Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2 27 2024 HRCHuman Rights Commission February 27, 2024 Regular Meeting – 5:30 PM Emma J. Harvat Hall, City Hall Agenda: 1.Call the meeting to order and roll call 2.Reading of Native American Land Acknowledgement 3.Presentation to outgoing commissioner Ahmed Ismail 4.Approval of the January 23, 2024, meeting minutes 5.Public comment on 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 or one another concerning said items) 6.Correspondence 7.Updates on Outreach and Engagement by the Police Department 8.Trans Day of Visibility Proclamation and Event Consideration 9.Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant Updates FY23, FY24 10.Review of Commission Committees and Membership •Building Bridges •Reciprocal Relationships •Breaking Bread 11.Staff Announcements 12.Commissioner Announcements (Commissioners shall not engage in discussion with one another concerning said announcements) 13.Adjournment Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all City of Iowa City- sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in these events, please contact the Office of Equity and Human Rights at 319-356-5022 or humanrights@iowa-city.org. Native American Land Acknowledgement Prepared for the City of Iowa City's Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Human Rights Commission PURPOSE Iowa City owes its existence to the many Indigenous Peoples who were the original stewards of this land and who were subjected to manipulation and violence by non-native settlers, invaders, and governments in order to make this moment possible. Acknowledgement of this truth is central to our work toward reconciliation across all barriers of difference and injustice. Starting with a Native American Land Acknowledgement, this Commission will bear witness to the legacies of violent displacement, migration, and settlement that have marginalized those who were the first inhabitants of this land. We must also address the mistreatment and exclusion that Native Americans continue to face today. The Ad Hoc Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Human Rights Commission encourage the community and City of Iowa City to join us in these efforts through the use of a Native American Land Acknowledgement. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To be read at all public meetings and events: "We meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Native American Nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Meskwaki, and Sauk, and because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledge the ancient connections of many other Indigenous Peoples here. The history of broken treaties and forced removal that dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their homelands was and is an act of colonization and genocide that we can not erase. We implore the Iowa City community to commit to understanding and addressing these injustices as we work toward equity, restoration, and reparations." LEARN MORE Native Governance Center Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement US Department of Arts and Culture: Honor Native Land Virtual Resources and Guide Meskwaki Nation -History Special thanks to the University oflowa Native American Council for their work and guidance, as well as members of the public, for their input. Agenda Item #2 1 Draft Minutes Human Rights Commission January 23, 2024 Emma J. Harvat Hall Commissioners present: Jahnavi Pandya, Doug Kollasch, Kelsey Paul Shantz, Viana Qaduora, Roger Lusala, Mark Pries. Commissioners on Zoom: Sylvia Jons. Commissioners absent: Ahmed Ismail. Staff present: Stefanie Bowers, Sergeant Kevin Bailey. Recommendation to City Council: No. Meeting called to order: 5:31 PM. Native American Land Acknowledgement: Lusala read the Land Acknowledgement. Introduction of new commissioner Dr. Liz and farewell to outgoing commissioner Maliabo: Commissioners introduced themselves to the newest commission member and bid a wistful farewell to former commissioner Maliabo. Election of chair and vice chair for 2024: Pries nominated Kollasch, Jons seconded the motion. Jons nominated Paul Shantz, and the motion was seconded by Pries. Paul Shantz declined the nomination but would entertain a nomination for vice chair. Lusala nominated Paul Shantz for vice chair, Pries seconded the motion. The motion for Kollasch as chair passed 8-0. The motion for Paul Shantz as vice chair passed 8-0. Approval of November 28, 2023, meeting minutes: Pries moved, and Lusala seconded. The motion passed 8-0. Public comment of items not on the agenda: Brandon Ross spoke. Ross spoke briefly on capitalism and imperialism. Ross does not think the U.S. should not be in Syria or Ukraine. As to Israel and Palestine, the U.S. is arming Israel for what he believes to be the elimination of an entire people. The U.S. has violated its own laws and international laws. Ross appeals to the HRC to act locally, think globally, act globally, be loud, be active, and be heard. Correspondence: Upcoming events of the office, the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, and the upcoming Lunar New Year celebration. Updates on Outreach and Engagement by the Police Department: Sergeant Bailey spoke on the recent events of the department. Most of these have been canceled or rescheduled due to the snow and the frigid temperatures. The department has had mandatory training and has recently added an evening/night mental health liaison. A new youth shelter in Iowa City has opened. Bailey and the outreach folks have Agenda Item #3 2 been working hard on getting engaged with youth in the winter. They are also seeing more financial exploitation of the elderly and, so intentional outreach is being completed to organizations that cater to older adults. Support of the Transgender Protestors: Commissioners Jons, Paul Shantz, and Kollasch drafted a statement in response to the arrest of transgender activists back in November. Amel Ali, at its November meetings asked the commission and submitted a letter asking for its solidarity in these targeted arrests and charges. The commission read through the prepared draft and approved it. Staff will do a news release. Pries moved, and Lusala seconded. Motion passed 8-0. Funding request from November 2023 Jewell Amos: After its last meeting date, the commission asked staff to seek more details of this request for $250. The request is for a t-shirt contest at Grant Wood Elementary for its graduating 5th and 6th graders. The additional details are that there are approximately 100 students who will be participating. Each student will get a shirt with the winning design and all of their classmate’s names. Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant: For grant cycle FY23, the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County notified the commission that it has delayed the initial start of its project to January of this year. The project was delayed due to competing priorities. The commission received the submissions for FY23 and will arrange a time to meet in the last week in February or the first week of March to make its recommendation to the city council for grant allocations. Commissioner Ismail is not participating due to a conflict of interest with the Center for Worker Justice and the Immigrant Welcome Network for Johnson County. Commissioner Mendez-Shannon disclosed that in early Jan. 2024, she joined the Greater Iowa City (GIC) Council, and that the City Attorney’s Office has determined there is no legal conflict in her reviewing and rating the grant submission by GIC. And that she believes she can be fair and impartial in judging the merits of the GIC application. Commission Committees: Commission members will review the current three committees and their purpose and then discuss who will serve on which committee. The three current committees are breaking bread, reciprocal relationships, and building bridges. Announcements of commissioners: Paul Shantz would like the HRC to connect with the TRC to learn more about their upcoming Healing Circles. Qadoura spoke on a recent winter hike Mariam’s Girls participated in with United Action for Youth. Pandaya recently joined a mental health provider that helps people for no charge on Zoom and offers multiple languages. Mendez-Shannon mentioned her support to the ICCSD for ensuring that youth this summer will still be fed meals even though funding will no longer be provided to support such programs in Iowa. Announcements of staff: None. Adjourned: 7:01 PM. The meeting can be viewed at https://citychannel4.com/video.html?series=Local%20Government. Human Rights Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2024 (Meeting Date) NAME TERM EXP. 1/23 2/27 3/26 4/23 5/28 6/25 7/23 8/27 9/24 10/22 11/26 12/24 Jahnavi Pandya 2024 X Sylvia Jons 2024 Z Doug Kollasch 2024 X Viana Qadoura 2025 X Ahmed Ismail 2025 A Mark Pries 2025 X Roger Lusala 2026 X Kelsey Paul Shantz 2026 X Liz Mendez-Shannon 2026 X KEY: P = Present A = Absent Z = Present via Zoom 2022 Strategic Planning Process: Outcomes and Next Steps June 2022 Agenda Item #10 Jennifer Horn-Frasier, Principal Bluebird Sky, LLC BluebirdSkySolutions.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 Methodology 3 Strategic Areas of Work 5 Breaking Bread 5 Regular Reciprocal Relationships 6 Bridging the Gap 6 Recommended Next Steps 7 Onward 7 Appendix A: Ideas and Insights from One-on-One Conversations A1 Appendix B: City of Iowa City’s Human Rights Office & Commission Survey B1 Appendix C: Outcomes of Strategy Workshop 1 C1 Appendix D: Outcomes of Strategy Workshop 2 D1 p. 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2022 Iowa City Human Rights Commission (HRC) strategic planning process used the following duties and framing question to identify strategic areas of work for the coming three years. DUTIES The Commission has the following powers: 1) Make recommendations to the Council for such further legislation concerning discrimination as it may deem necessary and desirable. 2) Educate the public on human rights and illegal discrimination, such as organizing and facilitating educational public forums that address one or more of the broad range of topics included within the rubric of human rights. 3) Cooperate, within the limits of any appropriation made for its operation, with other agencies or organizations, both public and private, whose purposes are not inconsistent with those of the Human Rights Ordinance. 4) Coordinate programs designed to eliminate racial, religious, cultural, and other intergroup tensions. FRAMING QUESTION Imagine that, by its 65th anniversary, the Iowa City Human Rights Commission is the hub of a robust, local human rights network. What would that look like? ANNUAL FOCUS Develop a process for determining and publicizing an annual focus for human rights programming STRATEGIC AREAS OF WORK 1—Breaking Bread: Bringing people together to learn from one another and practice creating community across previous lines of tension; focusing on individuals Goal 1: Deepen the interaction among community members and increase their engagement with the HRC Goal 2: Increase community members’ knowledge of their rights, local ordinances, and unlawful discrimination 2—Regular Reciprocal Relationships: Developing deeper relationships with other community organizations, including human rights nonprofits, other government commissions, and schools to more effectively advance human rights in our community Goal 1: Deepen engagement with human rights-focused community groups Goal 2: Collaborate with community groups to co-create, co-sponsor, and co-host human rights- focused programs p. 