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Minutes 9.19.2019 (Corrected Final Minutes)NEW HANOVER COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE NEW HANOVER COUNTY COMMISSION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, HERITAGE & CULTURE (NHCAAHHC or Commission) Lucie F. Harrell Conference Room, New Hanover County Government Center September 19, 2019 – 4:30 PMCommittee Members Present:Christopher Eaton, Brenda Fong, Angela Gaines, Bernice Johnson, Manuel Lloyd, Deborah Maxwell, Tonia McKoy, Sandra Oglesby, J’vanete Skiba, Islah Speller, Linda Thomas, George Vlasits, and Stephanie Walker.Absent:NoneStaff Present:Tufanna Bradley-Thomas, Assistant County Manager, Bo Dean, Senior HR Analyst, and Dahria Kianpour, Deputy Clerk to the Board.I.Call to OrderTufanna Bradley-Thomas called the meeting to order. Quorum established. II. Board Orientation & TrainingIntroductions and Motivations•Tonia McKoy: Grew up coming to Wilmington from NYC. UNCW Watson College. Why – passion for History. •Sandra Oglesby: From South Carolina. Registered Nurse. NAACP Mother of the Year. Why – care about the community. •J’vanete Skiba: Originally from New Bern. UNCW Class of 2003. Works at Alderman Elementary. Why – History and educational aspects, truth telling in reconciliation, specifically with black children. •Islah Speller: From NHC. Established Museum here in Wilmington. Why – Set up education delivery and appreciation.•Manuel Lloyd: From Jacksonville. Grew up in Wilmington. CFCC and UNCW. Why – History. Illuminate and celebrate. •Bernice Johnson: Pres Council of PTAs. From Winston Salem and attended NC A&T University. Why: Culture celebrated. •George Vlasits: Moved here 6 years ago. Retired History teacher. Why – Interested in Civil Rights. •Angela Gaines: Treasurer at Mary C.Williams. Disconnect for youth and ability to express. •Brenda Fong: From NHC, Shipyard. Community hospital on … Father was a baseball player in the AA leagues here in the area. Why – History. •Stephanie Walker: New Hanover HS graduate. Wilmington Native. Why – Genealogical and Historical Research •Christopher Eaton: Son of Dr. Hubert Eaton. Freeman Cemetery. Love of History. •Linda Thomas: Has lived in Wilmington for 28 years. Why – History and culture.III. Establish Commission O.A.R.SCurrent Project RequestsoCemetery Project – specifically named, McIntyre Cemetery and Freeman Cemetery could be adopted and maintained; potentially coordinate with North Carolina State Representative Ms. Adams, and her bill H.R. 1179 – ‘African-American Burial Grounds Network Act” (there is potential to get our county cemeteries in the network and apply for funding for cemetery maintenance and care)oGullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission – proposed that our commission could coordinate on various projects and invite speakersoNew Hanover County Library African-American Directory Project – Travis Souther, Librarian, would like to coordinate with the commission to create a street directory with Google Maps of African-American citizens starting in 1902Proposed Projects/Sub-CommitteesoEducation to county’s children about African-American history in New Hanover County SchoolsoOne Love Tennis Education Outreach & Althea Gibson tennis court commemorationoAfrican-American TrailsoHistorical African-American Businesses, especially before 1898 (sign/plaques)oSeabreeze Monument for Robert S. Freeman Sr. at Freeman Park oRecognition of Historic African-American Churches (Pilgrims Rest/AA church nearWrightsville Beach and Mt. Ararat AME Church in Ogden, specifically named)oBlack land-loss prevention projectoCoordination with City of Wilmington Counterpart Commissions & CommitteesIV.Election of OfficersMs. Deborah Maxwell MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Linda Thomas to nominate and elect Mr. Manuel Lloydto be the inaugural Chairman for theCommission. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Mr. George Vlasits MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Stephanie Walker to nominate and elect Ms. J’vanete Skiba to be the inaugural Vice-Chairman for the Commission.Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Ms. Brenda Fong MOVED, SECONDED by Mr. Christopher Eaton to nominate and elect Ms. Stephanie Walker to be the inaugural Secretary for the Commission. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.V.Meeting Procedures- Commission Standard Practice Discussion Communicate with the city and collaborate with efforts2nd Thursday 4:30 – 6:00 Government Center Opening Affirmation – each meeting to begin with an affirmation (of the individual member’s choosing);Set public comment period: allotted time 3 min each, 30 min total, placement doesn’t vary on the agenda, chair/board Email Communication – all email communication shall be disseminated through the commission’s Chair; Meeting Quorum – members must be present in body to count towards a quorum. Member Decorum – members shall show respect for each other – each member will be allowed to speak and be heard.Ms. Linda Thomas MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Bernice Johnson to adopt agreed upon commission procedures, guidelines and standard practice.Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Public Comment Period - will be no longer than 30 minutes (3 minutes for each speaker with the option of up to 5 minutes with Chairman approval). Placement of public comment period (before or after meeting) will depend on the fullness of each agenda.Ms. Bernice Johnson MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Brenda Fong to adopt the public comment period procedures. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Main Committees – All subcommittees (mentioned above) will fall under 4 main committee headings – Cemetery, Education, Outreach, and Research. Bernice Johnson moved to accept these as the main committees; seconded and adopted. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Ms. Bernice Johnson MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. Angela Gaines to adopt the 4 main committees: Cemetery, Education, Outreach, and Research. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.VI.Regular Meeting Date & TimeMOTION: Ms. Deborah Maxwell MOVED, SECONDED by Ms. J’vanete Skiba that Commission meetings will take place monthly (for the time being) on the second Thursday of each month from 4:30p.m. -6:00 p.m. at the New Hanover County Government Center (meeting room to be determined). Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.Next meeting date is Thursday, October 10th, 2019 at 4:30p.m. at the New Hanover County Government Center (room to be determined).VIII.Adjourn:Chairman Manuel Lloyd adjourned the meeting at6:25pm.