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 Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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Programs Announcements Updates Resources January 16, 2002 Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition! In this week's PAUR Report:
********************************************* 1.) Legislative Forums - Sponsored by the League of Women Voters and F-M Chamber of Commerce The League of Women Voters/Fargo-Moorhead Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring legislative forums on the following dates. This is your opportunity to let your state legislators know what is important to you on the laws that they are considering in this legislative session and to find out what is important to them. Mark your calendars; we'll have questions ready for you to ask on support for the proposed North Dakota Commission on Human Rights and other progressive issues! (More information on the proposed North Dakota Commission on Human Rights is available at http://www.ndhrc.org/fact_sheets.htm. Fargo Area At Fargo City Commission Room City Hall 200 3rd St. North - Fargo Time: 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
West Fargo Area At: Room 112c West Fargo High School 801 9th St. E. - West Fargo Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
********************************************* 2.) Fargo Human Relations Commission Endorsement and Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration On Monday, January 20, the Fargo Human Relations Commission will be bringing a recommendation to the Fargo City Commission to endorse passage of a bill to establish a Human Rights Commission in the state of North Dakota. This past week the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition made a presentation to the Fargo Human Relations Commission noting that the Division of Human Rights, within the Department of Labor, has not been satisfactorily responsive to human rights needs within the state of North Dakota. See Forum article today (Sunday, January 12). The City Commission begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall. On that same date, the second annual Martin Luther King, Jr Fargo celebration will be held at the Fargo Theater, beginning at 7 p.m. The NDSU Black Students Association will be presenting excerpts from Dr. King's speeches, along with actual film footage of Dr. King's "I have a Dream" speech. The Trollwood Performing Arts School Multicultural Children's Choir will be performing and Human Rights Awards will be presented to: Individual: Mark Schneider; Organization: Charism Center; youth: Ryan Thoreson. Come and help celebrate this important occasion in our community. It is free and open to the public. ********************************************* 3.) North Dakota Peace Coalition Organizes Pro-Peace Demonstration The North Dakota Peace Coalition is organizing a: PRO - PEACE DEMONSTRATION MONDAY, JANUARY 20 - MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY NOON - 1 P.M. IN FRONT OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING (POST OFFICE) 657 2ND AVE N, FARGO Please bring pro-peace, anti-war signs. We recommend "Say No To War With Iraq" and variations on this theme. Let's honor peace and social justice in the world in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! A number of you have inquired about lawn signs with this message. The NDPC is having 20 signs made, but they won't be ready until 2 weeks from now (delay with silk-screening, etc.). The basic cost of the sign we are setting at $7 each. Of course, if you are moved to donate even more money, we will accept it! If you are interested in reserving a lawn sign (blue background, white text, 18" x 24", with the additional words "Call Congress Now", "North Dakota Peace Coalition, ndpeacecoalition@yahoo.com "), let me know via email. First come, first served, and I reserve the first sign for myself! Please feel free to spread this announcement to your friends, family and neighbors! Peacefully yours, Lisa Brown, president North Dakota Peace Coalition peacelab@i29.net ********************************************* 4.) Amnesty International USA Update on Iraq Amnesty International: Update On Iraq The human rights of the people of Iraq, and the lives of many others in the region and around the world, remain in the balance. Amnesty International continues to monitor developments and is actively preparing to respond to any increase in human rights violations. In a letter to members published in the winter edition of Amnesty Now, Irene Kahn, Amnesty International's Secretary General, and Paul Hoffman, Chair of AI's International Executive Committee, explain the organization's policy on war, human rights violations and Iraq. The full text can be read at: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=467891&l=1999 As thousands of people prepare to demonstrate on January 18 in Washington DC to voice their concerns about the possibility of war on Iraq, Amnesty International will participate in the demonstration to speak out against the mass human rights abuses associated with war and military conflict. Amnesty International members and supporters will focus on our demand that the United States government act in accordance with human rights law, humanitarian law, and commit to not use inherently indiscriminate weapons. For information on pre-protest organizing and to join Amnesty International at the demonstration, contact Eric Sears at esears@aiusa.org Amnesty International current and archive of reports on Iraq is at: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/ctt.asp?u=467891&l=2000 ********************************************* 5.) Human Rights Center at UM Sponsors Human Rights Fellowship Grants Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship Grants 2003 The Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota is accepting applications for fellowship grants to residents of the Upper Midwest--including students, teachers, lawyers, other professionals, community leaders, activists and others-to undertake practical experience in human rights organizations. The Fellowship Program is designed to promote human rights by providing practical training in the varied aspects of human rights work worldwide. The fellowship placement should provide both training for the individual and assistance to the organization." The University of Minnesota Human Rights Center Fellowship Program also fosters links between communities in the Upper Midwest and communities and human rights organizations around the world. Therefore, participants will act as human rights ambassadors of their work after the fellowship