North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights

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~North Dakota Human Rights Coalition PAUR Report~

Visit our Website at www.ndhrc.org

December 8, 2003

Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources

Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!

In this week’s PAUR Report:

Announcements

1)   Nominations Sought for Fargo Human Relations Awards

2)   North Dakota Progressive Coalition Hiring Full-time Community Organizer

3)   NDHRC Web Site Calendar of Events for December

Newspaper Articles

4)   Bismarck Tribune, Better identify real school problem

5)   Bismarck Tribune, Christianity short in letter

6)   The Forum (Fargo), David Danbom column: Marriage, gay or not, is a contract

7)   The Forum (Fargo), McGuire: Truth in some charges

8)   The Forum (Fargo), Women suing Fargo diocese

Events

9)   Fargo-Moorhead Area Amnesty International Greeting Cards Signing, December 20, Fargo

Reminders

10) Prison Prevention & Protection Advocacy Meeting, December 11, Bismarck

11) Ford Foundation Program Recognizes Community Leaders

12) “Stolen Dreams” Open House, Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorhead, MN

13) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies” 2003 Series (Various Locations in ND and MN)

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Announcements

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1.) Nominations Sought for Fargo Human Relations Awards

FARGO, N.D. (November 6, 2003) - The City of Fargo Human Relations Commission is seeking nominations for its Human Relations Awards.  The awards will be presented at an annual event honoring the life, work and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 19, 2004. 

Human Relations Award recipients will be selected on the basis of commitment to human relations, leadership by example in the area of human rights and creative and/or non-traditional methods to improve human relations.  Three awards will be presented -- individual adult, individual youth and organization.  To nominate an individual or organization, please answer the following questions and provide specific examples of the activities and/or programs the person or organization is involved in:

Nominations should be submitted no later than Dec. 22, 2003 to the Fargo Human Relations Commission, 200 N 3^rd Street, Fargo, ND 58102 or e-mail at planning@ci.fargo.nd.us.  For more information or a nomination form, please contact Dan Mahli at 476-4144 or dmmahli@ci.fargo.nd.us.  The nomination form is also available on the City's website at www.cityoffargo.com/Planning/HRC. 

The mission of the Fargo Human Relations Commission is to promote acceptance and respect for diversity and discourage discrimination.

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2.) North Dakota Progressive Coalition Hiring Full-time Community Organizer

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT:
The North Dakota Progressive Coalition is hiring a full-time community organizer in the Minot area. Qualifications include strong communication skills, ability to work independently and as part of a team with a diversity of people, and commitment to progressive social and economic justice. The position will organize low- and moderate-income people in the Minot area to advocate for themselves for economic and social justice and work with a local progressive network on its campaign for economic justice. The NDPC is a statewide coalition of 31 member organizations working to build connections among diverse communities for progressive economic and social justice. The community organizer will report to the Executive Director. The NDPC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

For more information regarding the position contact Don Morrison, North Dakota Progressive Coalition at 701-224-8090.

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3.) NDHRC Web Site Calendar of Events for December

Visit our December web site calendar for information on monthly statewide human rights related activities and events.  We welcome your input and comments.

Please send us your news and events for the calendar to humanrights@ndhrc.org.

View the NDHRC web site here

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Newspaper Articles

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4.) Bismarck Tribune, Better identify real school problem

Better identify real school problem
By Rick Becker, Bismarck

Bismarck Tribune – 11/30/2003

The Nov. 11 story about the Bismarck School Board's commitment to raising the achievement of Indian kids is concerning. Cheryl Longfeather and the board deserve respect for actively working to change what is seen as a problem. Unfortunately, I see a potential disaster looming.

A pillar in their framework of change is the concept of the need to hire more Indian teachers. Qualified Indian teachers should already be hired like their non-Indian counterparts. If not, it is a serious infraction of equal rights that should be dealt with immediately.

On the other hand, specifically hiring a greater number of teachers based on their race is obviously racism and should never be instituted. Assistant Superintendent Rick Buresh states that Indian children "look around at the people working with them and they don't see anyone who looks like them." The concept of needing more "same-looking" teachers for students to achieve is highly suspect. If this were true, we would expect all sorts of students to be struggling academically -- Koreans, East Indians, blacks, Filipinos, albinos, redheads, etc.

Next, the task force is looking to minimize the effects of poverty, mobility and substance abuse. This is good, but don't leave out the non-Indian kids who have the same problems. If the concern is valid, it is valid for all races.

