wright NAYES: None The Chair declared the motion carried; and the minutes of the July 25, 2016, meeting were approved. Norman Human Rights Commission October 24, 2016 Page 2 ***** Item 4, being: INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONER. The Chair introduced the newly appointed Commissioner, Mary Womack, who shared information regarding her background and interest in serving the citizens of the City of Norman. She expressed her excitement and appreciation of being involved with the Human Rights Commission. ***** Item 5, being: DISCUSSION OF AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON FUTURE PROCLAMATIONS. The Chair reminded the Commission that the Native American Heritage Month Proclamation will be presented at the City Council meeting tomorrow, October 25th. She encouraged the Commissioners to attend the presentation if their schedules allowed. There was discussion regarding upcoming groups and occasions that the Commission could recommend to City Council for recognition by proclamation. Following discussion, Commissioner Mahaffey moved that the Human Rights Commission draft proclamations for recommendation to the Mayor and Council recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, February as Black History Month and March as Women’s History Month. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Drywater. A vote was taken with the following result: YEAS: Commissioners Drywater, Dukes, Edwards, Farley, Ham, Mahaffey, Seirafi-Pour, Womack, and Wright NAYES: None The Chair declared the motion carried. ***** Item 6, being: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD. The two nominees for the annual Human Rights Award were reviewed by the Commissioners. After discussion regarding the accomplishments of both nominees, Commissioner Wright moved that the Human Rights Award for 2016 be presented to Summer Wesley for her many years of advocacy toward improving human rights issues that range from gender issues, environmental protection, LGBT issues, adoption reform, ending human trafficking, Native American issues, and more. Commissioner Seirafi- Pour seconded the motion. A vote was taken with the following result: Norman Human Rights Commission October 24, 2016 Page 3 YEAS: Commissioners Drywater, Dukes, Edwards, Farley, Ham, Mahaffey, Seirafi-Pour, Womack and Wright NAYES: None The Chair declared the motion carried, and the 2016 Human Rights Award will be presented to Summer Wesley at the City Council meeting on December 13, 2016. ***** Item 7, being: APPROVAL OF 2017 HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING DATES The scheduled dates for the 2017 Human Rights Commission meetings were presented to the Commission. By City Ordinance, the Human Rights Commission meets quarterly on the fourth Monday of January, April, July, and October. Those dates for 2017 are: January 23, April 24, July 24 and October 23, 2017. Commissioner Farley moved that the dates scheduled for the 2017 Human Rights Commission meetings be approved, which motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Drywater. A vote was taken with the following result: YEAS: Commissioners Drywater, Dukes, Edwards, Farley, Ham, Mahaffey, Seirafi-Pour, Womack and Wright NAYES: None The Chair declared the motion carried; and the dates for the 2016 Human Rights Commission meetings were approved. ***** Item 8, being: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON 2017 INTERFAITH BREAKFAST. The Chair mentioned that the Commission will not meet again prior to the 2017 Interfaith Breakfast. As in years past, the breakfast will be held on Martin Luther King Day, which will be January 16, 2017. The Chair reported that she has confirmed with Dr. Imad Enchassi, the Senior Imam and President of the Islamic Society of Oklahoma City, that he will be available to serve as the keynote speaker. The Chair is contacting other faith leaders regarding their participation and will be confirming those within the next few weeks. Norman Human Rights Commission October 24, 2016 Page 4 Due to the increase in attendance over the past few years, the next item to be determined will be the venue. The Chair and Commissioner Drywater will contact local venues as soon as possible to get that detail finalized. The Chair reminded the Commissioners that last year’s attendance was approximately 200, so the venue would need to seat at least that many and have a kitchen and space to set up a buffet line. ***** Item 9, being: MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION. Commissioner Wright mentioned an editorial he read in the Norman Transcript entitled, “Embracing the Discussion of Race.” He suggested that this could be a topic for a future community discussion. Chair Ham mentioned similar discussions are being held by other local agencies, including a recent meeting she attended which included law enforcement. Commissioner Womack asked if the future discussion by this Commission could broaden the focus beyond law enforcement, and Commissioner Edwards asked to include multi-cultural groups in any future discussions by the Commission on this topic. ***** Item 10, being: ADJOURNMENT. At this time, Commissioner Drywater moved that the meeting be adjourned, which motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Wright. A vote was taken and the meeting was adjourned at 6:51 p.m.