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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 12/14/2004 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS & DIVERSITY COMMISSION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2004 7:00 PM—Eden Prairie Center 125 Eden Prairie Center (Office of Housing and Human Services) COMMISSION MEMBERS: Larry Piumbroeck(Chair), Jeff Strate (Vice Chair), Gerry Beckmann, Linda Chung, Balu Iyer, Cari Maguire and Pam Miller STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Jackie Beutell, Hojun Lee and Tara Degn COMMISSION STAFF: Molly Koivumaki, Staff Liaison Mary Zilka, Recording Secretary I. ROLL CALL Chair Piumbroeck called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM Mary Zilka took role call. Hojun Lee, Linda Chung and Balu Iyer were absent. II. Approval of Agenda Strate moved to approve the agenda, Beckmann seconded. III. Approval of Minutes from November meeting Gerry Beckmann had previously sent changes to Mary Zilka from the November meeting. Mary Zilka read the changes that Beckmann made. Jeff Strate had some changes on page 6, to add "told the best he could recall" and a small typo,resident instead of residence. Larry Piumbroeck would like the word "judgment"removed. Also to change "education" to educate. Strate moved to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by Pam Miller. Thank you to Commissioner Beckmann for submitting her changes in writing ahead of time! IV. New Business A. Guest Speakers - Mr. John Mallo and Lee Heikens The following are the accounts that were told by Mr. John Mallo and Ms. Lee Heikens as incidents that have happened to them: Mr. John Mallo and Ms. Lee Heikens came to the Human Rights and Diversity Commission to speak about their personal experiences and perceptions of racism, prejudice, violence and hatred in Eden Prairie. Mr. Mallo has lived in Eden Prairie happily for 25 years and has never experienced events like he has in the last 8 months. On June 8, 2004, Mr. Mallo's car was kicked in as it sat in his driveway and the car received over$1700 worth of damage. He did file a police report. Mr. Mallo thought this vandalism might have been because he had a John Kerry bumper sticker on his car and had written a letter to the Eden Prairie News regarding Vietnam Veterans support for John Kerry. On September 20, 2004, a"hate" letter was placed in his mailbox, not mailed through the post office. That was the Monday after he wrote another commentary that was published in the paper, expressing his beliefs that the GOP will say and do anything to re-elect Bush. Strate asked Mr. Mallo why he is referring to this letter as a hate letter. Mallo stated the letter was filled with abusive language, calling him a baby killer and a faggot. The letter was delivered in a blank envelope but the letter used his first name a few times. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 2 Another incident was reported to the Eden Prairie Police, which was referred to as a nuisance crime. In District 42, the Kerry campaign received 100 signs to be placed around the City. The signs were targeted and destroyed and the campaign had lost 13 signs in 9 days. Some of the signs were burned, which Mr. Mallo found even more threatening. Mr. Mallo worked with police and found them very cooperative. One of the residents in the neighborhood that had a Kerry sign that kept being stolen put a video camera pointing at her sign in the yard and within 2 days, she had recorded a car of high school students stop and take her sign. The video was so clear the Police could see that the vehicle had special tires on it. The Police received a call from someone who knew the kids, they ran a check of high school students and knew one of the students drove a white Cherokee like they saw in the video but they could not find the car. They later found out that the parents hid their son's car. Six students were arrested at the high school. After that happened, the sign stealing and damaging slowed way down. Mr. Mallo remarked that some residents in choice corner lots for viewing the sign did not want to take the chance of having them in their yard because of the vandalism and burnings. On Oct. 9ffi , Mr. Mallo attended a Bush rally in Chanhassen with around 200 Kerry supporters. The Kerry supporters were called baby killers, faggots and told we supported the antichrist, which was the most disturbing for Mr. Mallo's group. He has attended many Bush rallies and never heard those names at any other rallies. Mr. Mallo and two other people in his group were walking back to their car holding their Kerry signs and a young man jumped between two of them and starts yelling right in Larry Piumbroeck's face. Mr. Mallo grabbed the young man by the arm and the young man's dad jumped on Mallo, ripped his