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From YouTube: Human Relations Commission – September 21, 2023
Description
Regular meeting of the City of Asheville Human Relations Commission.
Access the agenda and other meeting materials at the City of Asheville website: https://www.ashevillenc.gov/department/city-clerk/boards-and-commissions/human-relations-commission/
Participate before and during the meeting on our public engagement hub: https://publicinput.com/D1380
A
B
My
name
is
Alma
Atkins
and
I.
Am
the
chair?
I
would
like
to
welcome
you
to
the
September
21st
2023
human
relations
commission
in-person
meeting
we
are
coming
to
you
live
from
the
Cherokee
homelands,
where
the
Eastern
band
of
Cherokee
Indians
remain
a
Sovereign
Nation.
To
this
day,
we
will
now
call
our
meeting
to
order
the
duties
of
the
human
relations
Commission
of
Asheville
include,
but
are
not
limited
to
making
policy
recommendation
recommendations
to
the
city
council
which
promote
and
improve
human
relations
and
Advance
equity
in
the
city.
B
For
those
of
us
who
plan
to
speak
our
live
public
comment
today,
you
will
need
to
be
present
to
speak,
for
those
of
you
out
there
with
us
today.
Welcome
well
who
will
now
go
through
and
introduce
all
the
commission,
members,
staff
and
guests
for
our
commission
members.
Please
make
sure
to
wait
until
you
are
recognized
by
the
chair
before
speaking
when
you
have
a
question
or
you
would
like
to
speak,
raise
your
hand
and
when
recognized
by
the
chair,
you
may
speak.
B
B
F
A
G
B
To
give
us
a
shared
understanding
of
group
norms
and
to
ensure
everyone
participating
feels
heard
and
valued
in
the
meeting
we
will
review
our
group
agreements
with
which
were
created
based
on
the
boards
of
commissions,
ethics
policy,
be
civil
and
courteous,
be
respectful
of
different
opinions.
Be
present
no
personal
attacks.
B
To
help
our
audience
follow
along
I'll
State,
each
section
of
the
agenda
allowed
again
I
ask
committee
members
to
raise
your
hand
and
be
recognized
to
speak.
Please
state
your
name
each
time.
You
comment
just
a
reminder
that
the
public
is
listening
on
the
phone
and
this
keeps
them
up
to
date
on
the
order
of
the
meeting
and
who
is
commenting
or
speaking,
a
quorum
has
been
reached
and
we
acknowledge
that
and
now
we
will
have
the
approval
of
our
minutes
from
the
July
20th
meet.
B
E
B
B
B
A
I
have
an
update
on
the
hrca
crown
act
recommendation
at
the
March
16th
HRC
meeting.
This
commission
voted
Union
City
to
recommend
the
Asheville
Crown
act.
Providing
additional
protections
against
discrimination
of
natural
hair
and
hairstyles
protection
for
hair
is
already
covered
under
our
existing
non-discrimination
ordinance,
and
so
there
was
a
presentation
which
myself
and
your
chair,
Alma
Atkins,
presented
to
the
equity
and
engagement
Council
committee,
proposing
some
additional
language
into
our
non-discrimination,
ordinance
to
protect
natural
hair
and
hairstyles,
and
so
that
is
going.
A
That
recommendation
is
now
going
to
the
October
10th
city
council
meeting.
If
you
would
like
to
watch
that
meeting
live
streamed,
you
can
do
so
or
you're
welcome
to
attend
in
person,
but
just
to
give
you
a
heads
up
that
it
has
made
it
or
it's
going
to
be.
We
anticipate
it
being
on
the
October
10th
city
council
agenda.
B
B
H
Good
evening,
commission
members,
it
is
always
a
pleasure
to
be
here
with
you.
I
know,
I've
already
introduced
myself,
but
my
name
is
Brad
Branham
I'm,
the
City
attorney
for
the
city
of
Asheville
and
I
have
a
proposal
for
your
consideration
this
evening.
This
is
probably
less
exciting
than
maybe
you
were
hoping
for,
but
oftentimes,
that's
the
best
material
I
have
to
give
so
I'm
going
to
make
it
as
interesting
as
I
can
for
you.
