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09-25-19 HRC Agenda REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Attendance/Roll Call 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Approval of Minutes August 27, 2019 regular meeting minutes 5. Old Business A. Day of Service Recap B. Bill Hobbs Award Nominations Update C. Racially Restrictive Covenants Update D. Conversion Therapy Ban Update 6. New Business 7. Adjournment September 25, 2019 – 5:30 pm Basset Creek Room Brookview Golden Valley 316 Brookview Parkway S. REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:34 pm by Chair Mitchell. Roll Call Commissioners present: Maurice Harris, Carrie Yeager, Jonathan Burris, Eve Clarkson, Chris Mitchell, Kyle Scott, Destiny Nathan, and Teresa Martin Commissioners absent: Leah Persky Staff present: Kirsten Santelices, Human Resources Director Approval of Agenda MOTION by Commissioner Burris to approve agenda with addition to new business: “Arts and Music Festival.” Seconded by Commissioner Scott. Motion carried 8-0. Approval of May Regular Meeting Minutes MOTION by Commissioner Scott to approve the July 23, 2019 regular meeting minutes as amended. Seconded by Commissioner Harris. Motion carried 8-0. Day of Service Planning Staff shared that the Commissioners who showed interest in the Day of Service clean- up at Sochacki park were all able to meet on Saturday, September 7. The Commissioners agreed that 10 am – 12 pm would be the best time. Chair Mitchell will determine a meeting space and email Staff to share with all Commissioners. Staff reminded the Commission that a Volunteer Form is required to participate. The Commission briefly discussed the second part of the Day of Service recognition, the PRISM drive. Commissioner Scott will drop off bins on September 9 at Brookview, City Hall, and the Public Safety building. Staff will provide the signs and the bins will remain on location until Friday, September 13. Commissioner Scott will also contact PRISM to determine the best day/time to drop off the collected items. Staff will share that information with the Commission so all who would like to participate in the drop-off. Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia, and Hate Event Update Commissioner Harris reminded the Commission that the event is scheduled for September 25 at Brookview. Santelices shared that the event program would remain as it was submitted by Ellen Kennedy from the World Without Genocide. Ellen recommended asking a holocaust survivor to speak at a separate event, as to not take anything away from the words of the survivor. Santelices will send out the marketing materials and any links to social media postings and the website to promote the event. Chair Mitchell stated that the Robbinsdale HRC reached out to ask if the GV Commission was interested in co- sponsoring an event on the equal rights amendment. Chair Mitchell asked if they were interested in August 27, 2019 – 6:30 pm Council Conference Room Golden Valley City Hall 7800 Golden Valley Road City of Golden Valley Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes August 27, 2019 – 6:30 pm 2 cosponsoring the Anti-Semitism event, and will report back with their response. Commissioner Harris will reach out to CCX media to see if they have interest in recording the presentation. Santelices shared that Commissioners could consider Facebook Livestreaming if they wanted to! Santelices will also reach out to Commissioner Persky to determine if the New Hope HRC had interest in co-sponsoring as well. Why Treaties Matter Update Commissioner Martin shared that Melanie from MIAC would meet Commissioner Martin and staff would set up the display at Brookview at 10:30am on October 1. Commissioner Martin further shared that the Golden Valley library will share a display related to treaties and Native American culture. Santelices will work with the Communications department to create the handout. Communications will use the template from the Green Card Youth Voices exhibit. Commissioner Martin will also provide the library with one of the large exhibit brochures. The exhibit will be there for one month, in the same place as the Green Card Youth Voices Exhibit. Commissioner Martin will coordinate the take-down. Santelices shared other opportunities to engage with the library that were forwarded by Gail from the GV library. Santelices will forward to all individuals on the Commission, and staff will note on a future agenda for the Commission to discuss opportunities to engage with the library on a variety of topics, including possibly inviting Sylvia Kaplan, and the equal rights amendment event. Bill Hobbs Award Update Santelices shared that there have not been any nominations. Commissioners discussed whether or not they should reach out to previous nominators to ask them to consider resubmitting. Santelices shared that the nomination criteria had been advertised on social media and the City’s website, and a press release had been sent to local media. Commissioner Martin