Minutes 11.14.2019NEW HANOVER COUNTY MANAGER’S OFFICE
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Meeting Minutes
NEW HANOVER COUNTY COMMISSION ON
AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, HERITAGE & CULTURE (NHCAAHHC or Commission)
Finance Conference Room 500, New Hanover County Government Center
November 14, 2019 – 4:30 PM
Committee Members Present: Christopher Eaton, Brenda Fong, Bernice Johnson, Manuel Lloyd, Tonia McKoy, Deborah Maxwell, Angela Gaines, Linda Thomas, Sandra Oglesby, and Stephanie Walker.
Ex-Officio –Jan Davidson, Historian.
Absent: J’vanete Skiba, and George Vlasits.
Staff Present: Tufanna Bradley-Thomas, Assistant County Manager.
I. Call to Order
Chairman Lloyd called the meeting to order at 4:30pm. Quorum established.
II. Approve Agenda - Approved.
III. Approve Minutes - Chairman Lloyd motioned to accept the October 10th minutes; Ms. Maxwell seconded.
IV. Public Comments – None.
V. Old Business – Chairman Lloyd added Ms. Fong to the Research Committee.
Appoint Committee Chairs –Ms. Maxwell suggested that each subcommittee have co-chairs instead of just 1 chair; Chairman Lloyd agreed. Committee Co-Chairs are as follows:
Cemetery – Mr. Christopher Eaton and Ms. Linda Thomas
Education – Ms. J’vanete Skiba and Mr. George Vlasits (both absent)
Outreach – Ms. Brenda Fong and Ms. Angela Gaines
Research – Ms. Tonia McKoy and Ms. Stephanie Walker
Committee Charge
Create SMART Goals (2-3), Discuss Implementation of Goals, Action Items
Committee Break Outs
Cemetery, Education, Outreach, Research
Committee Reports (Chairs) – See below.
SMART Goals:
OVERALL GOALS
SMART GOALS
CEMETERY
Develop a system of maintenance of African American burial grounds and cemeteries
Implement the system of maintenance of African American burial grounds and cemeteries by:
Adopting the McIntyre and Freeman cemeteries by June 30, 2020
Contacting the McIntyre and Freeman families to engage them in the process by sending a letter to the families by January 31, 2020
Engaging volunteers to assist with cemeteries, burial grounds and projects
Establishing a regular meeting and time for maintenance of cemeteries and burial grounds
Establishing a database or spreadsheet to track the progress of maintenance projects
Becoming a member or participate in the African-American Burial Grounds Network if H.R. 1179 passes in Congress
OUTREACH
Connect with community leaders and organizations to educate everyone on African American history and culture in New Hanover County with a desire to promote a better mindset within families
and neighborhoods for better understanding.
Implement connecting with community leaders and organizations to educate everyone on African American history and culture in New Hanover County by:
Scheduling and completing activities/connections starting in Spring 2020 and to be completed by December 31, 2020
Connecting with groups and organizations such as Support the Port, Young Moguls, Grits, Just Us Girls, New Beginning Christian Church, Sanctuary of Wilmington and others
RESEARCH
Research New Hanover County outside of City of Wilmington limits focusing on county history and businesses of the past and present
Begin conducting research of New Hanover County outside of City of Wilmington limits focusing on county history and businesses of the past and present by:
Creating a business directory from the present to the past (2019→back); starting with a draft of current businesses by March 12, 2020
Finding and documenting communities and businesses through data collection
Utilize Jan Davidson, Travis Souther and others who can provide data and research
VI. New Business
Mission Statement – Tufanna will create statement to review and tweak at the next meeting.
Logo – Chairman Lloyd will create.
Name Tags – Discuss at next meeting.
Possible Speaker, Guest or Presentation for next meeting – Jan Davidson with historical Wilmington maps and Bambie Karabin to present cemetery information to the cemetery committee.
Ms. Maxwell discussed many upcoming community events for December and early 2020, including the 2020 NAACP MLK Jr. Breakfast - Request was made for County to sponsor a table
for the Commission at the event.
VIII. Adjourn - Chairman Lloyd adjourned the meeting at 5:46 pm.