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Letter from our Co-Chairs

Celebrating Ten Years of Work for Human Rights in Whatcom County.
This is the tenth anniversary of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force and it is time to celebrate! This community and the work of so many citizens have helped to keep the importance of human rights in the forefront. Beginning in January with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Conference [see 2004 info] marking the 50 year anniversary of Brown vs Board of Education, the Task Force is journeying through this year focusing on the celebration of community supporters who have worked steadfastly to assure the integrity of our own humanity. Although laws are created which establish the rights of all human beings, it is the people who must be the watchdogs and pledge to secure that those laws are upheld.

Another opportunity to celebrate is coming up in June. WHRTF's General Membership Meeting will be a potluck picnic on Thursday, June 10 at Fairhaven Park with Satpal Sidhu speaking [more on calendar page]. Mr. Sidhu, a leader in Whatcom County’s Sikh community, will share his perspective on the current climate in Whatcom County in light of recent events both locally and globally.

During this meeting, the membership will be asked to elect new board members to fill three open positions. Please join us as we recognize the contributions of our departing members of the board and welcome in our new board members.
This fall, the Tenth Anniversary Banquet will honor those of our community who have been there throughout the years with their hearts and souls, physical and financial support. More details about the banquet, including the date, speaker and location, will be unveiled at the June picnic. We look forward to honoring this community for its many efforts and accomplishments, and to showing our appreciation for the support the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force has received over these past ten years.

In peace and solidarity,
Lisa Marie Fox, Co-chair
Barbara Zine Rofkar, Co-Chair

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Gathering the Community Family:
An Interview with Becky Diaz

— by Casey Groat, WHRTF Intern

[Becky Diaz moved to Bellingham from California with her husband Ernie Diaz and their children in 1980. One of the founders of the Whatcom Hispanic Organization in 1989, Becky has been deeply involved in community building and working for diversity issues in Whatcom County for more than twenty years. In this excerpt from a more extensive interview, Becky recounts the events that led to the creation of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force.]

“Let me tell you how the merger or the creation of the Human Rights Task Force happened, and why it was started, and then the reason why we [the Whatcom Hispanic Organization] pulled away. As Latinos we didn’t want “them,” and when I say “them,” we didn’t want community people to think it’s another extension of the Whatcom Hispanic Organization. It’s not.

What happened, happened to the Latino community, but we wanted community members to own that, and say “it’s not about just the Latinos or the Blacks or the Jews; because I am a female, because I’m lesbian, because I am gay, because I am a Native American, or a child that is voiceless.” This is any member in the community that this vehicle could help support. That happened in August of 1994. During that period, the Whatcom Hispanic Organization had two organizations under one umbrella: LULAC, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Whatcom Hispanic Organization. The Whatcom Hispanic Organization being the parent organization and LULAC more of a civil rights national organization in which had a chapter here in Bellingham.

So we have done our work throughout the year, and our reward to ourselves is that we have a summer family outing. So, we went to Arco grounds in Ferndale and camped out Friday and Saturday night. That was our reward for the membership; to go there, be with our families, have a camp fire, play volleyball at midnight, because it was a full moon, I have to tell you, and break piñatas, roast a pig.

Here we were, celebrating our summer with our family. We came home Sunday and in the newspaper, what did we see? A cross burning took place in Lynden on the East Pole Road in front of a migrant camp with 100 people living there. These are grandmothers, grandfathers, parents, children and a ten foot cross burning took place. As I mentioned it was a full moon on that night, and as we were at our campout, this ugly incident happened.

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About 75 of us got home on Sunday; we read about this and then the phone started ringing.... Churches, supporters, members started calling because they could not believe this hideous, ugly, monstrous act, nobody could believe… because as far as the community knew, this had never happened… And, since we moved here in 1980, and we’re from California, this would not be tolerated, because there’s a large diversity of people there. But here in the Northwest, I think people thought, ‘sleepy little white community tucked away close to the Canada border,’ not five minutes from Lynden.