<snip>

View full article here

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5.) Bismarck Tribune, Christianity short in letter

Christianity short in letter
By Paul Everson, Bismarck

Bismarck Tribune – 11/30/2003

I cannot believe Craig S. Perry ("No more Christian nation," Letters, Nov. 23) confuses himself as a Christian. In his intolerant, hate-filled venom about gays, he strikes upon many falacies. Attitudes like his give Christianity a bad name.

When are people in his camp going to grant people their constitutional rights? He uses the Bible to justify his intolorence, much the same as people used to use it to justify slavery, refusing women the right to vote, etc.

It always amazes me that people pick and choose their interpetation of the Bible to act in a manner totally anathema to what Christ would have wanted. Try doing unto others.

Why would a person choose a gay lifestyle? So they can be treated in a hateful manner by these pseudo-Christians?

Christ's love is unconditional. People have been and will continue to be genetically disposed to be attracted to people of the same sex. It is a genetic component of biology, not some deviant behavior. I've known gay people who tried to date members of the opposite sex, and they all have told me that it is too painful to not be honest with their God-granted self.

<snip>

View full article here

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6.) The Forum (Fargo), David Danbom column: Marriage, gay or not, is a contract

David Danbom column: Marriage, gay or not, is a contract
The Forum - 11/30/2003

In response to the recent decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court that the state could not prohibit gay couples from marrying, President Bush vowed to defend marriage as “a sacred institution between a man and a woman.”

I suppose we should not be surprised to see this sort of spin from an administration that implied a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9-11 attacks, or that suggested the Iraqis were on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, but it is indeed disheartening to witness such abysmal ignorance of the fundamental nature of American law demonstrated by the man who leads the country.

The Massachusetts decision has nothing to do with whether gays should enjoy the sacrament of marriage -- an issue that properly belongs to the churches -- but whether they should be able to make a marriage contract. Because that’s what marriage is and has always been in the United States -- a legal contract -- no more and no less.

Look at North Dakota, for example. I think we can all agree that our state is one of the Godliest in the union, but we entitle that portion of the Century Code dealing with marriage the “marriage contract.”

<snip>

View full article here

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7.) The Forum (Fargo), McGuire: Truth in some charges

McGuire: Truth in some charges
By Dave Forster
The Forum - 12/02/2003

A Cass County judge accused of making sexual advances to his female staff said Monday there is truth to some of the 14 charges a state disciplinary board filed against him.

Michael McGuire, a district judge for Cass, Steele and Traill counties since 1979, said courthouse employees may have misinterpreted his conduct, though he called some of the allegations against him “false fabrication.”

“I must take full responsibility for those that ring true,” McGuire, 62, said in a prepared statement to the media.

North Dakota’s Judicial Conduct Commission on Monday released the list of charges, which range from asking a clerk to sleep with him to touching a secretary’s cheek. The allegations came from seven women, including Deputy Court Clerk Linda Weaver, who schedules cases for the district’s eight judges.

“I’m relieved that some of the inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment has finally been made public,” Weaver said Monday after reading the charges. “A number of us have been in an extremely stressful situation for a very long time.”

<snip>

View full article here

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8.) The Forum (Fargo), Women suing Fargo diocese

Woman suing Fargo diocese
By Lisa Schneider
The Forum - 12/04/2003

A Fargo woman is suing the Fargo Catholic Diocese for sexual discrimination, saying she was fired for getting pregnant and having a child out of wedlock.

The diocese says it didn’t fire Melissa M. Enebo for getting pregnant, but rather for continuing to live with the child’s father after the diocese told her to stop.

If Enebo had been married when she got pregnant, she wouldn’t have been fired, says Robert Schultz, Enebo’s lawyer, in civil court documents filed Nov. 25 in Cass County District Court.

Enebo became pregnant in 1998 and was fired in June 1999. Schultz didn’t return The Forum’s phone calls, so he couldn’t explain why the suit was filed four years later. Enebo could not be reached for comment.

The diocese says in court records that Enebo repeatedly and knowingly violated the church’s teachings and diocesan employment policies by living with a man out of wedlock.

Enebo also violated North Dakota state law, which prohibits unmarried couples from living together, writes Benjamin Thomas, a lawyer representing the diocese.

But North Dakota law says employers can’t fire someone based on their marital status, Schultz writes.

