Civil Rights Task Force Meeting 11/13/16

The Civil Rights task force had a broad consensus that in the followup to the election, we are in a situation of crisis, with a need to triage the issues that we face and prioritize where we can do the most good now.  We came up with the following goals:

Stand with the oppressed.  Provide support and solidarity to those who are in groups targeted by Trump’s policies (focusing on the “100 days” document to start with, and additional policy statements as they are made).  Find ways to be “defenders on the spot”, but also on a larger level (see following points)

Antidiscrimination outreach/education in schools, both proactively and reactively (in response to incidents). Speak to students/administrators/parents, work to become a resource for antidiscrimination education.

Help students (and teachers) in targeted groups who find themselves as a very small minority in their school, which places a great burden on them and their families in being their own advocates, raising issues of racial justice, trans/homophobia, Islamophobia, etc.

Educate and provide resources for people in targeted communities (and generally) on their rights, again with a focus on what Trump says he will do and how that will roll back rights in our communities.  This includes (but is not limited to) immigration rights, rights in dealing with the policeWe also discussed possibly reaching out to law enforcement to educate and as a resource, and possibly creating a campaign to get our localities to agree to be sanctuary cities.

Resources

Organizations

  • Southern Poverty Law Center: founded in 1971, SPLC’s mission is to fight hate and bigotry and seek justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.  They maintain a database of hate incidents, provide educational resources, and seek justice for the victims of bias.
  • American Civil Liberties Union: an organization dedicated to defending citizen rights as enumerated in the Constitution, the ACLU also works to empower communities and influence policy.

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