HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973 03-20 Role of Human Rights Commissions Changing DISPATCH 6(E) 5'1'.PAULL1
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.„;, Role
of Rights
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y JEAN HASKELL the department on dis- the New Brighton group right now."
�.. Staff Writer crimination complaints changed its focus to in- She is hopeful that the
assessing the impact were approved by the elude "the whole spec- Human Rights Depart-
' "'tuman rights and hu- suburban governments. trum of people" and has ment will intensify its
nen relations commis- In 1968. too. human worked for youth coup- assistance to the local
MS on the suburbs at rights and human rela- seling. better care for commissions. but only at
times can be .a second- tions usually connoted the elderly in the vil- the invitation of the local
ary task to simply find- only racial situations. 'age's several nursing commissions. A require-
' ing the commissions. Since then. the - terms homes and, with limited ment to make HRCs re-
If you look, for in- have been°expanded to success, housing for low- port on their activities to
stance, in Burnsville or include other minorities. t o moderate-income the department might
worth St. Paul for any- women. the e 1 d e.r 1 y. families. pressure the groups to
N.giamotiy.,,/J.,. _ m,„ .; ; ; , t, ,. sin m ,: Maplewood. which has- remain active,. but she
� p • '. a relatively high degree does not think her agen-
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Racial roblems are"not really front of racial •integration for cy should dictate to the
4 a suburban community. HRCs.
page news right now. {.; also has one of the most Mrs. Price and Rich-
�y active and enduring ardson agreed that the
F»•• •'r `t�°,'y`;y ,�?mo;5, i.';:, m3'�r'r. ...:'!'6.•.'i?mi#a£'t?et':.`:a HRCs. It has branched suburban commissions'
thing more than a paper handicapped. homosex- out from its original em- lists of accomplishments
commission, you won't uals and almost any oth- phasis on racial rela- are •not always impres-
find it.-In both communi- er segment of the popu- tions to campaign for sive. They say. however.
ti e s. the commissions lation that feels it has a the physically and men- they have detected signs
have not functioned for cause. tally handicapped. hu- that. as Richardson put
the past two or more The intended close co- man services planning it, there is a "tiny flicker
years, and their former operation between the and a variety of other of a new consciousness"
member s are hard- state Human Rights De- causes. of human rights and hu-
pressed to cite even a partment and the subur- And in South Washing- 'man relations.
single accomplishment ban HRCs has not ma- ton County. the HRC's N e w commissions
from the period when terialized. judging from most recent effort has have been formed in
the groups were meet- remarks by state and lo- been to equalize oppor- Oakdale and Lakeville.
cal officials.
:.':'.%C•'•,'•'••.%`• x'<ri::>::to r;. .3`.�t.':ciCa'` • •3E°h:s:5�b`'::... .: 'i.:?t :'fi (
In neither case did the
We felt sort of like _.
villagge councils that es- country cousins to the ::
The focus is changing to include "the
tablighed the HRCs by department, Carl Mc- gii, ::
Ordinance and appointed D a n i e I s, chairman of ' whole spectrum of people." :
iiii
the members ask why South St. Paul's HRC
the ggroups were not said. ::mfx< : wak <>:: ::A>;;::::<:>:: <. <wg .
QutcCtoning or make any The state has never tunities for girls to par- they noted. and Rose-
attempt to r e a c t i v e had a large enough staff ticipate in school athlet- ville is reactivating its
them. according to for- to work closely with the ics. • five-year-old organiza-
mer commission mem- HRCs. he said. and the Such adaptations are tion.
bership Not all of the commissions usually did encouraged by the state David Hall, a c t i n g
suburbs' HRCs are col- not seek out state help department. now headed chairman of the Rose-_
lapsing or on the verge or, when they did. were by Commissioner Samu- ville HRC thinks the
of collapsing. but even deluged "up to our eye- el Richardson. He hopes group. made up of all
among the members of balls in sensitivity train- the broader definitions new m e m b e r s. has
some relatively active ing." and did not get the of human relations and learned from the former
commissions. there is "nuts and bolts pack- human rights will help commission's mirstakes.
the fear that HRCs' fu- age"they needed. solve a common prob- The new HRC he said,
tures are tentative. Several of the subur- lem among local HRC intends to find and move
., -a survey of local . ban HRCs have never members: into the village's power
•
4 ftC members last had to forward a dis- "They ask the same structure.
aweek. there was general crimination complaint to old question. 'What can W i t h out the power
g.reement that the com- the state department. we do?' " Richardson re- structure b e h i n d and
-missions of 1973 are not and the others have been marked. part of the HRC the
what was envisoned in involved with very few He and Connie Price. group can "generate pa-
968'when, at the urging complaints. the department's new perwork and write let-
of Frank Kent, the then- Henry L a r s o n Jr.. c o m m u n i t y affairs ters. but that's about it."