H
As
you
know,
this
body
was
formed
via
an
ordinance
that
was
passed
by
the
Asheville
city
council,
establishing
the
human
relations
Commission
of
Asheville
several
years
ago.
That
is
the
ordinance
that
still
operates
to
not
only
establish
and
Empower
this
body,
but
it
also
establishes
the
way
that
the
membership
of
this
particular
body
is
formed.
How
many
members
you
have
how
the
membership
is
selected?
You
recently
updated
that
just
last
year
to
take
this
body
from
a
15-member
body
to
a
smaller
group.
H
So
that's
something
that
the
city
council
looks
to
you
for
rec
recommendations
on
now,
while
I'm
here
this
evening,
is
that,
as
of
late,
there
have
been
several
major
Court
opinions,
primarily
coming
from
the
United
States
Supreme
Court
and
I
have
been
on
a
crusade
as
of
late
to
change,
a
lot
of
our
local
rules
and
ordinances,
to
make
sure
that
we
are
still
as
a
city
compliant
with
these
new
Court
decisions
that
affect
us.
Well,
it
just
so
happens
that
a
couple
of
those
decisions
affect
your
body.
H
Okay,
you
may
or
may
not
have
heard.
There
were
some
recent
cases
that
involved
the
University
of
Harvard
and
the
University
of
North
Carolina
Chapel
Hill,
and
they
were
around
admission
procedures.
Okay,
those
two
schools
were
sued
by
independent
groups
who
said
that
they
had
racially
discriminatory
admissions
policies
all
right
now.
These
are
kind
of
suits
that
have
come
up
before,
but
for
the
first
time
in
a
long
time,
the
court
determined
that
the
admissions
policies
at
both
schools
were
in
fact
constitutional
violations.
H
So
now
what
you
have
is
cities,
schools
and
other
businesses
that
are
funded
in
some
part
or
locally
or
excuse
me,
state
or
federally
established,
trying
to
make
some
amendments
to
some
of
the
rules
so
that
we
can
remain
in
compliance
with
these
newest
Court
decisions.
And
that's
why
I'm
here
for
you
today,
because
the
original
ordinance
that
established
this
body
had
some
language
in
it
that
we
felt
could
be
construed
as
potentially
in
conflict
with
those
two
Court
decisions.
H
So
I
have
drafted
some
language
to
make
a
proposed
change,
and
it
is
my
opinion
that
this
will
bring
us
into
full
compliance
and
keep
the
city
safe.
Keep
this
body
safe
moving
forward,
but
I
will
also
say
that
what
I've
tried
to
do
and
I'll,
let
you
be.
The
judge
of
this-
is
try
to
protect
the
original
intent
of
the
ordinance
that
established
this
body
and
the
kind
of
membership
opportunities
that
it
wanted
to
provide.
H
So
what
you
have
or
about
to
have
in
front
of
you
is
the
section
of
the
ordinance
dealing
with
the
hrca
that
deals
with
your
duties.
It
also
talks
a
little
bit
about
some
of
the
things
that
go
into
membership.
The
council
appointment
process,
but
it
also
specifically
talks
about
the
makeup
of
your
membership
on
the
second
page
or
on
the
back
page,
is
the
only
change
that
I'm
suggesting
to
you
today?
H
Okay,
and
you
can
see
what
has
been
crossed
out
is
the
line
that
currently
exists
in
the
ordinance
today,
and
everything
in
green
is
what
I'm
suggesting
we
replace
it
with.
That
is
the
only
change,
so
it
previously
read
in
part
that
membership
on
the
commission
shall
include
but
not
be
limited
to
the
following,
and
then
it
lists
several
defining
characteristics,
including
black
and
African-American
Latino
and
Hispanic
individuals,
Native
American
indigenous
people
and
so
on
and
so
forth.
H
My
proposal
to
you
to
alter
the
language
so
that
number
one
we
are
in
compliance
with
the
new
Court
decisions
and
therefore
federal
law,
but
also
to
try
to
maintain
the
very
important
protections
for
some
of
our
most
disadvantaged
groups
is
still
protected.
My
suggestion
is
that
this
new
language
be
inserted.
H
That
is
the
only
suggested
change
that
I
have
before
you
and
I'm
happy
to
answer
any
questions
you've
have
about
it.
