North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

2004 Annual Report

The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition’s activities in 2004 followed the strategic plan developed by the NDHRC Board of Directors in April, 2004 and consisted of the following nine goals, with the accomplishments in 2004 for each goal:

(1) NDHRC is well known throughout the state, independent and self-supported with mixed public and private support.

At the end of 2004, the NDHRC had 64 individual members and 26 organizational members. The NDHRC staff consisted of two full-time employees, Cheryl Bergian, Director, and Andrea Warren-Deegan, Assistant Director.

The NDHRC participated in or presented to: (1) the Board of the North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium, (2) the Board of the North Dakota Fair Housing Council, (3) Inn of Court, Fargo, (4) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day panel at Concordia College, Moorhead, (5) planning the Building a Racially Inclusive Community Conference, Fargo (6) Seeking Education Equity and Diversity Summit, Fargo, (7) Talking GLBT with Others Training, Moorhead, (8) the North Dakota Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, (9) Brown Bag Seminar for Black History Month, NDSU, Fargo, (10) Central Dakota PFLAG, Bismarck (11) Bismarck-Mandan Board of Realtors Membership Luncheon, (12) Teaching Our Campuses Against Racism Training Group, NDSU, Fargo (13) Concordia College Social Work Students, Moorhead, (14) Listening Session Training with People Escaping Poverty Project and Cultural Diversity Resources, Fargo (15) NEW Leadership Women in Action Conference, Moorhead (16) Fargo Moorhead PRIDE 2004, (17) Fargo Human Relations Commission, (18) Northern Plains Conference on Aging & Disability, Fargo (19) North Dakota Public Employees Association meeting, Fargo (20) Equality North Dakota press conference against Measure #1 (anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment), Fargo (21) Partners Internship Program, Bismarck (22) UND Measure #1 Walkout, Grand Forks, (23) Bismarck Mandan PRIDE 2004.

The NDHRC increased its Board of Directors from 12 to 15 members, added board members from across the state, and increased the diversity of the Board of Directors. Information on the current Board of Directors is available at http://www.ndhrc.org/ndhrc_board%20&%20staff_bios.htm.

The NDHRC sponsored its second annual North Dakota Human Rights Network Conference, “Human Rights: Economic Impact of Discrimination,” a two-day conference attended by 84 people. Eleven organizations from across the state participated in the resource tables. Sponsorships were garnered from seven organizations and businesses.

The NDHRC participated in the Building Racially Inclusive Communities Conference sponsored by the Upper Midwest Regional Network of Race Relations and Racial Justice Organizations in Moorhead, May, 2004.

(2) Establish a Commission on Human Rights in North Dakota that includes all protected classes from the North Dakota Human Rights Act.

The NDHRC continued monitoring the adequacy of the enforcement of the North Dakota Human Rights Act through the Division of Human Rights in the North Dakota Department of Labor. The NDHRC requested action on the implementation of administrative rules for the operation of the Division of Human Rights, including a definition of reasonable cause for the determination of discrimination in a complaint. The Labor Commissioner began the process for issuing the administrative rules in March, 2004, but that process has not been completed. The NDHRC submitted comments to the North Dakota Department of Labor’s proposed administrative rules regarding the Division of Human Rights.

The Labor Commissioner, March Bachmeier, resigned his position in August, 2004. A new Labor Commissioner, Leann Bertsch was appointed in October, 2004. The NDHRC is in communication with the new Labor Commissioner on the unfinished activities of the Labor Department.

The NDHRC will pursue a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights in the 2005 legislative session, as well as a name change for the North Dakota Deportment of Labor to the “North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights.”

The NDHRC was a plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the North Dakota Department of Labor for failure to fulfill its mandated duties under the North Dakota Human Rights Act. The NDHRC was dismissed as a plaintiff, but the class action continues with individual plaintiffs; it is currently on appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court.

(3) Human rights in North Dakota will include more protected classes are in the current human rights act, including sexual orientation.

The NDRHC worked on raising the awareness of the lack of legal protection against discrimination for gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual residents and the need for the addition of sexual orientation/gender identity as a protected class in the North Dakota Human Rights Act through its website, media, and in public forums and presentations by the NDHRC.

The NDHRC obtained a grant to pay an intern for 400 hours of work in the summer of 2004 to document the experiences of those who experience discrimination in North Dakota, including discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Those experiences are posted on the NDHRC website and will be used in the advocacy of the NDHRC.

The NDHRC participated in the educational effort opposing Measure #1, the anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment (the amendment passed in the November election by 73% yes to 27% no).

(4) There are free-standing human relations commissions in North Dakota (at least one in each of the eight regions).

The NDHRC assisted in the creation of the Northwest Human Rights Alliance in three counties of northwest North Dakota.

The NDHRC has obtained a $2,000.00 grant from the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region to work on the creation of a Grand Forks Human Relations Commission.

The NDHRC did a presentation to approximately 25 people in Minot regarding the creation of a local human relations commission.

Cheryl Bergian, Director of the NDHRC, is a member of the Fargo Human Relations Commission and past-chair of that commission.

(5) There is an increase in number of women, people of color & people with disabilities in leadership positions in the legislature and in local and state government.

The NDHRC coordinated its efforts in this area with the North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium and the North Dakota Progressive Coalition. The NDRHC worked on continuing to raise awareness of the lack of diversity in state and local government through its website, media, and in public forums and presentations by the NDHRC. The NDHRC encouraged the Governor to appoint women to district court vacancies. The new Labor Commissioner is a woman.

The NDHRC participated on the steering committee for the National Education for Women’s Leadership Development Institute in May, 2004, in which approximately 35 women from the region attended a 5-day residential program designed to teach participants about participation in politics and policymaking.

The NDHRC sends a weekly e-mail newsletter, titled the NDHRC PAUR Report (Programs, Announcements, Updates and Resources) to approximately 250 recipients. The Report includes announcements regarding human rights events, newspaper articles from around the state, and information from other organizations. The NDHRC maintains a calendar of events on its website, www.ndhrc.org, and the PAUR Report is archived on that site.

The NDHRC is participating in the Teaching Our Campuses Against Racism (TOCAR) group at North Dakota State University, Fargo, with the goal of working with TOCAR to establish TOCAR groups on the other university and college campuses in the state.

(8) Support the sovereignty of Tribal Nations and address human rights issues in Indian Country through various avenues, including encouraging North Dakota Schools to change their Native American mascots and logos.