shirt and stood a few feet away and yelled faggots. Mr. Mallo felt like they wanted to provoke a fight with them. Mr. Mallo asked a group of people did you see what happened and they told him(f) you. (A police officer from Bloomington arrived on the scene and the dad lied to the Police Officer that we attacked his son. The Police Officer charged us both with disorderly conduct. He did not know what to believe.) Police were called to the scene. One man, who happened to be a Bush supporter, stepped forward and told the Police Officer what he saw and told him the dad put his son up to the attack. The Chanhassen police issued the son and father a disorderly conduct citation. Mr. Mallo found out on Nov. 29, the son and father received a$100 fine, and Mr. Mallo received for his shirt a check for$20. Since then, a week after the election. Larry Piumbroeck, who was a witness to the crime,has the word Faggot spray-painted in his driveway. Ms. Lee Heikens told the commission about a letter she wrote to the editor regarding the out and out hatred she has experienced in this community. She read her article to the group. This is her story: On Election day she was with a group (Move On) legally distributing coffee, and donuts to voters. The Move On group were there supporting republicans and democratic alike. The group was screamed and yelled at by Eden Prairie Republican voters. They were told to get off the grounds,but they had permission to be there. At about 7:30 AM, a 73-year-old man drove his car right into their group. They were stunned; he kept lurching forward and drove into the side of her vehicle. Ms. Heikens was trapped on the side of her car and could not get away. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 3 The man was yelling and screaming the whole time,but she does not remember what he was saying because she was so afraid. The man then went screeching off in his car but since they were in a cul-de-sac, he was stuck and he had to come back pass the group. He drove back in and yelled that they are abortionists, immoral dogs and many other inappropriate names. Ms. Heikens called the police and gave the man's license number. Ms. Heikens said the crime was written up as reckless driving. Ms. Heikens said it was not reckless driving and that is why she was so upset and why she wrote a letter to the local newspaper, it was not a political letter and it was about what happened. She has received since that letter was published, vicious hateful phone calls, letters and emails. Mr. Peter Bozanich wrote a letter to the editor in retaliation. Ms. Heikens said the District 42 Republican website actually had a picture of her on it. Ms. Heikens put so much pressure on them that they did take her photo off,but still had links to her real-estate pages. Since telling her story, she has received calls from other people that have been harassed with hate mail and has seen other hateful acts in the community. There was a "nigger lover" sign posted at new bridge (Purgatory Recreation Area), faggot spray painted, hate mail for gay couples, a black man's car was torched and sexual hate mail was sent to a women who complained about the election. There were Nazi pamphlets put on cars in a neighborhood and on cars parked at schools. Ms. Heikens did not let the reckless driving issue go. After visiting the Police many times, the police talked with the city attorney and yes indeed this was not reckless driving. What happened on Election Day was 1sr degree assault with a deadly weapon, and mandatory jail time. Ms. Heikens thinks the 73-year-old man will probably get probation. Ms. Heikens and Mr. Mallo scheduled a meeting with Mayor Tyra-Lukens, Council Member Ron Case, City Manager Scott Neal and Jeff Strate (Strate as an observer). They went to the city to ask about someone having the power to stop this hate. Big Media have been trying to talk to Ms. Heikens and she has held off on that and not talked to the news media yet. She has held off until we solve this problem and then go to the media as a community who has dealt with hate. Ms. Heikens suggested we see the video "Not in Our Town", shown on PBS. The "Not in Our Town Group is willing to help our community for free. Ms. Heikens and Mr. Mallo stressed the importance to the City of Eden Prairie not to tolerate hate of any kind. She suggested signs like the ones you see saying `No Guns Allowed on Premises" saying something like "We will not tolerate hatred here". Ms. Heikens would like to see the City make their Intolerance Manifesto public. Get the message out there, that we will not tolerate intolerance. Ms. Heikens is very disheartened and does not know if she will ever think of Eden Prairie as a safe place again. Ms. Heikens would like to see this commission take a stand on these issues and recommend to the city council and mayor to start a campaign stop the hatred. Perhaps another task force of how we can work with other groups i.e., schools, etc. Piumbroeck stated our commission does not represent policy but we do know what has been reported as bias crime in the City. This is not good for our City and our Cities image. Strate commended both Ms. Heiken and Mr. Mallo for going forward with this matter and Ms. Heikens not letting the media exploit this situation,but wanting to solve it first. