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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 4, 2003 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: North Carolina Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission Mini - Grant <br />DEPARTMENT: Human Rights and Relations PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />ATTACHMENT: INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Grantee's Acceptance and <br />Understanding <br />Annette Moore, 245-2250, ext. 2254 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To receive on behalf of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and the <br />Department of Human Rights and Relations a mini-grant in the amount of $1,500 from the North <br />Carolina Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. <br />BACKGROUND: In response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade <br />Center, the Human Relations Commission conducted a forum to discuss the events and to <br />begin a community dialogue to promote understanding and cooperation among all Orange <br />County residents. In February 2002, the Human Relations Commission followed-up the forum <br />and began the education process by sponsoring a series of community activities celebrating <br />Human Relations Month. The month's events were so successful that the Commission decided <br />not only to celebrate Human Relations Month again in 2003, but also to collaborate with other <br />community groups on hosting a variety of dialogue-promoting activities throughout the year. <br />These activities are designed to address the need for education and dialogue identified by the <br />participants at the September 11th forum, by bringing together Orange County residents of <br />various racial and ethnic backgrounds, and fostering understanding, acceptance, and a <br />cooperative spirit among them. <br />The Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission mini-grant in the amount of $1,500 will be used to <br />partially fund the events. The events include showing a human relations oriented film followed <br />by a facilitated discussion and a Countywide summer book club reading and discussion group. <br />In the fall, the Human Relations Commission and its collaborators will invite those who <br />participated in the various events throughout the year, as well as other interested people, to <br />attend a type of community retreat to evaluate the effectiveness of the year's events in fostering <br />understanding, acceptance, and a spirit of cooperation among the County's various racial and <br />ethnic groups, and to determine the goals for 2004.