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Home My WebLink About6 19 2020Human Rights Commission June 19, 2020 Electronic Special Formal Meeting- 5:00 PM Zoom Meeting Platform Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting is being held because a meeting in person is impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of Commission members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. You can participate in the meeting and can comment on an agenda item by going to https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtcuuhqjktHtc2UzjU8bMIWUNtvY5GoM7O via the internet to visit the Zoom meeting’s registration page and submit the required information. Once approved, you will receive an email message with a link to join the meeting. If you are asked for a meeting ID or webinar ID, enter the ID number found in the email. A meeting password may also be included in the email. Enter the password when prompted. If you have no computer or smartphone, or a computer without a microphone, you may call in by telephone by dialing (312) 626-6799. When prompted, enter the meeting ID or webinar ID. The ID number for this meeting is: 920 5294 2743. Once connected, you may dial *9 to “raise your hand,” letting the meeting host know you would like to speak. Providing comments in person is not an option. Agenda: 1.Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call. 2.Approval of the June 16, 2020 meeting minutes. 3.Public Comment of Items not on the Agenda. (Commentators shall address the Commission for no more than 5 minutes. Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with the public concerning said items). 4.Items to be discussed: a.Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter; b.Creation of Subcommittee to do Outreach, Programming, and Education on Black Lives Matter. 5.Adjournment. If you will need disability-related accommodations to participate in this meeting please contact the Equity Director, Stefanie Bowers, at 319-356-5022 or at stefanie-bowers@iowa-city.org. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet your access needs. Page 1 of34 Draft Minutes Human Rights Commission Electronic Formal Meeting Zoom Meeting Platform June 16, 2020 Members Present: Ashley Lindley, Jessica Andino, Cathy McGinnis, Zachary Rochester, Mark Pries, Adil Adams, Noemi Ford, Jason Glass, Bijou Maliabo. . Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers. Community Members Present: Maddie Campbell, Amanda Kelly, Tami Jay, Deion Broyton, D. Daniel. Electronic Meeting (Pursuant to Iowa Code section 21.8) An electronic meeting was held because a meeting in person was impossible or impractical due to concerns for the health and safety of council members, staff and the public presented by COVID-19. Recommendation to Council: Yes, for the City Council to consider a resolution on fair trade. Materials will be prepared to submit this recommendation to City Council in the near future. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:36 PM. Approval of the May 19, 2020 minutes: Andino moved, and the motion was seconded by Glass. Motion carried 9-0. Strategic Planning: The Commission will hold two meetings in July to devise a strategic plan. This will be in addition to a regularly scheduled meeting. Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant Recipients for FY19: Staff will reach out to grant recipients of FY 20 to determine if there are experiencing any barriers in implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rights of the Child: Staff will reach out to organizations in July to see if they are interested in pursuing this initiative in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission. Fair Trade: Commissioner Rochester approached other Commissioners on making a recommendation to the City Council to make the City of Iowa City a Fair Trade municipality through a resolution. Fair Trade would require the City to purchase Fair Trade certified products, for example any coffee or tea supplies, when purchasing goods for City use. Fair Trade interacts with other initiatives currently underway by the City including the Climate Action Plan and Black Lives Matter. Page 2 of34 It also would allow for the Commission to do planned programming around Fair Trade. Maliabo moved, and Glass seconded. The motion passed 8-0. (Pries abstained). Human Rights Commission: Commissioners will revisit the Breakfast at one of its July meetings so that staff will be prepared to advertise for nominations in early August, Proclamations: Maliabo will accept the Juneteenth proclamation on behalf of the Commission at the City Council meeting of June 2, 2020. Staff will send out the video to other Commission members. Statement on Black Lives Matter: Commissioners decided to draft a statement in support of Black Lives Matter. Commissioners: Ford, Lindley, Rochester, and Glass will draft the statement and the present it to the entire Commission at a meeting on Friday, June 19, 2020. Iowa Harm Reduction: This conference will be held virtually from October 26 – October 30. Commissioners who are interested in attending should reach out to staff prior to June 30, 2020. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 6:57 PM. Page 3 of34 Member Attendance Sheet Member Term Exp. 1/7 1/21 2/18 3/17 4/21 5/19 6/16 7/21 8/18 9/15 10/20 Maliabo 1/2021 Present Present Present Excused Present Excused Present McGinnis 1/2021 Present Present Present Excused Present Present Present Rochester 1/2021 Present Present Excused Excused Present Present Present Adams 1/2022 Excused Present Excused Excused Present Present Present Andino 1/2022 Present Present Present Excused Present Present Present Ford 1/2022 Present Present Excused Excused Present Excused Present Lindley 1/2023 Present Excused Present Excused Present Present Present Glass 1/2023 Present Present Present Excused Present Excused Present Pries 1/2023 Present Present Excused Excused Present Present Present From: Iowa City Human Rights Commission Like so many across the nation, we were outraged by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer and by the failure of other officers to intervene. We felt it was time to make an unprecedented statement addressing this human rights violation. While Mr. Floyd was not a resident of Iowa City, his death has highlighted a failure to address the underlying economic and social forces that perpetuate systemic racism throughout our nation and within our community. It is because of these failures that we have seen so many names become hashtags: Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, and Tamir Rice, among others. Living while black should not be a death sentence. Systemic racism and centuries of oppression of people of color, especially of African Americans, is a clear human rights issue. This is embedded into many areas of our community, including but not limited to law enforcement, criminal justice, housing, employment, education, healthcare and childcare. We recognize that these interrelated factors make solutions complex. Though the issues are systemic, solutions must be specific, focused on individual and policy-level changes, and involve broad participation to be successful. As a commission, we pledge the following commitments to you: ● We state unequivocally that Black Lives Matter. ● We will increase our efforts to highlight the work being done by the Iowa City Human Rights Department to educate and engage the community on human rights issues. ● We will spread awareness of resources and activities in the community through the Human Rights Quarterly Report found here: (Link). ● We will continue to be active representatives of this community and leverage our partnership with the Iowa City Council to further dialogue and advocate for action on human rights issues, including addressing the Iowa City Freedom Riders’ demands. ● We will listen to and help amplify community voices on matters of human rights. Community residents are always encouraged to contact a member of the Human Rights Commission or City Staff if they have questions or concerns. ● We will engage in active dialogues with local officials and city staff members, including law enforcement, that allow them to make informed decisions regarding equitable and just policies and practices upholding human rights and holding human rights violators accountable. ● We further offer help in bridging the gap and fostering an open dialogue between law enforcement and those participating in non-violent protests. We want to assist in building trust between these groups to assure safety for all and protection of the Constitutional Rights of speech and assembly. ● We commit to building a more robust Human Rights Commission Strategic Plan starting in July to assure that our priorities align with the goals above and in light of the heightened awareness in our community to issues of race within systems and policies. The goal of these commitments is to help us stay true to our duties and to more actively spur us to be a part of the solution in dismantling systems of oppression by starting with small acts of our own today. Our community should be one that is equitable and just. It should be reflective of our diverse population and the many interests, talents, and viewpoints Iowa City residents hold. This commission looks forward to building on our strengths and addressing critical areas that must be improved in our community. We hope that the passion of the last few weeks is indicative of the will to truly find solutions to these issues, which will undoubtedly take a sustained, long-term effort involving all of our community members. We must assure that this is not a fleeting moment, but a pivotal one that leads to lasting change. In solidarity, [Human Rights Commission Signature]