HomeMy WebLinkAboutBHRCMinutes_2014_03_06Brookings Human Rights Committee Minutes
Thursday, March 6, 2014 at 2:00 p.m.
Room 312, Executive Session Room- Brookings City & County Government Center
Attendance: George Hamer, Penny Hauffe, Shafiqur Rahman, Hanna Larsen, Patty Bacon,
Lawrence Novotny (by teleconference) and Sam Jennings (by teleconference). Absent: Steve
Bayer, Chandradhar Dwivedi and Judy Karen. Also present: City Staff Shari Thornes.
Hamer called the meeting to order at 2:02 pm. A motion was made by Rahman, seconded by
Hauffe, to approve. Motion carried. Approval of the minutes will be conducted at the next
meeting.
Next meeting – Wednesday, April 23 @ 5 p.m.
Conference Call with Cathryn Oakley, Human Rights Campaign Legislative Counsel. Cathryn Oakley
and Whitney Lovell were the representatives from the Human Rights Campaign on the conference
call. Slides were sent in advance of the meeting for the Committee’s reference. Brookings (34)
scored higher than Grand Forks, ND (30). The Human Rights Campaign surveyed communities
with populations from 1,300 people to the population of New York City. The Human Rights
Campaign wants communities to be able to score 100 despite the fact their state does not have
nondiscriminatory laws. The Great Plains’ states have an average score of 45. South Dakota cities
scored the following: Aberdeen (10), Sioux Falls (24), Brookings (34), Pierre (13) and Rapid City
(19). The Midwest averages at 59 points. Oakley went through key items on the Brookings
scorecard. She discussed Relationship Recognition and put a lot of weight on Municipality as
Employer. If there is a LGBT liaison in the Mayor’s office, which is formally recognized by the City,
the Human Rights Campaign is willing to recognize them. It was asked if the Brookings Human
Rights Committee could be recognized. Oakley agreed and explained as long as the Brookings
Human Rights Committee is listed on-line as serving in this capacity, it will be recognized. If
Brookings is reporting hate crimes since 2009, the reports they are accessing are not showing any.
Is the City making any effort to make the LGBT community feel welcome? Oakley walked through
how the Human Rights Committee can help draft language and assist in policy development in
order to achieve a higher score. Lovell will draft a “prescription for equality” for the spring work
meeting. The framework for a discussion with the Police Department was considered. Lovell
suggested framing hate crimes as domestic violence. Often hate crimes are under-reported,
citizens are afraid the police will laugh at them. Some law enforcement officers believe they do not
have jurisdiction because there is no state law in place. Lovell explained this is not fact, and she
can help us articulate this information when the time comes.
Action on Campus-Community Common Read book recommendation. Larsen stated the three top
runners are: Good Food Revolution, No Impact Man, and I am Malala. Larsen and Hauffe favor
Good Food Revolution from a human rights aspect. A motion was made by Hauffe, seconded by
Karen, for the Human Rights Committee to recommend Good Food Revolution for the 2014
Common Read Book. Motion carried.
April 13th Spring Potluck – canned food drive. The Human Rights Committee will consider a canned
food drive for the Fall Potluck at their next work meeting. Time has run out to conduct one at the
Spring Potluck.
Proposed Legislation in 2014. To our knowledge, all bills of concern have failed.
Tentative Future Meeting Agendas:
April 23rd: Select date for Fall Potluck, Welcoming campaign for new residents in Brookings,
Proposed Policy Revisions / HR Campaign Scorecard, Sensitivity Training Opportunities, Engage
Brookings Questions, Renters’ Rights Brochure and Volunteer Coffee with Mayor Reed.
May: MLK Poster Location
Announcements/Correspondence/Calendar:
• April 13th – Spring Diversity Potluck – Gary Aguilar is the speaker
• Wednesday, April 23 @ 5 p.m. – next meeting – work meeting
• May 8th @ 5 pm - Volunteer Coffee with Mayor
• May 16th @ 8 am – Volunteer Coffee with Mayor
Adjourn. A motion was made by Rahman, seconded by Larsen, to adjourn. All present voted yes;
motion carried. Meeting adjourned 3:18 p.m.
Submitted by Patty Bacon