If
this
board
approves
this
moving
forward,
I
will
also
be
presenting
it
to
the
city
council
at
an
upcoming
meeting
in
October
I
believe
October
10th,
and
if
that
is
approved
at
that
time,
it
would
officially
become
law
and
the
new
guidelines
for
this
body.
So
with
that
said,
I'll
be
quiet
and
answer
any
questions
that
you
have.
H
We've
what
we've
tried
to
do
is,
although
the
ability
to
serve
on
the
commission
applies
to
anyone.
We
wanted
to
leave
in
the
language
about
all
of
those
groups
who
have
historically
not
only
been
disadvantaged,
but
are
some
of
the
reasons
that
this
particular
body
was
established
to
provide
a
voice
for
some
of
those
people
in
this
public
forum
and
a
direct
voice
to
city
council.
H
So
by
utilizing
the
language
that
I've
put
in
there,
it
mandates
that
the
city
council
shall
consider
in
all
of
their
appointments
the
ability
for
all
of
those
particular
named
groups
to
offer
the
opportunity
to
serve.
So
that
is
part
of
their
consideration
process.
It
is
now,
and
it
will
remain
part
of
the
process.
The
only
thing
that
we
have
done
to
alter
that
a
little
bit
is
to
call
out
that
everyone
has
the
opportunity
to
serve,
but
those
groups
particularly,
must
be
protected
in
their
opportunity
to
be
a
part
of
this
group.
H
A
very
good
question
so,
on
the
the
application
that
we
have
is
gonna
be
changed
a
little
bit.
There
used
to
be
a
second
form
that
this
particular
information
would
come
in,
but
everyone
is
still
able
to
provide
whatever
additional
information
on
their
application
that
they
would
like
and,
as
some
of
you
probably
know,
there's
an
interview
process
that
goes
along
with
this
and
because
of
the
language
is
written.
The
way
it
is.
H
It
requires
city
council
to
take
into
consideration
the
equal
access
to
all
of
those
groups,
so
they
have
the
ability
not
just
to
ask
it,
but
anyone
can
write
that
in
on
their
application.
In
fact,
we
would
encourage
you
to
because
in
those
lawsuits
that
I
mentioned,
although
it
said
you
can,
you
can
no
longer
have
essentially
quotas
for
individual
groups
to
be
admitted.
You
can
take
into
consideration
someone's
life
experience
and
who
they
are.
We
want
to
follow
same
rules
and
we
think
those
are
part
of
someone's
life
experience.
C
Commissioner,
hair,
at
the
time
I'm
thinking
back
to
when
I
filled
out,
my
application
is
a
tariff.
Wasn't
there
already
a
spot
on
there
for
you
to
put
in
how
you
want
to
be
identified
there.
H
Was
there
was
so
essentially,
we
have
a
form
for
all
boards
and
commissions,
but
some
forms
some
boards
commissions
have
additional
paperwork,
this
body
for
the
form
utilized
for
admission
to
this
membership.
H
There
was
a
second
form
okay,
so
it
was
a
second
sheet
that
allowed
you
to
identify
one
of
those
characteristics,
we're
not
going
to
use
that
form
anymore,
but
we
are
still
allowing
anybody
to
add
whatever
additional
information
that
they
want
and
again
we're
going
to
ask
that
city
council
make
sure
that
they
consider
as
part
of
the
appointment
process
in
the
interview
process
anyone's
characteristics
as
they
go
through
to
make
the
decision
about
who
gets
appointed.
H
This
logic
and
this
framework
will
apply
to
all
boards.
I
will
say
that
not
every
board
goes
to
the
extent
and
calls
out
these
particular
Protections.
In
fact,
this
is
one
of
the
only
ones
that
does,
and
we
left
that
language
in
there
purposely,
because
we
felt
that
part
of
the
reason
this
board,
in
particular
was
formed
was
to
provide
that
voice
to
those
particular
groups
of
people
who
are
some
of
the
most
affected
by
human
relations
issues
in
the
city.
H
G
C
Commissioner
Herald
yeah
some
commissioner
Harold
Brad
the
things
that
I
wanted
to
necessarily
go
through.
Now.
