HomeMy WebLinkAbout1968 08-13 HRRMMinutes of the Proceedings of the
Human Rights Commission of the
City of Brooklyn Center in the
County of Hennepin and State of
Minnesota
August 13, 1968
The Human Rights Commission met in regular session and was called to
order by Chairman Leon Binger at 8:02 P. M.
,0 Roll Call: Jesse Sandoval, Mrs. Majel Berg, Eugene Sullivan, Marvin
Stavig, Leon Binger, Neil Smeaton, Floyd Anderson, and Charles Nichols. Also
present were: Jerry Dulgar.
,/+otion by Charles Nichols and seconded by Neil Smeaton to approve the
minutes of the July 9, 1968 meeting as submitted,
Chairman Leon Binger made the following announcements:
a, that a newspaper called the Metro News, that is published in
Minneapolis twice monthly, might be a good resource material
for the Commission members and was good for anyone working
in the area of Human Rights, He suggested that Commissioners
might want to subscribe to the newspaper;
b. that the League of Women Voter's book or pamphlet on the City of
Brooklyn Center was very good and might be interesting to some of
the Commission members and that it gave a broad view of the entire
community in a capsule form;
c, that the Civil Rights Action Committee Chaired by Theodore Willard,
Brooklyn Center Councilman, had extended an invitation to the
Commission to meet with the School Board of District 279 in Osseo
on August 19, 1968, and anyone interested in attending should
notify him.
Commissioner John Winkleman then reported on a meeting that he had
attended at St. Alphonse Church, The meeting was called by the American Friends
Society and was chaired by one of their members and dealt with the general area
of Human Rights, Commissioner â–ºNinkleman commented that he thought the meeting
had been beneficial, although he disagreed with some of the tactics used by those
persons directing the meeting.
Chairman Binger then discussed the work that Mrs. Leon Rankin had done
in checking the resource material on Human Rights and Civil Rights in the Brooklyn
Center Library, He went on to say that he thought that maybe the Commission
should encourage the library to purchase some of the books that were in the
bibliography concerning Human Rights,
Chairman Binger then introduced Mr. Robert Friestad, Administrator of
Employee Relations for Northern States Power Company as the main speaker for
the evening,
Mr. Friestad opened his address by providing a short summary of his back-
ground and his work in the area of Human Relations. Mr, Friestad said that it was
his belief that the best way to bring abut better conditions as far as Human
Relations was concerned was to cause a gradual change in people and their
attitudes,
Mr. Friestad said that hopes have been raised among the black people, but
their conditions were not better and actually the ghetto had become worse instead
of better in recent times. He said that business and government both had been
amiss and that they had started numerous programs to help the people of the ghetto,
but they had not let the people they were trying to help get involved in the program
and they often were not programs that could help these people or that the people
that needed to be helped wanted, He went on to say that the City's or the govern-
mental units in this country and business itself had done very little to help the
-1-
people of the ghetto until after riots had occurred; and they only provided jobs
and programs for them after riots had occurred.
He said that there had been riots primarily in the northern cities and not
in the southern cities because hopelessness still exsisted in the south whereas
in the northern cities hope had been instilled in the people and these hopes were
not fulfilled. He went on to say that the blacks rioted to fulfill their hopes and
because of frustration and because they had found that action would be taken if
they did riot.
Mr. Friestad then went on to discuss many of his experiences in the
Personnel Department of N. S. P. and many of his ideas on problems in the area
of Human Relations in the United States.
He closed his address by saying that the American of the 60's can be
considered as being in deep trouble or that you can consider the time as one of
great personal challenge, he preferred to consider it as the latter.
The meeting recessed at 9:15 P. M. and resumed at 9:27 P. M.
Following the recess Mr. Friestad answered specific questions from the
Commission members and those in attendance.
Motion by Eugene Sullivan and seconded by Marvin Stavig to adjourn the
meeting. The Human Rights Commission meeting adjourned at 10:22 P. M.
Those present at time of adjournment were: Jesse Sandoval, Mrs. Majel
Berg, Eugene Sullivan, Marvin Stavig, Leon Binger, Neil Smeaton, Floyd Anderson,
C ;harles Nichols, John Winkleman and Arthur Gustafson.
Se retary Chairman
0
-2-