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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-24 Minutes Approved MINUTES MEETING MINUTES New Hanover County/ City of Wilmington Community Relations Advisory Committee Virtual ZOOM Meeting November 24, 2020 – 5:30 PM Committee members present: Liz Carbone, Jen Johnson, Kathy King, Lori Wainright, Scott Whisnant, Megan Mullins, Evelyn Bryant, Reverend Charles Davis Staff Present: Linda Thompson, NHC; Suzanne Rogers, COW; Erica Jacobs-Graham, COW Absent: Courtney Horton, Florence Warren, Reddgo Long Jr. I. Call to Order Chair Evelyn Bryant called the meeting to order at 5:38 pm. Roll Call was taken. A quorum was established. II. Approve Agenda Evelyn recommended the agenda be revised to move the election of officers to the third order of business. Motion: Rev. Davis moved to approve the agenda with revision to order of business; second, Kathy King. Upon vote, the motion carried unanimously. III. Approve minutes Motion: Lori Wainright; second Liz Carbone to approve the minutes as presented. Upon vote, the motion carried out unanimously. IV. Election of Officers Evelyn asked Suzanne to facilitate the election of the Chair. Suzanne called for nominations from the floor for the Chair. Evelyn and Lori were nominated. Motion: Rev Davis moved to approve the nomination; second, Kathy King. Members voted by emailing Suzanne. The results were Lori- 7 votes; Evelyn – 1. Lori was elected chair and resumed the nomination for Vice Chair and Secretary. Kathy King was nominated for Vice Chair by Rev. Davis and she accepted by acclamation. Jen Johnson was asked by committee to explain what the Approved MINUTES secretary duties are. She provided a brief description and was nominated to continue as Secretary by Rev. Davis and she accepted by acclamation. V. Sub-committee reports Crisis Prevention/Preparedness: Rev. Davis reported the subcommittee reached out to leaders of the protest groups to engage them in joining with Crisis Prevention in strategies to address concerns. Dr. Kim Cook, UNCW Sociology was the only response. With that the committee intends to prioritize 10 ideas for action and bring forth in a future CRAC meeting. Kathy summarized the list of ideas as follows: promote minority business; artistry & color; pursue reparations for 1898; engage youth; Black History Museum; BLM fundraising; and Paint mailboxes black; reach out to community; meet with protest leaders to discuss how CRAC can work with them involving protests. Rev. Davis stated he could no longer serve as chair of the CPP subcommittee but intended to remain on the committee. Discussion ensued about the process for selecting subcommittee chairs. Evelyn suggest the executive committee examine the subcommittee membership to ensure all CRAC members were assigned a subcommittee and to get input on chairs for the subcommittees. Programming and Public Education: Jen Johnson reported attending a small committee meeting appointed through the city for recommendations involving LGBTQ and high discrimination policy. The meeting consisted of 2 employees from equality NC and 3 City of Wilmington employees. There continues to be ongoing involvement with the City’s staff group working on LGBTQ and improving the MEI. The scores have increased from 15 out of 100 to 22 out of 100. The city has recently included a gay pride proclamation, included language to add sexual orientation and gender identity in their anti-discrimination policy for City employees. The city is now looking at the possibility of offering transgender health insurance benefits to city employees. In December, Jen Johnson has a meeting with an employee of Equality of NC who has expertise in LGBTQ education policy. Jen is encouraged by the groups commitment to make changes. Liz Carbone report on the City’s 1898 public statement and the value of CRAC input in determining an appropriate role for the City. The City will call on CRAC to assist with an event for next year’s commemoration of 1898. The city did not host an event this year, deciding to support existing efforts. Linda Thompson agreed to convene the ad-hoc group to meet with Big B to plan an event to engage with youth. An informal (ad hoc) group Lori, Reddgo, Jen, Kathy, Florence, and Linda will meet to discuss plan to host virtual forum, possible using Big B, to engage with youth and others about concerns and issues in community around race, equity, inclusion, and moving forward from here. Scott reported on continued presentations of School Redistricting data and related CRAC recommendations submitted to NHCSS, NHC, & City of Wilmington governing boards. Approved MINUTES Suzanne mentioned city, county and school staff are meeting to discuss first recommendation for CRAC to present to the elected officials of each. Presented to chamber of commerce committee. Evelyn received a response from Tim Buckland with the county. Presentations will move forward with the county, city and school board and will have a response by the end of January to schedule Scott’s presentation. VI. New Business: Media Contact Procedures: Discussion about developing a media protocol or policy to ensure there is clarity about who the media should contact and to use press release to contact the media. Press releases should be prepared by CRAC members, submitted to City and County PIO officers for distribution to the media. It is not the intent that the City or County approve press releases, but rather provide technical assistance and distribute. Members should communicate about appropriate contact person for media releases and the CRAC members should approve media contact plans. Megan Mullins will help Jen Johnson with a media policy. Suzanne asked the group for input on planning session and retreat. There was a suggestion that the planning session would be useful and would help stay on track. Liz Carbone agreed with a meeting scheduled for January 26 from 4-7pm. Evelyn reminded the group that the CRAC presentation on progress and accomplishments has not been presented to NHC Commissions. Linda will work with Lori to get on the agenda for a January or February County Commission meeting. VII. Public Comments: Shemeka Sidberry a teacher at DC Virgo Prep made comments in response to the School Redistricting presentation. She pointed out the need to meet with and understand issues from the community and teacher perspective. She noted the need for mental health services, affordable housing, economic development and jobs for African American citizens in Wilmington/NHC. She acknowledged the impact of trauma on students and the community and the importance of ACE’s. In addition, she wanted the information and presentation Scott provides to consider changes in curriculum and expanding data to consider the citizens who are impacted by redistricting. VIII. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m.