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 4 B. 2005 Work Calendar Maguire shared her ideas of different events we as a commission could join and support by attending and being willing to help with some of the events that this community already has in place. "The Gathering" could be our big event, instead of trying to do three different events. Piumbroeck recommended that a subcommittee meet and put events on the Commission calendar of events. Maguire will facilitate this subcommittee. C. Selection of new Meeting dates February, March, April and May have conflicts for some commission members. (Maguire and Miller). Therefore, we are changing the meetings from Tuesdays to Mondays for the remainder of this year. The dates will be as follows: January calendar—January 10"' February—February 14 March— 14"' April 11 cn May 9cn 2nd Monday of each month. V. REPORTS OF STAFF A. Human Services Review Committee (HSRC) Nothing to report at this point. B. Bias Crime Activity Status Koivumaki told the commission that the Eden Prairie police do have a process in place for"hate" crimes. The Police Department also has a mandatory training on bias crimes. The investigative process is focused on the suspect and many times the victim feels left out and therefore tries to make their own perspective on this. Victims do not know how the investigation process is happening, what is going on behind the scenes. Strate pointed out the need to help people who are victims of crimes and giving them the opportunity to talk to someone. The commission would really like to arrange for a member of the police department(administrator level) to attend our meeting and tell us about the cities perspectives on bias crimes and what criteria has to be met before a crime is considered "bias. Koivumaki also said that the data privacy act comes into play and that is why many crimes are not published,but that does not mean that have not been reported. A crime should always be reported. Koivumaki said maybe it is time for us to make some room for bias crime training. Koivumaki reported that the National Nazi Organization placed flyers on windshields on a Sunday morning, south of city hall and the southern part of the city. Is that a crime or is it not a crime. Lt. Bosacker from the police department said this is a freedom of speech issue and not a crime,but that does not mean we cannot do something about it. Beckmann asked if there is any connection to that location and what happened to the folks from the gathering bridge? Koivumaki said at this time the only connection is that it is in the same neighborhood. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 5 VI. OLD BUSINESS VII. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION MEMBERS A. South Hennepin Immigrant Services Group (SHISG) B. Any Commission member may report Commissioner Beckmann reported on attending the Eden Prairie Immigrant Services Group meeting. Pam DeShaw and Africa Abde of Family Opportunities for Living and Collaboration at the Cedar Riverside spoke about the programs they offer and how the participants are reacting to the programs. They start on time and do not give options after it has been decided what the purpose of the class is. The participants always want to visit,but they say it is time to exercise or listen, etc. now. Kathy Goheen from SHAPE asked for help with finding transportation to her ESL classes at the Education Center. The school district has 200 computers to give to eligible students from grades K-12 with the option of internet access for$10 per month. On March 2, 2005 Familink at the Eden Prairie Center will again be doing tax preparations for those who qualify. In January 2005, the group will pick what issues they be be studying in 2005. Some of those topics included: • Transportation • Older Somali sharing/exercising program • Child Care • Family literacy Grant(Even Start) • Jobs skills, including How to Interview The next meeting is January 3, 2005 at the Eden Prairie Library and Beckmann will not be able to attend. Koivumaki has had a request from Ally Turner from the library for this commission to work with Somali Youth using "The Gathering" model. The audience would be school parents, and community people. Ms. Turner would like to invite Somali Youth to talk about their lives, their perspective being high school