Minutes_Human Rights Commission 4 10 17 DUBUQUE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES OF
April 10, 2017
Commissioner Allen called the meeting of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission to order at
4:31 p.m. on Monday, April 10, 2017, at the City Hall Annex, 1300 Main Street, Conference Room
ll, Dubuque, Iowa.
Roll Call:
Present: Anthony Allen, Chair Jay Schiesl, Vice Chair
Indigo Channing Adrienne Scott
Fred Davis Shirley Templeton Vaughn
Kate Parks
Absent: Miquel Jackson Sarah Fisher
Staff: Kelly Larson Carol Spinoso
Reflections: Upcoming Events:
Central Avenue Corridor Initiate: The City launched this initiative to engage residents to plan for
revitalization of the Central Avenue Corridor from 15th to 22nd Street. They are working with the
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to assist with outreach and community engagement
efforts. There was a concern about the TH article and mention of eliminating slum and blight, and
transforming rental units into single family homes, especially when they are trying to address
housing issues in this area.
Imagine Dubuque is hosting a Social and Cultural Vibrancy Workshop at The Smokestack on April
19th at 6:00 p.m. The interactive sessions will focus on community knowledge, green buildings,
healthy local food and health and safety.
The Minority Unemployment and Outreach Committee is hosting a 90-minute listening tour at
Steeple Square, April 20 at 5:00 p.m. Information gained from this conversation will help the
committee align their strategic plan.
Inclusive Dubuque is cosponsoring a 2-day equity learning opportunity facilitated by Dr. Jennifer
Harvey on April 28 and 29. Downtown Dubuque Christian Outreach will be sponsoring the
showing of the documentary "I am Not Your Negro" at Mindframe, April 27 at 7:00— 9:00 p.m.
The next Inclusive Dubuque Community Conversation will be held May 2 at 6:00 p.m. at Steeple
Square.
Commissioner Davis has joined a YMCA funded Eliminating Racism and Social Justice Task
Force. They are currently in the planning stages and will be looking at dialogue from Inclusive
Dubuque prior to planning action steps.
The Pride Festival/Picnic is schedule for June 11, 2017. More information will be provided as the
event nears.
The Juneteenth Celebration is scheduled for June 17, 2017 at Comiskey Park.
The Better Together Dubuque will be held in September.
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Approval of Minutes:
Commissioner Schiesl moved to approve the meeting minutes of March 13, 2017. Commissioner
Davis seconded. All in favor of approving the minutes as submitted. Commissioners Parks and
Channing abstained.
Reports:
Caseload Report
The March 2017 Caseload Report was received and filed.
Chairperson Report
The Iowa Black Caucus will be holding a town hall meeting at the Dream Center April 151H
DCPRC—Anthony attended a meeting with signatories. They discussed training for the
DCPRC, disciplinary precautions in relation to both committee members and Police staff,
and training for city management staff because of the addendum to the MOU which added
the Community City Relations Committee.
NAACP—The Bowl-A-Thon is scheduled for April 22 from 12 —4 p.m. at Cherry Lanes.
Registration is available on the NAACP facebook page.
Anthony participated on a panel discussion at Mindframe following the showing of the
movie 13." He also participated in the Fountain of Youth event. He met with David, the
Director of the Dubuque Art Museum, to discuss the possibility of partnering to bring a
nation-wide event entitled "Question Bridge" here to Dubuque. He and David also had a
conversation about having Iowa Humanities come to Dubuque to give a presentation to
Police and the minority community on how to better dialogue about racial relations between
citizens and law enforcement authorities.
Iowa Access to Justice —Anthony serves on the Public Outreach Programming Committee.
They are looking at enhancing resources at public libraries, and are looking into hosting
expungement events throughout Iowa.
The Tri-State Islamic Center invites the community to attend the grand opening of the
Mosque, Saturday, April 22 from 3 — 5 p.m. at 4980 Radford Ct, Dubuque.
Director's Report
Written quarterly report was received and filed. The summary of resident responses to the
Civil Engagement Survey was distributed. They will be moving forward with scheduling
training based on those survey results.
Old Business:
New Business:
Set Date for Goal Setting
Goal setting is scheduled for Saturday, August 19 from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. Staff will confirm
a facilitator and location.
Standing Items: Goals
Goal 1: Research, illuminate and eliminate disparities and increase cultural competencies
in education, housing, and employment. Initiatives identified.
Commissioner Scheisl reported that the subcommittee is trying to determine whether a
shared equity coordinator would be of value to the DCSD and the City. Shirley Horstman
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and Mae Hingtgen from the School District were present at the last meeting and indicated
that the Human Resources Director and Mae share equity responsibilities in the District.
The five schools in downtown Dubuque; Audubon, Prescott, Marshall, Fulton, and Lincoln,
are some of the lowest ranked schools in the State of Iowa relating to reading scores. In
addition to that, there are high percentages of students who are eligible for free and
reduced price lunches in those schools. The representatives from the school district felt
they just didn't have enough resources to deal with all of the other issues that influence
students' lives. AmeriCorp workers are working to provide mentoring and reading with kids,
and the St. Mark Center, the Dream Center, BMC, and other groups are working in this
area as well.
From the housing side, the downtown area is where the affordable housing is centralized,
and where families are most in need, and this needs to be addressed. Commissioner
Schiesl will advocate for this particular goal to continue on to the next year. At next
month's meeting, the group will be reviewing various job descriptions looking at what equity
coordinator positions look like in other areas of the country.
Commissioner Schiesl reported that he had attended the Inclusive Dubuque Education
Working Group meeting, and this group is focusing on bringing some multicultural training
to Dubuque to train 5 or 6 people, so that they can provide training to community members.
Goal 2: Continue to improve communication within and among community groups to
improve human rights initiatives.
Commissioner Channing reviewed the meeting minutes from the March 29th subcommittee
meeting. As part of the subcommittee, Rachel Ferraro was present to report on her findings
after meeting with the Police Department as well as leaders in the religious communities as
to whether gay conversion therapy is an issue in the community. She stated that there is
no evidence that this is occurring in our community through those groups. Data is needed
for the Dubuque community, so it was suggested that subcommittee members contact the
GSA groups and social workers in the schools, and the LGBTQ groups that meets at the
MFC. Commissioner Channing will work with Nino in creating a needs assessment survey
that they can distribute at the Pride picnic in June.
Shirley announced that Resource Unit is holding their Outstanding Volunteer Awards night
on June 1. She asked for commissioner support in hosting a DHRC information booth.
Shirley will call a meeting for this group to discuss details.
Adiournment:
Commissioner Templeton Vaughn moved and Commissioner Parks seconded to adjourn. The
Commission adjourned at 6:05 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 8,
2017 at 4:30 p.m.
Minutes approved as submitted:
Minutes approved as corrected:
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