HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995 05-10 HRRMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESOURCES COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE
COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA
REGULAR SESSION
MAY 10, 1995
CITY HALL
CALL TO ORDER
The Brooklyn Center human rights and resources commission was called to order at 7:08
p.m.
ROLL CALL
Members present: Chairperson Lerbs, Commissioners Yang, Brown, Nyquist, Maddox
and Nesseth. Also present was Staff Liaison Gohman.
Member absent and excused: Commissioner Achtelik.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES - APRIL 12. 1995
There was a discussion about the April minutes prior to approval. Commissioner
Nyquist stated that we need to change the approval regarding the March 8 minutes to
reflect that Commissioner Nyquist abstained since he was not a member of the
commission at that time. There was a motion by Commissioner Nyquist and seconded
by Commissioner Yang to approve the minutes of the April 12, 1995, meeting, as
corrected. The motion carried.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA -MAY 10. 1995
There was a motion by Commissioner Yang and seconded by Commissioner Nesseth to
approve the May 10 agenda. The motion carried.
INTRODUCTIONS
The commission had lengthy general introductions of all members, sharing backgrounds
and information about themselves. Members were open to questions and answers
regarding themselves.
FLOAT SUBCOMMITTEE
The commission discussed the float. Subcommittee Chair Nesseth stated that at this
time the float is going nowhere. Chair Lerbs stated he had ideas about the float and was
concerned about spending money on the float and raised ideas about a human float, such
as having a group of people in an organized mass walking down the street and being a
human float. Commissioner Yang stated he could contact the Vietnamese and Laotian
communities to bring people in, and suggested that we bring people in in traditional
costume. Staff Liaison Gohman stated that you may want to include the promotional
campaign slogan of "Discover the Center", which is now being used for the City of
Brooklyn Center.
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The commission continued discussion regarding a float, the type of float to have,
agreeing that diversity is an issue and should be addressed, as well as focusing on a
middle ground, looking at a float that would minimize differences between people.
Commissioner Brews}t stated that she felt a banner that said "Brooklyn Center
Human Rights and Resources Commission", along with the silhouette that we have used
in our flyers, would be a good idea to have on the float. This would help get the
community aware of the Brooklyn Center human rights and resources commission.
The discussion continued about diversity in the community, ethnicity, etc. Commissioner
Yang stated he would like to see two things: Number one, the human rights and
resources commission in Brooklyn Center to stand up to any issue related to human
rights and social harmony, and secondly, that prejudice and discrimination is not allowed
and our commission would be willing to get involved to help fight this. Along the lines
of diversity, the commission talked about the Heritage Festival, and publicity for the
commission at this event. 14 was the eeffiensus ef the eeffwii
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ras€'t that the Heritage Festival in the fall is a great time to bring out
and bring together people with diversity in costumes because that is what the Heritage
Festival is all about. Also, at this time, to put together a float to promote the Human
Rights and Resources Commission of Brooklyn Center for this year's parade. Subchair
Nesseth stated she will get people involved and work with the subcommittee to get the
float going.
BIAS RESPONSE
Staff Liaison Gohman updated the committee on bias response. She stated that
Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council will coordinate two training sessions, one
in the spring and one in the fall. There was general discussion on this item. It was the
consensus of the commission to get working and get going on working with Northwest
Hennepin Human Services Council on a bias response plan and, if possible, encourage
Northwest Hennepin to hold training in the early part of June.
Chair Lerbs said that this is a timely issue; a situation did come up between our last two
meetings where a bias response plan would have been helpful. The City received a
complaint regarding sexual harassment from a softball team who was playing in a field in
our City. One of their members was harassed, and since there was no bias response
plan, it was difficult to address the situation. Staff Liaison Gohman said that the
situation had resolved itself by the teams working together and the other team kicking
the harasser off of their team.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY TRAINING
Staff Liaison Gohman updated the commission, and stated she had gotten ahold of
Sergeant John Harrington of the St. Paul Police Department and discussed, generally,
about a training session with our police department. Nancy also stated that she is
working with the Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council to arrange for training
for staff and will get back to the commission on this in the future.
ADJOURNMENT 0
There was a motion by Commissioner Nyquist and seconded by Commissioner Brown to
adjourn the meeting at 8:35 p.m. The motion carried.
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