immigrant student. What the schools and community could do to help the Somali Youth prepare to attend school and live in this community. Koivumaki received a suggestion from Beckmann to get on down to the presentation of "Immigration in Minnesota" sponsored by The Minnesota Foundation. Koivumaki went to this standing room only audience and was happy she was there. Koivumaki was so excited about the things she learned,heard, and passed out an executive summary of this report. Some of the highlights for Koivumaki were the growth of exurbia. Our fast growing communities that are neither urban or rural, this includes Scott, Dakota, Washington, Rice and Carver counties and older suburbs in Hennepin and Ramsey. The purpose of this research project is to understand how the state is changing demographically, culturally, politically, and religiously, with a particular focus on Exurban Minnesota. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 6 Here are some interesting facts Koivumaki shared with the commission regarding Immigration. In the year 1900—Minnesota had a 29% diverse population. Ballots were in multi languages. In the year 2004 —5% of our population is diverse, so what is the problem? In 1900, were there mostly European immigrants? Koivumaki stressed the importance of explaining and educating our population. Koivumaki was invited to the Lion's club to talk about what the immigrant situation is like in Eden Prairie. The majority of the audience was white middle class men and she saw a lot of fear and anger about why are they (immigrants) here? She heard from some that the immigrants do not pay taxes; they suck up all of our resources in our schools so our kids do not get them, etc. This is a common reaction of groups. Koivumaki said that instead of saying they are here, like them. We need to create a place where these groups can bring up some of these fears. The Minnesota Foundation had studied groups who had very strong ideas and myths about the immigrants but after learning facts, their basic education changed their opinions. What folks feel comfortable asking the questions? How do we reach the white people in the cul-de-sac? What happens if we do not come together as a community? Koivumaki also reported on League of Women Voter's Study that had the following points: 1. Education—why are people here? It is not going backwards, the immigration process is here. 2. Language barriers lead to isolation, fear and prejudice. Beckmann gave an example of very well educated women in her church group who gets her nails done at a Vietnamese owned company and she feels that they are talking about her when they speak their own language. She feels very uncomfortable going there to get her nails done. Koivumaki said the biggest hope we can provide to our community is showing them a way to ask questions of immigrants. 3. Local Leadership 4. Law enforcement—holding them accountable of treating immigrants with respect, treating them without suspicion to overcome the fear on both ends. Koivumaki felt this was a very hopeful presentation. Minnesota Meeting's series will continue on. Generation Y (25 & under) are our greatest hope that their part of the population will have the most diversity. When the Generation Y people are in a position when they are setting policy, this will not be as difficult as it was for our generation. Please visit www.MinnesotaMeetiniz.com after January 1sr for more event details. Piumbroeck reported that had three people approach him about the new library becoming a hanging out place for youth, especially Somali youth. Koivumaki said this is an issue that went from the old library to the new library. Koivumaki has offered the space at the office of housing and human services for students after school. On Dec. 2, there will be a Solution Finders meeting bringing in Somali Youth. Commissioner Chung will be our representative. Beckmann remarked that the Eden Prairie News publishes the times and dates of our commission meetings and they have the location as the Eden Prairie City Center. Mary Zilka will communicate to the City Communication Department of the error and see how we get that changed. Beckmann would like to know where the fundraising is going. Strate said we have money for two awards at $1000 each. Human Rights & Diversity Commission December 14, 2004 Page 7 VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS • The next HRDC meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 10, 2005 XI. ADJOURN Motion was made by Piumbroeck to adjourn the meeting, Miller seconded it. The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 P.M. If you cannot attend the meeting: Please contact Molly Koivumaki at 952-949-8439 or e-mail at mkoivumaki@edenprairie.org no later than 4:00 p.m.on Monday,January 10,2005. Please leave a message on voicemail.