<snip>

View full article here

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Events

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9.) Fargo-Moorhead Area Amnesty International Greeting Cards Signing, December 20, Fargo

Fargo-Moorhead Area Amnesty International will be signing non-religious greeting cards for international political prisoners and human rights organizations, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2:00-3:30 p.m., at Nativity Catholic Church.  Everyone is invited to send uplifting words to some very isolated people.  Please stop by and enjoy cookies and hot beverages with us.  Happy holidays!

For more information contact Reggie Windham, Group Coordinator, Fargo-Moorhead Area Amnesty International at 701-235-4265.

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Reminders

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10.) Prison Prevention & Protection Advocacy Meeting, December 11^th, Bismarck

Prison Prevention & Protection Advocacy will be meeting for families, friends, and spouses this December 11, 2003, 10:00 am-4:00 pm at the Bismarck Public Library.

For additional information contact Joyce at Northern Plains Outreach via email at npo@riverjordan.com or at (701) 223-9601 or (888) 276-0497.

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11.) Ford Foundation Program Recognizes Community Leaders

Deadline: January 6, 2004

A program of the Ford Foundation (http://www.fordfound.org/ ), Leadership for a Changing World seeks to recognize, strengthen, and support leaders and to highlight the  importance of community leadership in improving people's lives.

Each year, the program recognizes U.S. leaders and leadership groups not broadly known beyond their immediate community or field. Nominated community leaders may work in fields that include economic development; community development; environment and environmental justice; human rights; citizen participation and government accountability; human development; sexual and reproductive health; education reform; youth development; religion and social change; arts and social action; and access to media, including new technologies.

Awardees receive $100,000 over two years to support their programs or new work that is related to the initiatives for which they are being recognized. In addition, awardees receive $15,000 to explore new learning opportunities that support their work and are asked to participate in shared learning and networking opportunities and contribute to research and public discourse on leadership. Funds will be made available to the awardees' nonprofit charitable organizations or fiscal agents.

To be eligible for the program, nominees must be working on social justice issues; working in organizations that are not considered grantmaking foundations; U.S. residents working on domestic issues; leaders who are not widely known outside their immediate community or field; involved in the area for which they are being nominated for at least four years; nominated by someone other than a family member, a board member, a staff member, or a consultant for the nominee's organization; and leaders with clear evidence of ongoing community collaboration.

For complete program information and nomination guidelines, see the program's Web site at http://leadershipforchange.org/.
 

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12.) “Stolen Dreams” Open House, Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, Moorhead, MN

"Stolen Dreams" (October 11, 2003? – December 22, 2003) is an exhibition of 70 contemporary photographs by occupational health physician Dr. David L. Parker.  Dr. Parkers shows in very real, moving photographs that the issues of child labor is not one of the past, but one that is affecting the entire world community - including the United States.

"My project can never be completed" says Parker, "what exists is too vast to be seen or documented fully, but it is too important to ignore."

For more information about Stolen Dreams visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/gallery/intro.html.

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13.) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies” 2003 Series (Various Locations in ND and MN)

Presentation Peace Studies has an excellent series of forum speakers for the coming year. Please mark your calendars and more information will be forthcoming this fall! 

Jan. 23, 2004 - "What Is a Peace Church?" Dr. Gerald Schlabach, St. Thomas U., St. Paul

Feb. 27, 2004 - "What Does My Faith Call Me to in Violent Times?" Panel of three: B'hai, Quaker, Muslim

Mar. 26, 2004 - "Jesus against Christianity" Dr. Jack Nelsonp-:Pallmeyer, St. Thomas U., St. Paul

April 30 & May 1, 2003 - "Receding Violence, Reseeding the Earth - Harmony in the Web of Life" Helen Prejean and Marya Grathwohl

View additional information here

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***Member Reminder***

Please keep us in mind for your group or church social action/social justice meetings! We’d be happy to provide a presentation at a meeting or provide newsletter articles for your organizations.

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Do you have a Program, Announcement, Update or Resource that you would like shared on our weekly PAUR report? If so, please send an email to AndreaDeegan@NDHRC.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.

If you are not yet a member of NDHRC, what are you waiting for?  Sign up now!  The membership form is available on line at http://ndhrc.org/membership_form_revised.htm.

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If you have received this email in error, or would like to be removed From the PAUR Report mailing list, please send an email to AndreaDeegan@NDHRC.org for immediate assistance.

North Dakota Human Rights Coalition

P.O. Box 1961

Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961

Phone: (701) 239-9323

Fax: (701) 478-4452                                                                                                                         

Email:  humanrights@ndhrc.org

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