appointment, by bringing human rights concerns back to their communities in the Upper Midwest. Grant details: * Awards are competitive; approximately twenty grants will be awarded for the 2003 program. * Fellowships should be a minimum of 10 weeks in duration * Grants will ordinarily range from $1,000 to $4,500, averaging about $3,200 and are intended to cover travel and living expenses incurred during the fellowship experience. * Applications must be received by March 3, 2003 at 4:00pm * Decisions will be made by March 31, 2003 For more information and an application, please check out our website at http://www.hrusa.org/field/fellowships/uppermidwest.shtm If you have more questions after reviewing our website, feel free to contact us at (612) 626-0041 or via email at humanrts@umn.edu Human Rights Center University of Minnesota 229 19th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 Phone: (612) 626-0041 Fax: (612) 625-2011 E-mail: humanrts@umn.edu Web-site: www.hrusa.org or www.umn.edu/humanrts ********************************************* 6.) Bismarck Tribune Article: Lawmakers Question Labor Commissioner Lawmakers question labor commissioner By DEENA WINTER, Bismarck Tribune http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2003/01/13/news/local/nws4.txt State lawmakers questioned the state labor commissioner Monday as to why so many discrimination complaints remain unresolved, and why so many of them have no "probable cause" finding, in which there's not enough evidence to substantiate the allegations. The House and Senate judiciary committees questioned state Labor Commissioner Mark Bachmeier during a joint session in which he delivered a mandatory report on discrimination complaints received by his department under the state Human Rights Act and Housing Discrimination Act. The Division of Human Rights is a division of the Labor Department. Last year, 191 discrimination complaints were filed with the state, and 128 of them remain open cases. Sen. Carolyn Nelson, D-Fargo, asked why. Bachmeier said those are pending cases still under investigation, but he said his department has worked hard to close cases, particularly in the past six months. He said by the end of March, the department hopes to have no case more than a year old. "Human Rights cases very often are cases that take a great deal of time," Bachmeier said. He said North Dakota's caseload issues pale in comparison to other states, where backlogs are common and cases can age up to seven years. Rep. Andy Maragos, R-Minot, asked Bachmeier to do some research to compare the number of no probable cause cases in North Dakota to other states. In an interview later, Bachmeier said he is confident that all discrimination complaints are being investigated thoroughly. "Sometimes evidence is just hard to come by," Bachmeier said. He said although he hasn't done a comprehensive exam of other states' statistics, those he has looked at have similar percentages of "no probable cause" dispositions. He said the vast majority of discrimination cases also are filed with a federal agency, and those agencies have given his department "tremendously positive feedback." But the director of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, Cheryl Bergian, told the panel of lawmakers that discrimination complaints are not being adequately handled, and that a state Human Rights Commission should be created to help address their concerns. She cited several examples where she said the Division of Human Rights has been slow to respond to requests, suggestions and questions. Specifically, she said the division has never responded to a request that an advisory committee be established, never released the results of a statewide survey to gauge the nature and extent of discrimination in North Dakota (until Monday), and has an poor system for making complaints. In an interview later, Bergian said the coalition asked in June 2001 that an advisory committee be created, and has received no response "despite repeated requests." She said the coalition repeatedly asked that the results of a December 2001 survey be released to the public. She said Bachmeier has been promising to improve the complaint intake process with a new computer program for a year and a half. And she said he never delivered a promised press release to let Fargo people know that discrimination complaints were being taken in person in Fargo one day per month. Bachmeier said the Human Rights Division has concentrated on establishing a good case management system for receiving and investigating complaints, and Bergian doesn't seem to recognize how much work is involved in that. "I think maybe there are times when I don't move as quickly as she would like but certainly it's not an intent to be unresponsive to their concerns," he said. "It has simply been a case of not being able to do everything at one time." Bachmeier said he thinks things are going "exceedingly well." "It's clear that people think maybe we should have prioritized some things differently and I don't happen to agree with that," he said. "We certainly recognize the need for us to do some additional work in some areas but we've prioritized things appropriately." The coalition also is concerned about the number of cases in which no "probable cause" to believe the discrimination occurred. As an example, Bergian described a Minot case in which no "probable cause" was found when a landlord who had made several derogatory statements about blacks raised a black couple's rent and made them get rid of a therapeutic dog. She said if a Human Rights Commission were in place, an appeal would be possible. As it is, the only recourse is going to court. Bachmeier said he stands behind the outcome of that case, which was one of the first housing discrimination cases his office handled. He said HUD also investigated the case, and came to the same conclusion. "We have much to do but we certainly have come a very, very long way," Bachmeier said. (Reach Deena Winter at 223-8482 or deenawinter@ndonline.com.) ********************************************* ***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. ********************************************* 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 LesaCaskey@NDHRC.org and we will do our best to accommodate you. If you are not a member of NDHRC yet, what are you waiting for? Sign up now! On-line or by mail, it's all set at: http://www.ndhrc.org/membership.htm Not getting the PAUR Report directly in your email? It's so easy to be added to the PAUR mailing list! Email HumanRights@NDHRC.org 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 LesaCaskey@NDHRC.org for immediate assistance. |
