1. April 28, 2015 Presentation
To the
Covington Board of Commissioners
2. Rev. Charles Fann – Chair.
Maher Sarieh – Vice Chair.
Marie Braun
Linda Banks-Cobbs-Banks
Michael Monks
Pamela Mullins
Geri Rader
Don Smith
Jimmy Williams
3. The Covington Human Rights
Commission updated its ordinance in
2003 to include protection in housing,
employment and public
accommodations based on sexual
orientation and gender identity –
becoming the third city in Kentucky at
the time with such protections.
4.
5. Some observers have called
the Covington Human Rights
Fairness Ordinance the best
in the state because of its
range of protections
and inclusion.
6. Some people have brought
their conventions to
Covington because its
Fairness Ordinance
indicates the city is a
welcoming community.
7. Holds monthly meetings on the 1st Thursday, 5:30
p.m. at the Covington City Hall. Our meetings are
open to the public.
Investigate complaints of discrimination in the
areas of public accommodations, employment,
and housing outside of the jurisdiction of the
Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
Refers appropriate complaints to the Kentucky
Commission on Human Rights.
The Covington Human Rights
Commission
8. CHRC Fair Housing Forum
our first collaborative event
collaborative event
9. 2009 Covington Human
Rights Commission Fair
Housing Forum
Presenters and
participants at
Covington City Hall.
12. The Covington Human Rights
Commission has supported many
programs to empower all people who visit,
live or work in the city. For example, the
Covington Human Rights Commission
sponsored a health fair in the East Side of
Covington to encourage a positive
relationship between police, firefighters,
health care workers and social service
agencies and members of the African
American community.
14. The Covington Human Rights
Commission, through its member,
Marie Braun, has helped organize a
Disability Rights Conference in
Covington during the past three years
to bring service providers, agencies,
first responders and others as
presenters to share information for
and about people with disabilities.
15. The Covington Human Rights Commission
participated in a dedication event in memory of
Margaret Garner at the site of her historic marker
in the Covington Mainstrasse area.
2011
16. The Covington Human
Rights Commission has held
information booths at various
city festivals and our
members attend and
participate in a variety of
local and out-of-town
meetings and events that
promote civil and human
rights.
17. And the Covington Human
Rights Commission has held its
meetings at different locations in
the city – such as City Heights to
address hate flyers that were left
at residences.
18. and Latonia Terrace – to give low-
income residents information about
their civil and human rights.
19. And the Covington Human Rights
Commission has sponsored many
educational programs, including the
“Get on The Bus’’ tour of historic
African American sites in Elsmere,
Covington and Newport;
20. and the KY Remembers program at
the Duveneck Arts and Cultural
Center in 2007 that brought high
school students together to interview
and archive information from local
civil rights leaders.
21. The Covington Human Rights
Commission was also instrumental in
getting the 2007 KY Civil Rights Hall
of Fame program that was held at
Northern Kentucky University in
Highland Heights.
22. The Covington Human Rights
Commission also led efforts to get local
human rights leaders as Father
Anthony Deye, former
Covington City Commissioner Pamela
Mullins, Sister Janet Bucher and
activists Isiah Smith, Alice Shimfessell,
Rosetta Porterfield and Bennie Doggett
elected to the Kentucky Civil Rights
Hall of Fame.
24. The Covington Human Rights
Commission has also helped resolve
several issues or neighborhood
disputes before the matters reached
the Covington City Commission.
26. Covington Human Rights Commission Chair
Charles Fann met with the Covington Housing
Authority several years ago to get that agency
to rescind a new policy that required residents
to pay their rent at the beginning of the month
or face eviction – a hardship that forced some
residents to panic and send their children to
live with relatives.
27. The Covington Human Rights Commission,
under its then Chair, Rev. Don Smith, met with
neighborhood residents several years ago to
get them to understand their mistreatment of an
African American family that had recently
moved to their neighborhood. The residents
changed their behavior and the African
American family did not register any new
complaints.
28. The Covington Human Rights
Commission has done many good
works for the city and we are
requesting $3.000 to help continue our
education and outreach programs.
