Human Rights Commission Meeting

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MINUTES CITY OF NORMAN July 22, 2019 The Human Rights Commission of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met in the Municipal Complex located at 201 West Gray Street on July 22, 2019, at 5:30 p.m., and notice and agenda of the meeting were duly posted 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. Item 1, being: ROLL CALL PRESENT: Commissioners Kay Ham (Chair), Daniel Dukes, Marjaneh Seirafi-Pour, Jackie Farley, Chris Nanny, Ellen Kraft, Trey Moore ABSENT: Commissioners Kirsten Edwards, Sage Mauldin STAFF PRESENT: Assistant City Attorney Kristina Bell, Officer Ali Jaffrey, Legal Admin Tech Sarah Encinias Item 2, being: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 22, 2019, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING Commissioner Jackie Farley moved to approve the Minutes of the April 22, 2019, meeting, and the motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Trey Moore. Chair Kay Ham called for a vote: all approved, and none opposed. The Minutes for the April 22, 2019, meeting were approved by unanimous vote. Item 3, being: ELECTION OF VICE CHAIR Assistant City Attorney Kristina Bell advised that there is a vacancy for the position of Vice-Chair previously held by Mary Lou Drywater. Ms. Bell announced that Commissioner Sage Mauldin had advised that he would like to be considered for the Vice-Chair vacancy. Commissioner Marjaneh Seirafi-Pour also nominated herself as a candidate for Vice-Chair. Ms. Bell explained that this position acts as Chair when the Chair is absent from a meeting. Chair Ham asked for a vote, and the results were as follows: voting for Commissioner Seirafi- Pour: Chair Ham and Commissioners Seirafi-Pour, Daniel Dukes, Jackie Farley, Ellen Kraft, and Trey Moore; voting for Commissioner Mauldin: Commissioner Chris Nanny. Chair Ham announced Ms. Seirafi-Pour as the new Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Commission. Item 4, being: UPDATE ON, AND DISCUSSION OF, CHAPTER 7 CIVIL RIGHTS ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS AND NEXT STEPS Kristina Bell gave a quick review of the recent Study Session at which the ordinance amendments were discussed with City Councilmembers. Council was supportive of all amendments except for the one excluding domestic servants from the definition of “employer.” Norman Human Rights Commission July 22, 2019 Page 2 Ms. Bell advised that she is preparing the amendments for the First Reading on August 13th, with the Second Reading and Public Hearing occurring on August 27th. If the amendments pass, they will go into effect at the end of September, which will be 30 days after they passed vote of City Council. Ms. Bell anticipates HRC members and City staff will have training on the ordinance and that a class could also be offered to the public. Commissioner Moore said he had someone in mind that could help with the training and that he would supply the information to Ms. Bell. Item 5, being: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON FUTURE PROCLAMATIONS Members discussed proclamations for the next twelve (12) months. Commissioner Seirafi-Pour requested to recognize a heritage/ethnic diversity month, Commissioner Dukes requested that a Q not be forgotten when recognizing LGBTQ History Month, and Commissioner Kraft would like the Bullying Prevention Month proclamation to include a statement regarding social media. A motion to approve the requested proclamations was made by Commissioner Farley. The motion was duly seconded by Commissioner Kraft, and Chair Ham called for a vote: all approved, and none opposed. The following proclamations will be submitted to the Mayor for consideration: August 2019 National Senior Citizen’s Day (August 21) September 2019 Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) October 2019 Breast Cancer Awareness Month; LGBTQ History Month; National Bullying Prevention Month; National Immigrants Day (October 28) November 2019 Native American Heritage Month December 2019 World AIDS Day (December 1); Human Rights Day (December 10) January 2020 Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month February 2020 Black History Month March 2020 Women’s History Month April 2020 Sexual Assault Awareness Month May 2020 Mental Health Awareness Month, Malcolm X Day (May 19) June 2020 Juneteenth (June 19) July 2020 Cultural Diversity Appreciation Month Item 6, being: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING 2020 INTERFAITH BREAKFAST Chair Ham said she would contact Reverend Jeannie Himes of St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church to see if she would be the keynote speaker on the issue of immigration as she has been an active participant in previous events and has gone to the border and worked on immigration issues for several years. Commissioner Seirafi-Pour said she has been in contact with the owner of La Baguette who offered delivery of food and drink for $8 per person. Also, their server can attend for approximately $25 Norman Human Rights Commission July 22, 2019 Page 3 per hour in addition to the per plate price. Commissioner Seirafi-Pour will communicate further details with Ms. Bell in order to help get a contract completed for this part of the event. Item 7, being: MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION Ms. Bell informed members about Mayor Clark’s wish to form a subcommittee of this Commission. Mayor Clark would like the subcommittee to construct an action plan that she could work from in order to continue to increase inclusivity within the community. The HRC will hold a Special Meeting to vote to create the subcommittee, appoint the chair, and appoint the subcommittee members from applications to be submitted from the public. Mayor Clark will be in attendance at both the Special Meeting and the subcommittee meetings in order to present her ideas to members and to request further ideas. Mayor Clark would also like the HRC to consider meeting more often. Ms. Bell will email HRC members once additional information regarding these meetings becomes available. Item 8, being: ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m.