They
pertain
to
the
document.
As
far
as
the.
C
C
Okay,
starting
at
the
background
line
five,
the
proposed
amendment
will
require
that
historically
disadvantaged
groups
will
be
provided
equal
access
and
opportunity
to
serve
I
have
a
pause
on
the
word
upon
the
commission.
Upon
is
somewhat
like
Upon,
a
Midnight,
Clear
or
whatever
on
would
be
more
grammatically.
C
Correcting
that
point
as
far
in
that
right
there
in
that
spot.
For
me,.
H
A
commissioner
I
will
say
that
my
mother
was
an
English
teacher
and
I
am
far
from
being
too
proud
to
answer
to
someone
who
knows
grammar
better
than
I
do
so.
I
will
happily
accept
that
Amendment,
as
you
have
suggested,
to
change
the
word
upon
to
on
just
as
I
would
have
agreed.
When
my
mother
told
me
I
was
wrong
before.
C
All
right,
moving
on
to
like
I,
said
I
couldn't
see
certain
things
on
that
until
I
could
see
it
really
up
close.
The
point
that
I
have
on
getting
to
now
is
starting
at
action
requested
when
we're
at
20
at
2-185.25.
C
There
are
periods
right
there
and
then
another
place.
There
was
a
dash
25
and
then,
when
we
get
down
to
the
ordinance
themselves,
they
always
end
in
a
dash
25
and
not
a
period
25.
I
wanted
to
know.
Is
there
something?
H
C
Okay
under
ordinances.
C
C
C
You
know
to
the
back
one
two:
two
b
b:
2B,
that's
where
I
want
to
move
to
on
the
ordinances
beat
you
beat,
and
that
would
be
one
two,
three
four
and
the
fifth
one
down
as
well
members
of
the
lgbtq
community
plus
community,
when
it
starts
off
with
members.
Should
that
not
be
capitalized.
A
Would
it
suffice
to
with
revisions
to
correct
any
grammatical
or
punctuation
errors
in
this
proposed
or
recommended
ordinance
change?
Would
that
suffice
for
the
specific
details
that
you're
looking
for.
H
H
C
Sir
I
appreciate
that
very
much.
Thank
you
for
listening
to
me,
Brad.
That's
the
point
that
points
that
I
want
to
touch
on.
B
You
very
much
let
us
call
emotion
to
proceed
with
the
changes
that
have
been
made
in
the
HRC
a.
B
B
B
B
D
Commissioner
Reed
president
I
wanted
to
talk
about
a
couple
of
topics
that
are
currently
going
on
in
the
city
related
to
housing
issues
in
our
fight
against
homelessness,
I,
see
where
the
city
is
taking
this
very
seriously
as
we
are
getting
ready
to
go
into
a
fall
and
winter
setting
of
the
year,
and
so
with
that
in
mind
working
closely
with
these
housing
related
issues
throughout
the
city.
D
In
the
past
month,
I
will
say:
I've
been
working
very
closely
with
this.
So
looking
at
the
different
Property
Management
systems
that
we
have
around
the
city
working
with
people,
especially
living
under
the
200
percent
poverty
line,
there's
a
big
gap
there,
one
of
the
largest
property
managements
here
in
the
city
is
actually
struggling
with
capacity
internally.
D
That
being
said,
the
application
process
has
being
closed
at
one
of
the
largest
property
managements
in
the
city,
as
they
have
I
have
been
notified
by
internal
staff
that
the
Asheville
Housing
Authority
has
4
300,
plus
applicants
that
are
on
a
waiting
list,
and
that
is
an
estimated
number
of
course.
However,
that
is
a
current
number
that
I
have
received
with
that
being
stated.
They
have
closed
their
application
process,
and
that
was
done
in
the
past
couple
of
weeks.
D
B
Examining
systems
oh
one
moment,
I
recognize
you
yeah.
C
C
Do
you
have
you
brought?
Have
you
thought
of
any
ideas
that
we
can
Institute
as
far
as
addressing
this
4300
people
that
want
housing
need
housing
desperately
need
housing
so
to
speak?
How
can
we
get
them
recognized
and
get
the
application
process
opened
up?