So we called for an emergency meeting. In three days time we had 400 people, we had a vigil, candlelight march to the site in Lynden at the migrant camp. I called all law enforcement because at that time I was Vice President of LULAC and that meant I had national, state, local ties. I called FBI, Justice Department, sheriffs and local police departments in all of our cities… Just by word of mouth we got all 400 people in three days, we marched and made a presence; something that people didn’t think that we could do. From there, we grouped again and we thought, “what can we do? What has to be done?” In the beginning we had church members and community leaders say “well, what are you going to do?” I said “what can we do? We’re a non-profit organization focused in education.” We knew we had to protect our community and how are we going to protect our community if we don’t take leadership? So we took leadership, we showed the community that we can organize in three days time and have 400 people there of various people, law enforcement, everybody there, media, we hit it all. Then from there we brainstormed again and thought, we have to form something like a civil rights, human rights task force.

We called all the local ethnic groups of people and we sat down and strategized and Craig Cole, the CEO and President of the Brown Cole stores—he’s almost like the godfather of not only the ethnic but civil rights here in Whatcom County—he helped us. We went to city and county council, we petitioned for the Task Force to exist, after being denied their blessing and approval, but we didn’t stop. Christina Castorena at the time was the President of Whatcom Hispanic Organization, and as I mentioned, I was the Vice President of LULAC and then we combined it and that’s how the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force came to be. Then we pulled out after a year. We still helped, but we wanted members of the community to come in, embrace it and let it grow to where it’s at today. We did that because we knew if we didn’t, they would have thought it was just another Latino based organization. You have to be strong enough for that. You have to be strong enough to create something and then gracefully walk away from it, still give it support, and we’re still there.

We’re ecstatic to see how the Task Force has evolved to be what it is today. We knew that in order for it to thrive—whoever did this hideous incident, they didn’t think that there were community family members out there that cared deeply about each other, and we knew that—we knew we had to make it grow, form it, support it, let it come to fruitation, then pull away. If we wouldn’t have done that, then we would have probably accomplished what they wished, something to die. Whatcom Human Rights Task Force has definitely exceeded my expectations of what it would be like today, and with pride because this is all community members taking part.

I care deeply about this community; to me it’s like home. It’s our backyard, it’s our home, and it’s like a family member now. The Whatcom Hispanic Organization to me has been like a child. I’ve nurtured it. I’ve helped it grow. And now I’m going to somehow leave it behind. It’s bittersweet.

Note: Becky and Ernie Diaz will be moving to Newport, Oregon for Ernie’s new job later this spring, but the community connections they have helped to build and sustain in Whatcom County will remain. We wish them well as they make their home in a new community. They will be missed.

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The Ongoing Struggle:
Task Force Founders Reflect on the Past and the Future

— By Casey Groat, WHRTF Intern

Shirley Osterhaus and Christina Castorena were active from the outset in the organizing and brainstorming that led to the formation of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, joining Becky Diaz, Damani Johnson, and other community leaders to take a strong stand against racism and hate in all of its forms.

Shirley has lived in Bellingham for 20 years. She has been teaching courses at Fairhaven since 2001, primarily in areas of world issues, peace and justice, and nonviolence—courses that would be found in a peace studies program. In conjunction with these courses, she coordinates the weekly World Issues Forum, which is open to the community at large as well as to students. She is also involved in organizing the faculty at Western to form a union.

Christina has lived in Bellingham since 1990. She earned her master's degree in Student Personnel Administration while employed at WWU. In 1998, she became the Director of Financial Aid at Everett Community College and was recently promoted to the Associate Dean for Diversity. She continues to live in Bellingham with her husband and their eight year old daughter, and, at the time of this interview, was due to give birth to their second child at any moment.

In these excerpts from two separate interviews (Christina by email, Shirley in person), Christina and Shirley reflect on what Whatcom Human Rights Task Force has accomplished in its ten years of existence, as well as the challenges we face as a grassroots, all volunteer organization.