6 3—Bridging the Gap: Developing stronger individual and collective relationships with the city council Goal 1: Individual commissioners have active relationships with council members Goal 2: HRC actively communicates with the city council about human rights-related current events Goal 3: HRC makes timely and relevant recommendations to the city council whenever warranted p. 7 METHODOLOGY The strategic planning process was organized into several phases, each of which is described here. Phase 1: Current-State Analysis A) Documentation review and one-on-one conversations with key leaders A comprehensive view of the current state of Iowa City Human Rights work was developed through the following activities: • Reviewing the status of efforts related to previous strategic plans • Reviewing other available documentation, including annual reports • Exploring via one-on-one conversations with five key leaders (staff and Commission members) the current state of the Commission, human rights efforts in Iowa City, and areas of work that may be furthered in the future • Exploring relevant current trends and future signals that may affect planning Deliverable: A report synthesizing the results of the documentation review and leader conversations and proposing a future vision framing question to be used to guide planning sessions. This report is included in Appendix A. Note: A framing question is a tool of appreciative inquiry that invites a group to vividly imagine together a future they would like to co-create. Rather than focusing on perceived problems, it directs focus toward the positive future and fosters shared understanding and enthusiasm for the future. An example of a framing question from another context is this: Imagine a community where agencies and systems don’t re-traumatize those with trauma histories. What would that look like? B) Survey of Commission members, City staff, and constituent representatives This survey was distributed to City of Iowa City employees; Council; Human Rights Commissioners; members of other commissions; representatives of Iowa City community organizations; and staff within the Iowa City Community School District, the University of Iowa, and Kirkwood Community College. The survey included items soliciting input on topics including a SWOT-type of analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats/challenges), the four enumerated powers of the Commission, current trends, future signals, and respondents’ ideas for the future of the Commission. Between April 18 and 29, 2022, 45 people provided responses. Deliverable: A report synthesizing the results of the documentation review and leader conversations, providing an analysis of survey results, and proposing a future vision framing question to be fine-tuned at the beginning of Phase 2. This report is included in Appendix B. p. 8 Phase 2: Envisioning the Future This phase was designed using outcomes of Phase 1 and structured around two three-hour workshops held in consecutive weeks in May. Workshop participants included all Commission members and were held in person. The two workshops were designed to build upon one another. A) Workshop 1: Creating a shared vision for the future  What could we do? In advance of the workshop, participants were provided preparation materials drawn from Phase 1 outcomes. Primary activities of Workshop 1 included: • Discussion of current-state analysis • Exploration of current trends and future signals for Iowa City and issues related to human rights • Creating a vivid shared picture of the future based on the framing question • Generating ideas for what the HRC might do to bring the future vision to life B) Workshop 2: What should we do?  What will we do? Again, in advance of the workshop, participants were provided preparation materials drawn from the outcomes of Workshop 1. Primary activities of Workshop 2 included: • Reviewing and reflecting on the outcomes of Workshop 1 • Identifying areas of work likely required to bring the future vision to life • Determining initial goals and objectives for the key areas of work − Goal: A broad desired outcome within the strategic area of work (a future state to be attained) − Objective: A measurable result that contributes to achieving the goal (likely several objectives will be needed to attain the goal) Deliverables: • Meeting preparation materials for workshop participants • Workshop design and agenda • Workshop facilitation • Documentation of the outcomes of both workshops Outcomes of Strategy Workshop 1 are included in Appendix C of this report, and outcomes of Strategy Workshop 2 are in Appendix D. Phase 3: Articulating the Plan The outputs of Phases 1 and 2 are synthesized this report designed to guide the Commission’s activity for the next three years and to support implementation of the plan. Deliverables: • Strategic planning process report • Implementation support—guidance for the subcommittees established for each strategic area of work p. 9 STRATEGIC AREAS OF WORK Over the course of the strategic planning workshops, the commissioners collectively created a vision for the future of the HRC and human rights in the Iowa City area. Using the four specified duties of the commission as focal points, they then developed lists of potential strategic outcomes—not solutions, but outcomes—that would help move the HRC and human rights in Iowa City in the direction of the future vision. The strategic outcomes were evaluated based on their potential for helping the Commission achieve the desired future vision. This process resulted in the identification of three primary areas of work on which the HRC will focus in the coming years. Additionally, the commissioners established an overarching strategy to connect the areas of work, which is to define each year an area of focus or a theme to unify human rights