Human Rights Commission Meeting

CITY OF NORMAN, OK HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING Municipal Building, Executive Conference Room 201 West Gray St., Norman, OK 73069 Monday, April 24, 2023 at 5:30 PM MINUTES 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 April 24, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., and notice and agenda of the meeting were duly posted 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. PRESENT Commission Chair Jackie Farley Commission Vice-Chair Aisha Ali Commissioner Chris Nanny Commissioner Christopher Tallbear Commissioner Michael Ridgeway ABSENT Commissioner Samuel Woodfork Commissioner Michael Kihega Commissioner Dr. Binbin Weng Commissioner Stephen Machovic STAFF PRESENT Maylon Wesley, Chief Diversity & Equity Officer Anthony Purinton, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Encinias, Legal Admin Tech OTHERS PRESENT John Scamehorn ROLL CALL A quorum was present. MINUTES 1. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR THE MARCH 27, 2023, REGULAR MEETING Motion was made by Commissioner Chris Nanny to approve the Minutes for the March 27, 2023, regular meeting and the motion was duly seconded by Chair Jackie Farley. A vote was taken with the following results: all approved, and none opposed. The Minutes were approved by unanimous vote. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING - Monday, April 24, 2023 Page |1 ACTION ITEMS 2. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON PROCLAMATIONS Mr. Wesley asked Commissioners to compile a list of proclamations they would like to have for the year and he will work on standardizing the submittal process. Once the list is completed, Commissioners asked that it be reviewed periodically so proclamations are kept relevant to current events and issues. Mr. Wesley said he would like proclamations to focus on rights that are protected by law. Mr. Purinton said he would send the list of previous HRC proclamations to members so they can use it as help when making their new list of recommendations. At this time, Mr. Purinton requests the HRC limit the amount of submissions they make because the Mayor receives many requests each month from other sources. Mentioned for May were proclamations for Mental Health Awareness Month, Teacher Appreciation Month and First Responder Recognition Month. Commissioner Ali said she will submit recommendations online through the City’s website for approval. 3. DISCUSSION OF HRC ORDINANCE AND SCOPE Mr. Purinton referred Commissioners to their meeting binders for the printed version of the Human Rights ordinance. He said the ordinance is part of the City’s code but not the charter. Also, he pointed out that it was renumbered as Chapter 8 (formerly Chapter 7) because the City is using a new program and its entire code was rearranged. Mr. Purinton held discussion with members regarding the ordinance and bylaws and answered general questions. He also discussed Chapter 2-337 which outlines the Duties and Powers of the Commission. 4. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS Mr. Wesley supplied a handout from the 2022 HRC Retreat to show what has been accomplished from the recommendations made by the former Inclusive Community Subcommittee. A star next to each item represents that a particular item is complete. Commissioner Ali will meet with Mr. Wesley to type up a document to discuss and finalize at the next HRC meeting. MISCELLANEOUS COMMENTS Commissioner Ali asked what was the best way to communicate between the public and HRC members. She is often asked questions about the City and she would like to know the best way to respond. Mr. Wesley said he plans to have conversations with the community in the future and Mr. Ridgeway said the HRC used to hold listening sessions and that these can be held without City staff. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:52 p.m. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING - Monday, April 24, 2023 Page |2