CG: What changes do you think the Task Force has fostered in this community?
CC: Most significantly, community collaboration. Many marginalized groups (ethnic, LGBT, religious groups, etc.) came together to support and advocate for each other and created a greater sense of awareness around diversity and human rights. It gave the community a reason to unite.

SO: I’m not exactly sure what changes the Task Force has fostered in the community because a lot of this work is about planting seeds and you don’t always know where it bears fruit and where it doesn’t, and who listens and who changes. But some positive things did happen and this was due in great part to Damani Johnson, who built some strong slowly building connections with the Lummi Nation. Understandably, I think that Native people may not want to trust the whites in this community anymore than any place else because of what they have experienced. Some very good bonds were built with the Native people, and we met out there on some regularity on their turf. They were able to name situations where they wanted us to be a support for them.
....At the time we had a county council member who was very anti-Indian and so there was a lot of struggle always in terms of working against some of the legislation she wanted to have passed in the county council that was anti-Indian and very racist. So there was work that was done there and I think it was important work and there were some very positive results....There is big history here, so the building is slow and always needs more attention.

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CG: What do you see as being the current state of human rights in Whatcom County?
CC: It's still an issue. Ethnic minority and LGBT residents of our community still face infractions to their human rights, although much, more covert than the more overt cross-burning. As a "border community" post 9-11, these infractions are increasing.

SO: I’m not currently on the board so I don’t know what calls are coming into the hotline, but ...I would think the human rights violations continue to happen definitely with the immigrant community… Right now, with the Patriot Act, the people being targeted most are people of color and we do have Sikhs in the county. After September 11, we had an event that many of us went out to at the Sikh temple in the county to lend them our support because they were being harassed. They weren’t Muslim but they wore the turbans. People didn’t know the difference. I can’t imagine that things have gotten better, in the light of the Patriot Act and the fear culture that we have created for anybody that’s kind of like a foreigner here.

CG: What do you see as being the Task Force’s biggest challenges or struggles?
CC: Sustained and committed interest, as well as lack of financial resources to do the work that needs to be done.

SO: ....I think there is always “How do we reach more people in the community?” At the conferences you usually have the people that are at least somewhat aware and some very aware of what the situation [is]. But there are a lot of people that we don’t know how to reach out to or include in that educational circle....I think when something happens in a community, then you can really mobilize around it and then you can do the education. You use those incidents, even though we don’t want them to be happening, as teachable moments for the whole community. Meanwhile, you try to keep doing some education out there, but people don’t come until it affects them more personally.

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CG: What do you see as the greatest accomplishments of the Task Force?
CC: Again, I'd have to say it created community collaboration. In addition, I have to say we did make a difference in creating better relations with law enforcement. Through meetings, workshops, and dialogue we were able to address issues that have historically created tension between the minority community and law enforcement. Awareness and knowledge are powerful tools for developing skills for social action. For example, during that time, we had a trained law enforcement officer from Oregon do an all-day diversity workshop with Whatcom County law enforcement. And, I was also asked to serve on the oral board hiring committee for the Bellingham Police Department.

SO: We started ten years ago and we are still surviving, and not only surviving but going forward. When I look at what’s happened with the Conference this year, the networking has expanded clearly in terms of who came to that, the influence that’s out there probably expanded our contacts. I think to have a human rights task force in a community says something to a community about awareness of what’s going on here, even to ask the question “why do we have a human rights task force in Whatcom County?” I think it’s been an enduring presence and had its tentacles to a lot of different groups and organizations. It’s been a real accomplishment. We always want more of that.

We have had really dedicated people. It’s all volunteer. That says a lot about the power of people to sustain an organization. I would love to see that we could have a full-time staff person; I think that makes a big difference.

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Sixth Annual MLK Conference A Great Success

by Barbara Rofkar,
WHRTF Co-Chair

Thanks to all who took part in the 2004 Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Conference.

Attendance at this year’s event, which also served to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision, surpassed that of all our previous MLK conferences. An estimated 350 to 400 people attended this year—double the attendance of past years.