programming. The strategic areas of work are shown below, and they include draft goals and objectives. The definitions used by the commissioners for these elements are as follows: • Strategic area of work: A focus area where new approaches are needed in order to bring the future vision to life • Goal: A broad desired outcome within the strategic area of work (a future state to be attained) • Objective: A measurable result that contributes to achieving the goal (likely one of several objectives needed to attain the goal) First step—Annual Focus: Develop a process for determining and publicizing an annual focus for human rights programming (e.g., criteria for selecting the focus; time of year for selection; means of publicizing) Strategic Area of Work 1—Breaking Bread: Bringing people together to learn from one another and practice creating community across previous lines of tension; focusing on individuals Goal 1: Deepen the interaction among community members and increase their engagement with the HRC Objective: Develop regular schedule of activities in which HCR members and community partners can engage in meaningful dialogue, learning, and interaction Objective: Host first events where relationships already exist, then expand outward Example: Coffee with the Commission Example: Quarterly listening posts Goal 2: Increase community members’ knowledge of their rights, local ordinances, and unlawful discrimination Objective: Regularly release educational videos recorded by commissioners on various topics Objective: Release educational videos in connection with important current events Question: How else might the HRC help increase community members’ knowledge of these topics? p. 10 Strategic Area of Work 2—Regular Reciprocal Relationships: Developing deeper relationships with other organizations, including human rights nonprofits, other government commissions, and schools to more effectively advance human rights in our community; focusing on community groups Goal 1: Deepen engagement with human rights-focused community groups Objective: Create more active relationships with the organizations who receive grants from the HRC Objective: Identify other community organizations to engage with in order to build the local human rights network Goal 2: Collaborate with community groups to co-create, co-sponsor, and co-host human rights-focused programs Objective: Coordinate this programming with the identified human rights focus for the year Strategic Area of Work 3—Bridging the Gap: Developing stronger individual and collective relationships with the city council Goal 1: Individual commissioners have active relationships with council members Objective: Each HRC member has a regular (monthly?) coffee with a council member Objective: All HRC members have shared talking points to effectively convey unified messaging Goal 2: HRC actively communicates with the city council about human rights-related current events Goal 3: HRC makes timely and relevant recommendations to the city council whenever warranted p. 11 RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS The commissioners have developed a strong strategic framework for the coming three years. As with any strategic planning process, the most challenging step is typically not developing the plan but carrying it out. To facilitate successful execution of the plan, the following steps are recommended: 1) Subcommittees: Establish subcommittees of 3-4 people for each strategic area of work. This will allow the subcommittees to function nimbly and on a schedule that works best for the work at hand. 2) Metrics: Each subcommittee should clearly define desired outcomes for their work and determine metrics that may be tracked along the way to determine whether the work is progressing as needed. 3) Meeting cadence: Each subcommittee should establish a regular cadence of meetings (e.g., every 30 days) that best supports the work. 4) Action: Generally speaking, the agenda for each subcommittee meeting should include the following: • Reviewing desired outcomes and metrics for the work • Gleaning what has been learned since the last meeting • Applying the learning to plan next steps • Determining what action is needed next • Committing to specific actions each subcommittee member will take before the next meeting • Setting the next meeting date, time, and location 5) Communication: Each subcommittee should create a standard protocol for recording its progress and storing information needed by its members. Additionally, communication should take place regularly (e.g., via monthly HRC meetings and/or quarterly) among the subcommittees to share learning, insights, and relevant developments that may affect the work of other subcommittees. 6) Strategy Review: At least annually, the HRC should review the strategic plan’s desired strategic outcomes and consider whether any changes are warranted, based on learning developed through the work of the subcommittees, changing conditions in the community, or other factors. At this time, the HRC should also consider the progress of the individual subcommittees’ work toward their stated goals and evaluate whether any changes are warranted. ONWARD The Iowa City Human Rights Commission has developed a promising plan and strong forward momentum to carry it out. May the HRC truly be the hub of a robust, local human rights network by its 65th anniversary in 2028. A 13 APPENDICES Appendix A: Ideas and Insights from One-on-One Conversations A1 Appendix B: City of Iowa City’s Human Rights Office & Commission Survey B1 Appendix C: Outcomes of Strategy Workshop 1 C1 Appendix D: Outcomes of Strategy Workshop 2 D1 NOTE: These items will be added to the final version of this report. They are omitted for now to make the file smaller for emailing and because they have been previously reviewed and approved.