Minhesota Commission- chairman of New Brigh- director. do not think. Hall remarked.
er of Human Rights. ton's HRC said his corn- however, that new caus- "Everything has to be
most of the groups were munity. which has only es should eliminate ef- suggestion or p e r s u a-
organized. a very small percentage forts for better racial re- sion" by the commis-
" Kent saw the local of minority group resi- lations. sions. which lack any en-
HRCs as an arm of the dents. did not generate Racial problems still forcement power with-
;state Human Rights De- legalistic or racial prob- exist. Mrs. Price said. out the support of the lo-
apartment. and pledges leets. although they are "not cal government, accord-
:`of intent to work through As a result, he said. really front page news ing to Kenneth Russell,
SPATCH Tees., Mar. 20, '73
C •Commissions -an � n
chairman of the South ' public'relations gestures support of the city power recommendation of the
Washington C o u n t y ani never were con- structure to a real test. HRC forced the local
HRC. winced of the importance The HRC in that commu- Moose lodge to remove a
Hall's and Russell's re- of the groups. nity and in a number of whites-only clause in its
marks echo the senti- Jerry Knutson. who others has confined its membership r e g u I a-
ments of David Therkel- served on the now-de- >.: :meW : . ; ;»:_:.:..;.;y'•erv,;:4.xw;,;ff..x4.>_{;M1rs; :,•; •: h":
sen. who edits the news- funct Burnsville HRC �"
letter of the League of said human rights'activ- h.,
Minnesota Human fists "prevailed upon the "A front group has a tendency to
Rights Commissions. council" in 1968 to adopt Al die fast." -
He wrote in this Janu- an ordinance establish < :>.< f <. .,.. .:.7,
ary's issue that. "We do ing the HRC. Throughout ..x „f. >xf.:.r ;f m'f;rk; 4
:r :=. . :z f.. <> ::: :>.;: ::,::;*:>: : ::: ::::<:::::i,„if .:;:>.:;,;.. erao projects to fairly non- tions. under threat of re
controversial topics. yoking the lodge's liquor,
"Human Rights Week, or, The Pageant to � Larson said about New license.
:.4 Brighton that. We have J a n e t Grant. chair
i Persuade Them That's Already Persuaded." '' chosen the quiet, soft man of the Maplewood;;
{: {<
., sell, chippingawayap-- HRC said interest in or.;:: : : :. .a ::..:.: > wx,,,!g � ::••:: ,imiremoa >:gsmA proach." rather .
than be- gamzmg an HRC was.
admit to a measure of the group's existence, come militants on the strong in 1968. partially;
skepticism whenever we the elected o f f i c i a 1 s subject of human rights. • because of the village's
receive word of the lat- "conveyed the feeling plewood provides racially integrated st`""
est local Human Rights that maybe the commis- about the only instance tus. The group was i
Week, or. The Pageant sion wasn't needed." she in the St. 'Paul suburbs tended as a serious ef-
to Persuade Them said. of how elected officials fort at better human ce'
That's Already Persuad- The attitude of ,North respond when the con- lations. which. she i;
ed." St. Paul officials was t r o v e r s y intensifies. plied, is the reason it
Therkelsen goes on to one of, "Let's let things There the village councilstill is operating while
say that some commis- ride," according to for- in 1970, acting on the I others are not. ,,.,
sions are beginning to mer HRC C h a i r m a n -
realize "more and more R o b e r t O'Connor. Va-
that they and a year of cancies that developed
Brotherhood Days will on the HRC were never
not reform the world, filled, and one by one the
much less their home m e m b e r s' terms ex-
base. but that the real Aired, and the HRC died,
sources of local power he said.
can be identified and re- The two cases seem to
lied on to generate com- prove Carl McDaniels'
munity and political sup- statement that. "A front
port for human rights ' group has a tendency to
causes." die fast.".
The relationship be- By contrast. the South
tween the HRCs and the St. Paul HRC was ini-
community power struc- tiated by Mayor Philip
ture, along with the con- Woo g. he said. The
cern and commitment of group. McDaniels feels.
HRC members, is a key has stature equal to oth-
factor in the survival or er city agencies- and
non-survival of HRCs as k e e p s in reasonablyfunctioning units. close contact with cit ,
Some past and present and school district offi-
HRC members believe cials.
their municipal officials He admitted, though,
agreed to set up the that the South St. Paul
commissions o n I y as HRC has never put the