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Newsletter ARCHIVES
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SEVENTH ANNUAL MLK HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE COMING UP
Tools For Change: Beyond Education to Advocacy

The Whatcom Human Rights Task Force presents the Seventh Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Conference on Saturday, January 15.
The conference is free and open to all and will be held at Sehome High School. The theme for this year's conference is Tools for Change: Beyond Education to Advocacy. Registration begins on site at 8:30 AM. There is no advance registration.
[please see complete details on our conference page]

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THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES: MUSLIM AMERICANS SINGLED OUT

— Belle Shalom and Dennis Lane

Results of a recent nationwide telephone survey conducted by Cornell University this fall indicate that 44% of those interviewed favored limitations on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans. The findings were reported in an Associated Press article carried in the Bellingham Herald and other newspapers across the country in mid-December.

Once more America seems to be caught by its fears rather than lifted by its democratic ideals. It’s ironic that as “we” battle for democracy in the Middle East those Islamic-Americans and others that share the ideals of democracy in the US are under suspicion. Where’s our tradition of innocent until proven guilty—or is that too being sacrificed for economic gain, for fossil-based comfort. Too often our democracy has singled out the other to bear the brunt of what looks to be our progress and expression of our higher ideals but in reality turns out more to be greed and immediate gratification of a few. Proud nations of Native Americans have been marginalized by the “manifest destiny” of the American Dream. The exploitation and enslavement of Africans, Chinese, Latinos and others to build this country with their blood, sweat and tears is a story not told enough. Nor the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII to hold hostage to our fears.

If you believe in the democracy of America and the strength of our traditions, then we invite you to join in walking the talk of freedom and justice for all. Work with the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, Whatcom Civil Rights Project and LAW Advocates to protect the civil rights of our citizens, friends, neighbors, and families (read the article above to learn more). We all must struggle against the goal of government to fashion us into a frightened citizenry willing to follow docilely instead of questioning the motives of those in charge. A land where there is only freedom and justice for some can not be called a democracy.

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VOTER’S FORUM JANUARY 8TH

WHRTF joins a broad spectrum of non-partisan organizations and political parties to host a public forum on replacing Whatcom County’s punch-card ballot with a Vote-by-Mail (VBM) system. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 8 in the Whatcom Educational Credit Union Education Center, 511 E. Holly.
County Auditor Shirley Forslof, who is scheduled to present the VBM proposal to County Council Tuesday, Jan. 11, will speak first. A presentation on concerns about the proposal will follow as will questions and discussion.
Under Washington’s Help America Vote Act plan, the state must eliminate punch-card ballots by 2006 or lose federal election funding. A pro and con analysis of Vote-by-Mail, prepared by Whatcom Fair Voting, is available online at http://NoLeakyBuckets.org (select Publications).
In addition to the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, cooperating sponsors include the county Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties, and the Whatcom County Democratic Women’s Club as well as the non-partisan organizations, Community to Community Development, the League of Women Voters, Whatcom Fair Voting and the Whatcom County Rainbow Coalition.
Free child care and refreshments will be provided. For additional information, contact Robbi Ferron, 715-9588 (rferron@comcast.net), Jo Ann McNerthney, 738-3858 (joannmcn@qwest.net) or Marian Beddill, 738-3151 (info@noleakybuckets.org).

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WHRTF, WCRP AND LAW ADVOCATES: PARTNERS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

The WHRTF with the Whatcom Civil Rights Project and LAW Advocates work together to attempt to provide low-cost legal defense to people who feel their civil rights have been violated. In the past few months we have worked with people who have been discriminated against at work, in their housing situations, and because of their disabilities.

There are four steps in the process:
Step 1: WHRTF provides a human rights hotline and the starting point for the referral and advocacy process.
Step 2: the initial call is followed up with an interview, which a WHRTF volunteer and a Law and Diversity pre-law student from Fairhaven College conduct together.
Step 3: the case is reviewed by volunteer legal experts in order to determine whether it has legal standing.
Step 4: when the decision is made to accept the case, it moves to LAW Advocates who will find a local attorney to work with the client.

WE NEED INTERVIEWERS...It requires a one evening training session with the Whatcom Civil Rights Project, WHRTF and Law Advocates. The interviews are held at Fairhaven College usually averaging 1 1/2 to 2 hours of your time. You will find it exciting and educational at many levels to be part of this project. There is no other project of this type anywhere.

NEXT TRAINING: Wednesday Jan 12, 3:30-5:30 in Room 101 on the ground floor at Fairhaven College.