Is
there
a
process
that
we
might
can
go
through,
or
maybe
brag
and
put
us
down
the
right
path
as
far
as
getting
on
it
and
addressing
it,
because
it's.
F
C
D
Yes,
commissioner
Harold
is,
we
are
a
a
board
of
body
we
are
being
heard
here
this
evening
with
that
being
stated,
these
issues
can
be
addressed
to
higher
authorities
in
city
council.
The
fact
that
we're
here
having
this
conversation
tonight
I
would
hope
that
we
can
move
this
towards
the
city
council,
as
the
application
process
is
the
same
for
the
board
that
oversees
that
housing
authority
so
I
think
that
that
was
a
great
question
that
you
asked.
D
That
would
be
one
good
notion
for
us
to
take
to
move
forward
to
see
if
we
can
get
this
to
city
council
and
look
at
what
the
board
oversees
and
the
changes
that
are
being
made
and
any
questions
that
we
may
have
moving
forward.
We
address
that
through
them.
B
Recognize,
commissioner
Blanchard.
F
D
So
the
answer
that
I
have
received
in
doing
my
research
and
working
with
is
basically
they
are
limited
on
capacity.
They
have
lost
at
least
a
third
of
their
staff
with
Asheville
Housing
Authority,
and
so
that
is
the
answer
that
I
am
receiving.
D
Now
there
are
other
property
management
corporations
around
the
city
that
also
work
with
other
housing
areas,
and
because
this
change
has
been
made,
it
is
creating
a
little
more
for
them,
a
lot
more
than
what
they
have
expected,
but
I
believe
they
are
in
preparation
of
receiving
all
of
this
and
trying
to
take
care
of
it
as
diligently
as
possible.
B
Well,
I
recognize
you,
commissioner
psycho
thank.
E
You
this
is
commissioner
Sacco
question
about
kind
of
in
what
commissioner
Blanchard
said
about
is:
is
the
Housing
Authority?
E
Is
there
a
staff
member
that
looks
energy
funding,
writing
grants
exploring
other
Federal
ways
to
bring
in
money?
Is
there
a
person
that
is
just
solely
responsible
for
that
to
say,
apply
for
Grants,
whether
County
city
state
federal,
to
bring
in
money.
D
To
answer
your
question,
I
am
aware
that
HUD
housing,
Urban
Development,
is
the
largest
resource
for
financing
supplemental
housing
through
Asheville
Housing
Authority
as
far
as
the
other
resources
and
which
they
receive
through
partnership.
D
A
Madam
chair,
it
sounds
like
it
could
be
worth
inviting
a
staff
person
from
the
housing
authority
to
present
to
the
human
relations
commission.
If
that's
amitable
to
the
board,
I'd
be
happy
to
work
with
commissioner
Reed
to
identify
someone
to
invite
for
a
future
presentation
and
see
what's
possible.
So
we
can
get
some
information
to
you
all
directly
from
the
Housing
Authority.
As.
B
More
question
commission
to
have.
C
Moving
forward,
would
it
not
be
better
for
if
we
can
be
there,
go
to
the
next
city
council
meeting
and
address
how
we
feel
about
the
4
300
people
just
waiting
there
for
housing.
D
If
I
may
make
a
suggestion,
the
next
Asheville
Housing
Authority
board
meeting
will
be
held
next
Wednesday,
which
is
the
fourth
Wednesday
of
each
month
that
they
have
dedicated
for
their
board
meetings.
That
would
be
an
appropriate
time
to
ask
any
questions
as
a
resident
or
non-resident.
That
is
an
open
meeting
from
6
p.m.
Until
next
Wednesday,
the
fourth
Wednesday
of
every
month,.
B
And
also
just
to
confirm
with
you,
commissioner
Howard,
you
ought
able
to
attend
any
meaning
as
an
individual,
but
as
for
a
commission,
we
must
have
discussion
on
those
things
before
we
move
forward.
Okay,
so
hear
me
say
that
as
an
individual,
you
may
definitely
voice
your
concerns,
but,
as
a
commission
we'll
just
have
to
discuss
at
a
later
date
how
we
will
proceed
and
to
support
the
housing
committee.
B
More
question
so.
