05-01-2018Richfield Human Rights Commission
Monthly Meeting Minutes
May 1st, 2018
Members Present: Mark Westergaard, Carrie Chillman, Cathy Stephens, Husniyah Dent
Bradley, Sarah Musgrave, Ben Sunderlin, Matthew Kiflu .
Mike Koob - Public Safety Liaison
1. Meeting called to order by Chair Mark Westergaard at 6:35pm.
2. Motion to approve agenda Dent Bradley/seconded Sunderlin; motion carried.
3. Motion to approve existing 4/18 minutes Musgrave/seconded Stephens; motion carried.
4. Open Public comment: none.
5. Reports
a. Chair’s report: Mark reports the speakers that we considered at the last meeting
will not work for the RHRC but the Bloomington HRC or the League of Women
Voters likely will host her, Mark will keep us posted of dates and possible
collaboration.
b. Secretary’s report: none.
c. Vice Chair’s report: not in attendance.
d. Liaison reports: none.
6. New Business
a. Vote on Citizen of the Year: Review and discussion of one application, the group
voted unanimously in favor.
b. 2018 planning calendar: Mark presented undated HRC event calendar, he
suggests a subcommittee to be involved with the Pride event attendance, Mark
also suggested partnering with others for bandshell events-if anyone has any
contacts who may be interested please let him know
c. Online web page: Mark brought up the idea/need to update the HRC website to
keep current and add an avenue for people to make comments; idea was tabled
for now
d. Change of date for July meeting: Due to the July 4th holiday the meeting will be
on the 12th in the same room.
e. Change of date for August meeting: Due to National Night out the meeting will be
on the 9th in the Babcock Room.
7. Unfinished Business
a. Islam 101 event: has been moved to the fall, still looking for venue and to secure
a speaker.
b. Human Trafficking Forum: scheduled for Nov 1st at RHS, City Council and Matt
are speaking with school officials to generate early interest and help with this;
school admin has said that the only way it can be help at the HS is if there is
student involvement.
c. 2019 speaker series idea: Ben recapped the meeting the subcommittee held, the
key ….are to be inclusive, the need for partnering, and a deep delve into the
topic(s) which have been identified for now as being Women’s, African American,
and Latino histories. A purpose statement was developed: The mission of the
RHS Speaker series is to develop awareness, consciousness, and critical
thought among the Richfield student body and broader community on a range of
social issues by bringing forth transformative perspectives, ideas, and dialogue.
Our goal is to advance the values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity, thereby
affirming the worth of all people. Next steps have been identified to include
speaking with the school and others to gain early support. The next meeting to
discuss further is 5/20/18 at Lakewinds.
8. Announcements/Open Forum: Ben announced event at Brave New Workshop event
(topics involve racial justice) at the end of May and invited others to join him.
9. Next meeting: Tuesday, June 5th at 6:30pm.
10. Motion for adjournment: Musgrave/seconded Sunderlin, motion carried, meeting
adjourned at 7:52pm.