Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
80 <br /> The Orange County Human Relations Commission was officially formed by a <br /> resolution on June 16, 1987 in response to a Ku Klux Klan rally in Chapel Hill. <br /> The Orange County Board of Commissioners expressed its desire to "encourage <br /> mutual understanding and fair treatment of all citizens," and "encourage actions <br /> which reduces tensions among groups of citizens in Orange County." Currently, <br /> the HRC's charge includes, but is not limited to: <br /> a. Studying and making recommendations concerning problems in the field <br /> of human relationships; <br /> b. Anticipating and discovering practices and customs most likely to create <br /> animosity and unrest, and seeking solutions to problems as they arise; <br /> c. Making recommendations designed to promote goodwill and harmony <br /> among groups in the County irrespective of their race, color, creed, <br /> religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, affectional preference, disability, <br /> age, marital status or status with regard to public assistance; <br /> d. Monitoring and investigating complaints of discrimination; <br /> e. Addressing and attempting to remedy the violence, tensions, polarization, <br /> and other harm created through the practices of discrimination, bias, <br /> hatred, and civil inequality; and <br /> f. Promoting harmonious relations within the County through hearings and <br /> due process of law. <br /> The Human Relations Commission drafted the Orange County Civil . Rights <br /> Ordinance which was enacted on June 6, 1994 (amended August 3, 1995). Staff <br /> was thereafter hired to enforce the Ordinance and carryout the other functions on <br /> behalf of the HRC as mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban <br /> Development (HUD) through its cooperative agreement with the County. <br /> What are your Board/Commission's most important accomplishments? <br /> The Board of County Commissioners requested the HRC to develop a social <br /> justice goal in 2004. After years of research, analyses and drafts, the BOCC <br /> adopted the Social Justice Goal on September 2, 2010. During the 2015 <br /> calendar year the County implemented a mandate for all agenda items to include <br /> a consideration of any possible Social Justice Impact. This is a major <br /> accomplishment as this process journeyed for over a decade. <br /> The 25th annual Pauli Murray Human Relations Award ceremony took place on <br /> February 22, 2015. Commissioner Barry Jacobs thereafter made a petition to <br /> erect a permanent display of all award honorees. The HRC has been working <br /> with the Dept. of Asset Management to bring this request to fruition. <br /> The HRC held its annual Fair Housing Poster Contest and Human Relations <br /> Essay Contest to engage Orange County youth in the quest for social justice and <br /> equal opportunities. Winning entries of the poster contest were enshrined in the <br />