Through the cooperative efforts of Whatcom County school superintendents and education organizations we were able, for the first time, to offer continuing education clock hours to K-12 educators who participated. We hope this is just the beginning of an ongoing partnership with Whatcom County educators to promote greater understanding and acceptance of human rights for all members of our community.

Our keynote speaker, Dr. James Banks, inspired participants in his morning address and follow-up workshop, “Diversity within Unity: Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society.” Conference attendees also appreciated having opportunities for networking and the variety of workshops which allowed for different perspectives. From the comments received, it is clear that people are hungry to discuss the values that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for, and work to make them a reality for our community.

The support we received from the community was gratifying. The Community Co-op, Bellingham Public Schools, the Woodring College of Education, Northwest Indian College, Northwest Washington Central Labor Council, WECU, and the Bellingham Education Association were among the many organiza-tions that provided sponsor-ship. Moka Joe’s Coffee and the Bagelry were extremely generous in their donations of coffee and bagels during the conference, and helped to make the day a big success. Numerous other businesses showed their support by offering discounts on goods and services before and during the conference. See the sidebar for a complete list of Conference supporters.

Special thanks for the enthusiasm and excitement with which the Education Committee worked to create this wonderful event. The committee is already working on next year’s conference. We’ve had any number of suggestions, but we’re always open to hearing from our members. Please let us know if there is something you particularly want us to address in our Seventh Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Conference in January, 2005!

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see [ Photos of the Conference ]

2004 MLK Conference Sponsors & Supporters
Donations—	Discounts—
· Bellingham Public Schools · Woodring College of Education · Northwest Indian College · Bellingham Education Association · Community Food Coop · Northwest Washington Central Labor Council · Whatcom Educational Credit Union · Moka Joe's · The Bagelry · Carnelian Corporation · Brown & Cole Stores · Manna Music, Inc. · Stratton-Kehl Publications	· Arby's · Diego's Authentic Mexican Grill · Espinoza Mexican Restaurant · Mediterranean Specialities · Pho Northwest · Super Teriyaki · Copy Source
	Special thanks to— ASL interpreters · Lori Abrams · Christine Keiper

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Volunteers Needed—Become a Victim Advocate with WCRP
—by Berns Portervint
WHRTF Board Member

Hi, my name is Berns Portervint and this year along with Belle Shalom, I have had the privilege of working as the WHRTF Advocacy Liaison for the Whatcom Civil Rights Project. Let me explain a little about the program.

The Whatcom Civil Rights Project (WCRP) is a joint endeavor of LAW Advocates, the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, and the Law and Diversity Program of Fairhaven College, Western Washington University. Working in conjunction with a network of local attorneys, WCRP provides legal assistance and advocacy to victims of discrimination. WCRP Students and Volunteers conduct intake interviews and then present the case at an Attorney Review Panel to see if WCRP can take the case (this may take a month or longer). Although there are many important cases, we can only represent a limited number of them.

Civil rights violations may include discrimination based on a legally protected characteristic such as race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status and/or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or legally protected conduct (such as free speech). In general WCRP does not handle cases involving criminal prosecutions, traffic violations, divorce or child custody, landlord–tenant disputes, or wills.

As the WHRTF Advocacy Liaisons, Belle and I serve as the points of contact for WHRTF advocacy and supervision of volunteers. We also coordinate with the WHRTF leadership and WHRTF Volunteers to pursue advocacy on behalf of victims. Sometimes that may mean assisting volunteers with writing Advocacy Plans and helping to implement them. Knowledge of community resources is very important.

As a Whatcom Human Rights Task Force Volunteer, you will be required to complete a three-hour basic training session offered through the WCRP (this includes the opportunity to conduct a mock interview). Volunteers are then asked to cover weekly three-hour intake interview shifts throughout a quarter.