asked about whether or not a company or organization could be nominated. The Commission reviewed the nomination criteria, and determined it could be done. The Commission members also discussed whether or not to postpone the deadline. Commission agreed to not postpone. MOTION by Scott to reach out to previous nominators to let them know they can re- nominate. Seconded by Clarkson. Motion carried 8-0. Racially Restrictive Covenants Discussion Chair Mitchell introduced community members Maria and Miguel Cisneros and invited them to the table to present. Ms. Cisneros provided a background on the topic, as to what a racially restrictive covenant is, and the provided a copy of the racially restrictive covenant that is listed on their deed. Mr. Cisneros shared the negative impact this had on their desire to purchase a home in Golden Valley. Ms. Cisneros further shared history of restrictive covenants and how cities had created and advertised for housing that included these covenants as a benefit to purchasing a home in particular areas. This resulted in designed exclusionary housing. The presentation included visiting the Mapping Prejudice website, which shows a map of the twin cities area and all of the homes and areas that a racially restrictive covenant has been identified. Ms. Cisneros went through a legal timeline of racially restrictive covenants, sharing that that they became unenforceable in 1948 and explicitly illegal in 1968. In 2019 the Minnesota State City of Golden Valley Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes August 27, 2019 – 6:30 pm 3 Legislature passed a law allowing home owners to reject racially restrictive covenants, which is why the Cisneros’ decided to reach out to the Commission. Ms. Cisneros gave the Commission an overview of the two kinds of titles (Torrens and Abstract), and what the process is for rejecting racially restrictive covenants for each type of title. The Cisneros’ provided suggestions on how the Human Rights Commission can get involved in this work, including sharing the information with the community, providing tools for people to find out if they have a restrictive covenant, and how they can reject it, and documenting the process to show how the people and neighborhoods came together to reject these from their titles. The Commission all agreed that they would like to engage in this work, and discussed potential tools to move forward. The Commission agreed they would like to work with Ms. Cisneros to develop programming and education for the community. Santelices recommended that the Commission create a subcommittee to present to the City Council for approval, as this needs approval from Council. Community member, Katie Long asked to speak, sharing that she would want to know what the Council needs to know about this topic in order to say yes. Ms. Long shared that as a person of color this has a profound impact on her, and her neighborhood agrees. Community member Dorothy Nadosy was present at the meeting and shared Ms. Long’s sentiments. Chair Mitchell created a subcommittee, which includes Commissioners Scott, Harris, Yeager, and Mitchell. The subcommittee will work with Ms. Cisneros to develop a proposal for City Council and bring forth to the September 25 HRC for full Commission input. Santelices will send the PowerPoint presentation to the entire Commission. Conversion Therapy Ban Discussion Commissioner Burris shared an article from the Star Tribune on the City of Superior Wisconsin‘s ban of conversion therapy. Commissioner Burris would like the Commission and the City to consider this as well. Commissioner Burris stated that if the City did this, it would be the first in Minnesota to have passed such an ordinance. Discussed proposing a recommendation of consideration of ordinance in Minnesota that bans conversion therapy. Youth commissioners shared that they have experienced stories of individuals who have been in conversion therapy. Chair created a subcommittee to research and develop a proposal to the Council on an ordinance that “bans conversion therapy within the city for individuals age 18 and under and vulnerable adults.” The subcommittee members are Commissioners Burris, Scott, Martin, and Clarkson. Commissioner Scott is City of Golden Valley Human Rights Commission Regular Meeting Minutes August 27, 2019 – 6:30 pm 4 subcommittee chair. The subcommittee will discuss and have proposed language for the September 25 HRC meeting. Arts and Music Festival Commissioner Martin asked if the Commission wanted to have space at the upcoming Arts and Music Festival. The Commission discussed and decided not this year, but should consider in the future. Adjourn MOTION by Commissioner Harris to adjourn. Seconded by Commissioner Martin. Motion carried by unanimous consent. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 pm. ________________________________ Chris Mitchell, Chair ATTEST: _________________________________ Kirsten Santelices, Staff Liaison Respectfully submitted, Kirsten Santelices, Staff Liaison