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History of the
Human Relations Commission
The Tempe Human Relations Commission was created by
Mayor Neil Giuliano and the City Council in mid-1995. An announcement was
made about its creation and a call was put out for applicants. There was a
great response with almost 100 people applying for the thirteen available
positions. The appointments would be made by the Mayor and Council after a
review of the applications. This commission was created prior to any
crisis—before any major human relations problem surfaced in the
community. It set a precedent in the valley and since its inception,
several other communities have now replicated the model.
At the first meeting in January, 1996, Mayor
Giuliano stated that he expected the Human Relations Commission to enhance
life for citizens of Tempe. Gary Brown, City Manager at that time, stated
that the Human Relations Commission should promote justice and equality,
should further diversity efforts, and should strive to expand the sense of
community and civility as well as promote citizenship.
There were community groups who felt that the Human
Relations Commission was created with a hidden gay agenda. During the
first couple of years of its existence, it was monitored closely by
members of the Christian Coalition who attended monthly meetings as well
as committee meetings. The Commission was also monitored closely by the
press and a reporter from the Tribune Newspapers was assigned to attend
each meeting.
The Human Relations Commission committee established
its committee structure during its first retreat which was held in May,
1996. Priorities were set which included:
- Survey citizen needs and wants
- Partner with Arizona State University
- Establish a community dialogue program
- Establish a diversity awards program
These priorities have remained during the history of
the Human Relations Commission. They receive ongoing and consistent
focused attention by the commissioners.
The original goals included that of getting
community input and forming action plans around the issues about which the
community was concerned. In addition to these priorities, Phase I of the
Tempe Diversity Initiative was formulated and adopted at this retreat.
This Tempe Diversity Initiative was presented to the Mayor and Council in
the Fall of 1996. The Council approved the Initiative and adopted a
resolution in support of the Tempe Diversity Initiative.
The adoption of this Initiative engendered much
controversy and there were many residents who made public appearances
before the Council to voice strong opposition to the Tempe Diversity
Initiative, the Human Relations Commission and Diversity itself!! Also
during this year, the Human Relations Commission continued to be attacked
in the press. The attacks included an editorial calling for the group to
be disbanded because it hadn't done anything. (see articles)
During 1997, the Human Relations Commission theme, Together
We’re Better, was developed. The Tempe Diversity Initiative was
further developed and implemented and now included efforts to include
youth to a greater degree. The Human Relations Commission produced a
newsletter which included a survey of citizen attitudes and opinions. This
was widely distributed by mail, through community centers and was
published in the Arizona Republic. The Human Relations Commission also
staffed a booth at the 1997 Fall Mill Avenue Merchants Association Art
Fair distributing more of the newsletters with the surveys. Also during
this Fall, the Human Relations Commission forwarded a statement to the
Mayor and Council outlining its position on hate crimes. This was at the
time of and in response to the beating death of a gay college student in
Wyoming. This incident shocked and sickened the entire nation. This
statement was read into the record at the City Council meeting.
In November of 1997, a community event was held
which served as the Kick-Off to the Tempe Diversity Initiative. Mayor Neil
Giuliano, representatives of the Arizona Attorney General’s office, the
Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee and the Arizona State University
Intergroup Relations Center participated in this positive community event.
1998 brought about a further development of the
Tempe Diversity Initiative and initiated the Diversity Art Experience at
Marcos de Niza High School. Working with the art faculty, the Human
Relations Commission coordinated a program in which art students had an
opportunity to depict their interpretation of Diversity through the visual
arts. Seventy seven posters were received from the students who were later
honored by the Mayor and Council. The posters were then displayed in the
community. During this year, planning began with city staff for the First
Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and the first Human Relations
Commission Diversity Awards Banquet. The second newsletter published by
the Human Relations Commission was issued during the Fall of 1998 and
featured an article on Tempe’s Hispanic Heritage It also called
attention to Mayor Neil Giuliano’s proclamation declaring Hate Crimes
Awareness Week.
In January, 1999, the First Annual Martin Luther
King, Jr. Celebration and Human Relations Commission Diversity Awards
Banquet were held with Martin Luther King III as the featured speaker. The
day long family event featured a Unity Walk which brought people from all
over the city together to hear inspirational speeches, wonderful music and
to view performance groups from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. In
addition, great food and many informational booths were available. The
evening Banquet again featured MLK III as honored guest and speaker and
also honored thirteen community individuals and entities for their
demonstrated efforts at the support of diversity.
During this year, a pilot Neighborhood Dialogue
Program was initiated. The program was a collaborative effort of the
Arizona State University Intergroup Relations Center and the Human
Relations Commission and focused on neighborhood issues. The group met on
five consecutive Sundays. They explored issues and developed action plans
and to this day, participants of the Dialogue Program are implementing
those plans to improve their neighborhoods.
In 1999, the Tempe Human Relations Commission
received the National League of Cities Cultural Diversity first runner-up
Award for cities in the 100,000 – 400,000 population category.
The year 2000 brought the Second Annual Tempe Martin
Luther King, Jr. Celebration. This wonderful day featured Yolanda King as
the honored guest and speaker and again consisted of a day long
celebration filled with music, art, games, speakers, food and exhibits
which honored the ideals of Dr. King. The day ended with a beautiful
banquet at which Diversity Awards were presented to individuals,
organizations and businesses which had again demonstrated a commitment to
honoring and celebrating diversity in the community of Tempe.
A second Dialogue Program pilot was held which
focused on community diversity issues. At the conclusion of the five
discussion sessions, participants formulated a set of recommendations
which had to do with improving the climate for diversity in Tempe. These
were forwarded to the Mayor and Council. At the conclusion of the pilot
program, facilitators and participants were honored by Mayor Giuliano and
presented with a Community Service Certificate. From this very successful
pilot came the Diversity Dialogues Program in which the Human Relations
Commission, the Arizona State University Intergroup Relations Center
Arizona State University and the Tempe Library are collaborating. The
Diversity Dialogues will meet several times a year on six consecutive
Sundays at the Tempe Library. They will be facilitated by volunteers who
have been trained by Jesus Trevino, Director of the Arizona State
University Intergroup Relations Center. Through participation in the
program, residents of Tempe will develop greater understanding of self and
others as well as of issues affecting their lives in the community. It is
expected that the increased understanding will result in improving the
climate for diversity in Tempe.
Also during the year 2000, the Human Relations
Commission worked closely with, assisted and advised city management in
dealing with a difficult period of reorganization. Commissioners provided
input to the development of a Diversity Audit as well as the investigation
of charges of discrimination conducted by the Arizona Attorney General’s
office.
The purpose of the Tempe Human Relations Commission
is to promote mutual understanding and respect; to work toward the
elimination of prejudice and discrimination; to help people from different
backgrounds feel at home in Tempe. These were envisioned to be
accomplished through the dissemination of information (seminars,
workshops, newsletter); community input including dialogue and forums; the
sponsoring of events and awards. It was stated that the HRC "needs to
be fearless when it comes to looking at matters deemed wrong".
In its nine year history, the Tempe Human Relations
Commission has made a significant contribution to the understanding,
support and celebration of diversity in Tempe. It will continue and expand
its efforts and will always work to make Tempe a better place to live,
work and play. The Tempe Human Relations Commission challenges each
visitor to look within him/herself as to how he or she can make a
contribution to this all important community vision.
In 2004, the Human Relations Commissions decided to
adopt a new logo that would distinguish them as
a commission. This is their logo:
While the Together We're Better logo would continue
to be used to highlight diversity events, such as the Unity Walk and the
MLK Diversity Awards Brunch, this logo would used for any
commission-related publicity or outreach. |
