CC Minutes - 01/24/00 Work Session

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which could work in partnership with the Human Rights Commission to include hate crimes and cultural diversity as elements in its leadership forums. Second, Ms. Middleton asked the council to respond to hate crimes incidents when they occur, and to make strong public statements opposing acts of hate and statements of support for hate crime victims. Third, Ms. Middleton asked the council to call upon the commission to help in responding when a response is needed. Ms. Middleton discussed funding for a public awareness campaign. She said that the commission was requesting $10,000 in contingency funds from the council to partially underwrite those costs. She described the elements of the proposed education campaign, which would be conducted by a coalition of human rights organizations that included the Human Rights Commission. Mr. Farr said that leadership was a main tool in responding to and preventing future hate crimes. He said that the council, as community leaders, had that responsibility. He said the commission discussed many ideas, such as that mentioned by Ms. Middleton regarding the Chamber of Commerce's leadership training, and the chamber had been very responsive to his inquiries when he had called to ask about the possibility. Mr. Farr said that the council had repeatedly demonstrated its intolerance for hate crimes, but he believed that now was a good time to step up its efforts against hate. He added that the contingency fund request was not the only source of funding for the public campaign. Mr. Kelly stressed the importance of the information about hate crimes activity provided to the council by the commission. He regretted the problem of hate crimes was growing in the Northwest. Mr. Kelly supported both the amended work program and contingency fund request. He said he was a member of Temple Beth Israel and recalled his sense of shock and the feeling of violation created by the shooting at the temple. He asked the commission to let him know how he could help. Mr. Meisner expressed support for a proactive, rather than a defensive, approach, and said that a public education campaign was an example of a proactive approach. He said that it was his experience that many people are the victims of hate crimes but are reluctant to talk about them. He asked how the City could help overcome that problem. Greg Rikhoff, Human Rights Program staff, responded that the commission could work with organizations that had trust and respect with vulnerable communities. He agreed that often reporting does not occur because people feel it puts them at risk. Mr. Rikhoff said that the coalition of human rights organizations being formed had a tremendous amount of inclusiveness and it involved many organizations who could help create a safety net for those who feel targeted. He said that the coalition was a proactive effort that would employ the City's Human Rights Support System, giving victims someone to relate to and share their stories with. Mr. Rikhoff believed the coalition had the tools to reach out to those individuals. Responding to a follow-up question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Rikhoff anticipated that some of the contingency funds would go toward developing proactive outreach tools to vulnerable communities. Responding to a question from Ms. Nathanson regarding the scope of the public education campaign and the commission's coordination with the school districts, Mr. Rikhoff said that the executives from the organizations involved have begun to discuss how to send a shared message. The human rights and diversity staff from the school districts, Lane Community College, and University of Oregon also met to discuss the issue. He anticipated multiple tools would be used to send out the message as opposed to a single "big splash," although the MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 24, 2000 Page 3 Work Session