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WASHINGTON STATE CIVIL RIGHTS CONFERENCE REPORT

— Dennis A. Lane
On December 1-3, 2204, I attended a state-wide Human Rights Conference in Tacoma, hosted by the Washington State Human Rights Commission. The conference, Planning Strategically: Civil Rights in Washington State, brought people from various parts of the state together. It seemed like most of those attending represented different civil and human rights groups from regional and municipal government organizations including the Association of Cities, Coast Guard, and Federal Transportation Authority. Various unions (teachers, Boeing, etc.) were also represented. With the exception of the Hate Free Zone, there seemed to be very few grassroots organizations like WHRTF there. The absence of Tribal Nation communities from much of the proceedings was a big hole in the gathering.
The Conference covered a broad range of civil and human rights topics. Over the three-day period, groups were broken up into various workshops (Housing, Employment, Public Transportation Accommodations, Education and Emerging Issues). The workshops tried to function as work groups toward building a strategic plan. It soon became obvious to all that such a plan was just not possible in the alloted time. Also, most people there did not know each other. Networking and exchange of information became the primary objectives.
One the most powerful things that came out of the conference was the strength in our diversity and the need for us as organizations to reach out to the diverse members of our communities and make them “stake-holders” in our human and civil rights. We need to reach out to those that may not seem at first to share all of our views but in many ways share the end goals of sustaining and building community—interfaith groups, businesses, education institutions, environmental organizations, agricultural interests, and others are just a few of the communities we need bring into our discussions.
It was also the resounding theme amongst the various organizations to find ways of keeping in touch with and sharing our information, data and status of human rights in our communities. The Human Rights Commission was strongly encouraged to take on the role of clearinghouse and provide some of the infrastructure to keep these statewide organizations connected. This was again echoed at a recent meeting (12/10) here in Bellingham in which Dr. Damani Johnson, Dr. Larry Estrada and I met with Marc Brenman, the Executive Director of the Washington State Human Rights Commission.
In all, the conference was a step toward learning more about the wider community of people and organizations that share many of our goals toward building sustainable communities that can keep the progress from civil rights to human rights alive.

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WHRTF TENTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION HIGHLIGHTS honoring ten years of work for Human Rights in Whatcom County

A capacity crowd turned out at Northwood Hall on Thursday, October 7th to celebrate WHRTF’s tenth anniversary and honor the many champions of human rights in our community.

Along with current co-chairs Barbara Rofkar and Lisa Fox, several founding members and past board members spoke during the program: Joe Deeny, Shirley Osterhaus, Julie Mauermann, and Damani Johnson. Joe shared a historical summary of the Task Force, and Shirley offered a blessing. You can read the full text of their words on the WHRTF website (www.whrtf.org).

David Korten, co-founder and board chair of Positive Futures Network (publisher of Yes! magazine) and author of When Corporations Rule the World and The Post-Corporate World: Life after Capitalism gave the keynote address. Jazz Omelet, a quartet of very talented high school students from Bellingham, serenaded the celebrants before dinner was served.

It’s impossible to list the names of all the people and organizations that should be recognized for their efforts, both past and present. You are many, and you filled the hall with an energy that was felt by all of us present that evening. Thanks to each of you for the work you do. You enrich us all.

Great event! and Sold out this year. [photo gallery]
Read Historical Summary of WHRTF

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CALL FOR BOARD MEMBERS

The WHRTF Board needs new members to fill three current vacancies and to replace several board members whose terms will end in June 2005. We will be looking for a board member to assume the role of treasurer at that time. If you are interested in becoming treasurer, you can join the board now and train with the current treasurer. For more information about any of the board positions, please contact the WHRTF office at 733/2233 or whrtf@whrtf.org.

Current Board Members:
Barbara Rofkar, co-chair
Berns Portervint, co-chair
Geneva Blake, treasurer
Jeff Heyamoto, secretary
Lisa Fox
Dennis Laine
Belle Shalom
Nate Johnson

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UPCOMING EVENTS

WHRTF BOOK GROUP NOW MEETING WEEKLY
The Book group continues with a weekly Tuesday noon lunch meeting at the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force office at 301 West Holly, #D19 (downstairs) diagonally across from Stuart's Coffee House. The group is reading Howard Zinn’s People's History of the United States. We have completed Chapters 1 and 2 and we’re currently working on Chapters 3 and 4. Call Sofia at 734-9761 for more info and bring your lunch on Tuesday at noon.

VOTE BY MAIL FORUM
Saturday, Jan. 8th. 10 to noon, WECU Edcuation Center.

WHRTF-WCRP INTERVIEWER TRAINING
Wednesday Jan 12th, 3:30-5:30 in Room 101 on the ground floor at Fairhaven College..

SEVENTH ANNUAL MLK HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE
Tools for Change: Beyond Education to Advocacy. Saturday, Jan. 15th. 8:30am-4pm. Sehome High School.

14TH ANNUAL MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION
Affirming Identity, Building Community, and Cultivating Leadership Saturday, Jan. 15th. 6-9pm, Sehome High School. Sponsored by WWU Ethic Student Center. Info: Stephany Hazelrigg: 650-7613 / AS.ESC.Grad.Assistant@wwu.edu

ART & CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST FOR K-12 STUDENTS sponsored by WWU Ethnic Student Center. Submission deadline: Wed. Jan. 5th. Winners to be announced at the ESC’s 14th Annual MLK Celebration, Sat. Jan 15th, 6-9pm. Info: Amber Olsen: 650-7271 /olsena4@cc.wwu.edu.

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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
• Provide office support: phone/email coverage.
• Help with publicity and fundraising for this fall’s 11th 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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¨¨ 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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