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Main duties include:
1) Assisting with the intake interview of victims in conjunction with a student
2) Identifying non-legal victim needs (such as housing, mental health counseling, etc.)
3) Completing an Advocacy Plan within one week of the intake interview
4) As appropriate, making phone calls, writing letters and steering victims towards community resources

WHAT IS ADVOCACY?
Legal representation is a form of assistance that the WCRP can provide. However, many clients have needs in addition to, or instead of, these legal avenues. For example, some discrimination is not (yet) illegal. And in many cases, common sense tells us that people have been treated badly, but there is not a clear legal case. When a lawsuit is not a useful option, but someone comes to us needing help, we (WHRTF) try to provide limited advocacy.

Some examples of WHRTF Advocacy:
• Making calls to social service agencies or other groups.
• Helping request or collect paper work.
• Meeting with victim and being a good listener.
• Accompanying victim to court or to other meetings
• Writing letters on behalf of victim to authorities or others.
• Organizing support groups for folks facing similar problems.
• Creating opportunities for mediation or conflict resolution.
• Non-violent community actions (protests, media outreach, public forums).
• Trainings, diversity workshops.

We need your help, so become a volunteer today. Any civil rights violation or hate crime is an attack on our community's health. It tears our community along ethnic, gender and religious lines, and ignites emotions that need to be channeled.
Your actions can support individual rights and the health of our community.
For more info,
please contact the WHRTF office 733-2233 or whrtf@whrtf.org

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Advocacy and Outreach in the Schools
—By Belle Shalom and Berns Portervint
WHRTF Board Members

In recent months the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force has been dealing with human rights issues in four Whatcom County Schools. These cases involve bullying, which WHRTF and the State of Washington deem unacceptable. Current state law requires school districts to put anti-bullying policies in place in each school. School and district officials are responsible for seeing that the policies are effectively enforced (House Bill SHB1444, adopted 3/06/02).

Two of the schools have reported cases of harassment against students who are non-white and/or different in their appearance than our mainstream vision. Individuals are being singled out as targets for taunting, ridicule, and threats because of their differences. Incidents at two other schools have occurred as the result of incomplete history being taught to students and lack of sensitivity to other cultures on the part of some teachers and parents, who dismiss students’ actions as simply the behavior of “rebellious teens”.

Task Force liaisons have been working with students, parents, and school officials to put and end to the bullying, raise awareness about other cultures, and provide education about respecting individual differences.

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More Opportunities to Volunteer with the Task Force!

We know that many of you do volunteer work already, but if you have a little time each week, each month, or only once in a while, we need you! Here are some of the opportunities available:

• Organize and/or host a yard sale to benefit WHRTF.
• Table at the Farmers’ Market and other venues throughout the summer.
• Be a victim advocate [see article below]
• Provide office support: phone/email coverage.
• Help with publicity and fundraising for this fall’s 10th Anniversary Banquet [see past banquets].
• Join the Education Committee: help plan the 2005 MLK Conference and work on other educational outreach projects.[see past MLK conference info and photos]
• Join the Fundraising Committee: help generate ideas for raising money, research grant opportunities, conduct community outreach.
• There's lots more—let us know how YOU would like to help!

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WHRTF Book Group Meets
Fourth Tuesday of the Month

The WHRTF Book Group meets on the fourth Tuesday of most months, to discuss readings selected by the group. The group is open to all; anyone can jump in at any time. The more perspectives the better. Our next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, May 25 at 7:00 PM. We will continue our discussion of The Alchemy of Race and Rights by Patricia J. Williams.
For meeting location and other information,
please contact Belle Shalom at 671-0631.

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¨¨ Did you know?

There's an easy way to get a great read and contribute to WHRTF at the same time?

We have an affiliate association with Village Books in Fairhaven, Bellingham.

When you order a book through our site- WHRTF receives a small percentage of the sale.
That's ANY book - not just the ones recommended by our book group - see our books page].
[By"clicking through" from our site, there is background code that allows VB to know that you have arrived via WHRTF.]

Just Click on the picture or here to connect to Village Books.

NOTE: Bellingham and Local Residents:
You may pick your book up at the store. (rather than having it shipped).....
...AND your book will be credited to your Village Books Book Club card. YES!
THANK YOU VILLAGE BOOKS.

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