F
It's
more
of
a
suggestion,
possibly
would
it
be
possible
to,
or
is
there
a
list
that
of
these
contacts
the
people
that
have
the
authority
or
oversee
a
lot
of
these
programs
that
we
could,
as
a
committee,
invite
to
our
meetings?
Kind
of
a
personal
invitation
to
have
them
show
up
here?
Is
that
possible.
F
B
Can
come
and
speak
intelligibly
on
the
on
the
actual
request
that
will
help
us
to
be
able
to
make
decisions
better.
That
is
exactly
what
we're
asking,
but
we
would
desire
that
you
would
discuss
that
in
your
individual
Focus
committee
groups.
Thank
you.
C
Just
one
more
question:
I
want
to
address
one
of
our
Liaisons
here
that
oh
here
Brad
do
you
have
any
word
that
we
could
use
how
to
go
about
this.
H
Sir,
to
Michelle
Howard,
it's
more
than
just
a
little
high.
It's
extraordinarily
troubling
to
see
these
kind
of
statistics
and
I
know
that
the
city
council
is
aware
of
them.
I
I
think
that
one
of
the
suggestions
that
came
up
is
something
that
I
think
might
be
a
very
good
step
for
this
next
group.
Inviting
someone
to
provide
you
a
little
more
information.
What
that
does
is
not
only
inform
this
body,
but
it
also
establishes
a
point
of
contact
going
forward
and
I
might
even
suggesting
in
coordination
with
that.
H
The
city's
own,
affordable
housing
coordinator,
salsa,
ratinski,
who's,
really
working
in
collaboration
with
the
housing
authority
and
HUD,
and
a
lot
of
the
programs
that
we're
currently
working
on
would
be
I.
Think
more
than
happy
I'm
speaking
for
her
now
so
Sasha.
Sorry
about
that
I
know
you're
very
busy,
but
I
think
that
she
would
also
like
to
come
and
talk
to
you
and
she
can
describe
I
think
some
of
not
just
what
is
going
on,
but
some
of
the
reasons.
H
Some
of
the
challenges
that
we're
facing
and
give
this
body
a
little
more
information
about
how
best
to
direct
The,
Next
Step
steps,
and
certainly
you
always
have
the
opportunity
to
send
up
recommendations
to
council
to
go
and
ask
to
be
added
to
the
agenda
to
speak
to
Council
on
an
item.
A
B
You
very
much
we're
going
to
move
on
with
the
rest
of
our
committee
updates.
Is
there
anyone
that
can
speak
on
examining
systems.
B
So
are
there
any
Community
announcements?
This
should
be
events
and
other
engagements
that
would
interest
hrca.
B
E
Of
commissioner,
yes,
thank
you.
This
is
commissioner
psycho
speaking.
One
of
my
passions
is
helping
people
who
have
hearing
loss
which
affects
so
many
of
us,
as
we
are
getting
older,
our
parents
are
getting
older
seems
like
we
lose
our
hearing
faster
than
anything.
There
is
a
hearing
loss,
accessibility,
Expo
that'll,
be
coming
up
in
November,
2nd,
it
is
a
free
event.
E
I
think
it's
going
to
be
worthwhile
because
they
will
talk
about
assistive
technology.
Helping
people
keep
be
able
to
keep
in
their
homes,
keep
their
jobs
while
they
still
have
some
type
of
a
hearing
loss,
so
I
bought
some
flyers
and
I
would
be
happy
to
route
to
the
other
members.
Thank
you
very
much.
C
C
It
would
be
impact
Square,
it's
a
community
announcement
be
October,
14th
and
15th,
the
14th
from
10
to
9,
10
a.m,
to
9
P.M
and
October
15th
from
12
P.M
to
6
p.m,
and
the
other
events
that
I
would
like
to
announce
would
be
that's
to
force
the
reparations.
C
It's
two
free
movie,
Nights
one
is
October
2nd
and
the
name
of
it
is
black
in
Asheville
and
it
will
be
at
6,
30
P.M,
and
it
will
be
followed
by
a
discussion
with
filmmaker
Todd
gray,
gag
Greg's,
and
then
there
would
be
also
another
one
on
October
5th
at
6
30
pm,
also
for
Community
reparations
October.
The
7th
Community
reparation
Summit
will
be
held.