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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: January 21, 2016 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 4-a <br /> SUBJECT: Human Relations Month Proclamation <br /> DEPARTMENT: Housing, Human Rights and PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br /> Community Development <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Proclamation Audrey Spencer-Horsley, Director, <br /> 919-245-2492 <br /> James E. Davis, Jr., <br /> 919-245-2488 <br /> PURPOSE: To officially proclaim the month of February 2016 as "Human Relations Month" in <br /> Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Governor annually proclaims the month of February as "Human <br /> Relations Month" in North Carolina. The Board of County Commissioners also annually <br /> proclaims February as "Human Relations Month" in Orange County for the purpose of <br /> promoting diversity, inclusion and equal access, and to acknowledge strides in removing <br /> barriers to equal opportunity. <br /> The Human Relations Commission will host its annual Human Relations Month Forum on <br /> Sunday, January 31, 2016 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Whitted Human Services Building <br /> in Hillsborough. The 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) occurred on <br /> July 26, 2015. As such, the HRC has centered its programs for the ensuing year on the topic of <br /> disability awareness. The 2016 Forum is entitled "disABILITIES MATTER: A Focus on <br /> Disability Awareness" and features a special presentation by Alice Elliott. Ms. Elliott is an <br /> Academy Award nominated film maker whose films include stories compelled to change its <br /> viewers' perception of "ability". Forum panelists will also include Leigh Fickling, Director of the <br /> Disability Management System at Duke University; CJ Scarlett, board member of the Lupus <br /> Foundation and a disabled business owner; and Kim Lan Grout, a respected writer and <br /> photographer overcoming a lifetime battle with a rare congenital ailment. Disability advocates <br /> Dr. Timothy Miles and Ms. Pam Dickens will moderate the event. <br /> On Sunday, February 28, 2016, the Human Relations Commission will host the 26th Annual <br /> Pauli Murray Human Relations Awards ceremony. This award is presented to an Orange <br /> County youth, an Orange County adult, and an Orange County business that has served the <br /> community with distinction in the pursuit of equality, justice, and human rights for all residents. <br /> The ceremony will take place at the Whitted Human Services Building in Hillsborough from 3:00 <br /> to 5:00 p.m. <br />