July Task Force Meeting Summary

Date: July 16, 2025

Time: 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Location: Virtual - Microsoft Teams

Task Force Member Attendance: Bianca Dawkins, Jan Stone

Task Force Members Absent: Elly Doscotch, Jonathan Rogers, Pranika Kumar, Jim Nelson, Jasmine Stringer-Moore

Staff In Attendance: Thomas Brooks, Zoe Johnson

Public Members in Attendance: Ellen Kennedy

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Meeting Topic(s)

A. Staff Presentation - 15 minutes

No formal agenda for the meeting. Open discussion format for task force members to give insight on the work that has been/would be most impactful for previous human rights and relations commissioners.

Considerations are:

• What work is most meaningful to you all as volunteers?

The discussion started with acknowledging City Code language task force members worked to develop for a policy statement (see below). It was discussed the policy section actually no longer exist in city code for commissions, but advised them that language could be valuable in the purpose section. Task force members were advised there is no policy, particularly statute or statewide policy, that governs their work; only council direction.

Proposed policy/purpose language:

Secure for all who work, do business, play, reside, or visit in the city of Edina freedom from discrimination in employment, housing, real property, public accommodations, public services, education, credit, business services, and other rights included in the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn. Stat. ch. 363A.

Task force member discussed the challenges of honoring tradition of previous human rights and relations commission work with balancing transformative vs transactional work, complimenting staff’s work, and amplifying versus competing with similar work in other groups like the Multicultural Advisory Committee (MAC), and community groups engaged in similar programming and planning efforts. Engaging in equity audits and being aligned with staff has been a positive and desire for future work. The Tom Oye Award and the most recent Sharing Values. Sharing Communities event centering the LGBTQ+ community were mentioned as commission successes that felt meaningful. A community member spoke about a need to focus collectively on raising awareness on discrimination against women and gender expansive people.

Task force members discussed not being sure what the primary needs are in Edina related to human rights. Additional discussion was had on the MAC as a group that if often first in line to both bring issues to the city and to receive/respond to human rights issues in the community based on their position in the city, relationship with the police department and Hennepin County, flexibility to meet, and the cultural organizations they represent, lead or partner with.

• What research do we have from other cities on what they do?

Task force member Stone researched the names, purposes, and city codes for human rights or DEI related commissions in other cities in Minnesota. Initial findings were a lack of consistency in the code language and the scope of each commission, and not all commissions were listed in city code. Discussion was prompted by a community member on the reason so many cities in Minnesota have transitioned from human rights commissions to DEI related commissions and considered the sustainability of DEI in today’s climate. The evolution of human rights work in cities and communities was discussed along with the alignment between commission work and city goals and staff priorities. They are also directly engaged in cultural event planning and programming efforts throughout the city and in partnership with Richfield and Bloomington. The desire was expressed to hear from the MAC and the different cultural organizations on their priorities and focus areas.

Challenges were discussed related to the previous commission structure receiving and responding to complaints or human rights issues in a timely manner, as well as planning events, particularly multiple events per year.

3. Adjournment - 8:30pm

Staff volunteered to gather additional information from others on the information discussed throughout the meeting for additional perspectives and seek additional information from the MAC to better understand the overlap. The next task force meeting is scheduled for August 20, 2025.