BCRTF Earns 2001 Civil Rights Award

Gary Payton

On April 4th, you, the members of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, earned a prestigious award for which you may be rightly proud. That evening the Task Force was presented the 2001 Civil Rights Award by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. Norm Gissel, longtime human rights activist and Sandpoint native, lauded the Bonner County Task Force for its decade-long struggle against intolerance and bigotry. He specifically cited the Task Force's steadfastness in countering the hate messages of the 11th Hour Remnant Mes-senger and the Aryan Nations. As we all know, Vincent Bertolini, a fugitive from justice, and Carl Story have departed Bonner County in part because their anti-Semitic message failed to take root among the citizens of the county.

On your behalf, I had the privilege of accepting the award for all our current and former members who have taken a stand for human dignity and against dis-crimination. Because we all know our work is not done, I shared the story of the recent teleconference between Bonner County community leaders and their counterparts in Potter County, Pennsylvania. August Kreiss, former follower of Richard Butler, is threatening to build a compound and a church to spread the message of white supremacy in the rural northeast. I also lifted up such ongoing chal-lenges in Bonner County as religious intolerance, homophobia, equal access for female high school athletes, and a fuller understanding of the contributions of the Kalispel, Bonner County's First People.

Many of today's Task Force board members were joined at the awards banquet by several of the founding members of the BCHRTF. Founders pre-sent were Mary Robinson-Mohr (first president), Buzz Arndt, Kate Arndt, Max Bromberg, Paul Graves, Dan McLaughlin, and Donna Parrish.

The Civil Rights Award is presented annually at a ban-quet organized by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and the Human Rights Education Foundation. Last year's recipient was Morris Dees, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center and lead attorney in the successful 2000 trial of Richard Butler and the Aryan Nations.

My time to serve as the Task Force president is at an end. Our By Laws wisely limit an individual to two consecutive years as president. I will remain engaged as a board member, and I sincerely thank you for the opportunity to serve in this position of trust as together we seek to shape a community which has respect and tolerance at its very core.

Media and the Community

Mindy Cameron

It was an evening of straight talk by a media panel at the annual meeting of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force.

Addressing the topic, „The Role of the Media in Making or Breaking Community,‰ Associated Press regional reporter Nicholas Geranios was brutally honest. „The national media is your worst enemy,‰ he said, if you are looking for help in busting stereotypes and projecting a complete story of your community.

Geranios, who works out of Spokane, described how the national press „parachutes‰ into a community when they are on the trail of a story. Reporters are looking for a sensational story, not a story filled with context and background.

He was referring specifically to Sandpoint's most recent experience with the national media, but his descriptions also fit earlier situations involving the Aryan Nations and other hate groups in North Idaho.

Geranios acknowledged that the national press, in pursuit of a story, often creates or embellishes regional stereotypes.

Other panelists included Doug Floyd, ombudsman of the Spokesman-Review, David Keyes, publisher of the Bonner County Daily Bee and Mike Brown, KPND reporter. Sandpoint resident and former Seattle newspaper editor Mindy Cameron was moderator.

When questioned by a member of the audience about what influence advertisers and other powerful people in a community have on news coverage, Floyd said virtually none. In 30 years as a journalist, Floyd said, he has not seen evidence of outside pressures affecting the decisions of news reporters and editors. Other panelists concurred.

The question arose from lack of coverage by the Spokesman of the recent walk in Sandpoint to protest the Rock Creek Mine. (Floyd later contacted the Task Force to explain that the Spokesman's Idaho reporter was on vacation.) She had left information for others about the protest walk. Floyd said he didn't know why it was not covered.

David Keyes defended the publication of letters to the editor that some task force members criticized as outrageous or full of errors. The Bee wants to give letter writers their say, he said. He acknowledged that a busy editor can't give full attention to each letter, and sometimes letters are used to fill space.

Mike Brown was asked about the „hot talk‰ format of his radio station. He told task force members he doesn't like it any more than they do.

FHRAA: What It Is, Why It Was Founded

Gretchen Albrecht-Hellar

When the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1992, it was faced with a major organizational decision. Did the membership want to be able to take positions on important political issues and thereby making donations to the organization non tax deductible or should the organization avoid taking positions on political issues and have contributions to the task force qualify as tax deductible?

The founding board of the BCHRTF decided that they wanted and had an obligation to take positions on issues dealing with human rights such as Proposition 1, hate or bias crime legislation, derogatory Idaho place names, and other human dignity issues. Consequently, they filed for incorporation under the IRS designation of a 501c4 non-profit organization. This allowed the BCHRTF to take positions on issues important to the membership, but contributions to the organization were not deductible under the IRS code nor was it likely that granting organizations would be able to award funds to the BCHRTF without jeopardizing their tax exempt status.

A majority of the activities of the BCHRTF is and always has been strictly educational rather than politically oriented. For example, community forums, school programs, scholarships, and the annual conference seldom revolved around political or partisan positions. Topics such as „How to build a Compassionate Community‰, „The Role of Media in Shaping or Breaking a Community‰, and „Privilege: Reality and Responsibility‰ as well as sponsoring school programs such as Intersectionz Educational Artz and teacher grants for conflict resolution or diversity training have no issue position component. Presenting Black History Month programs such as the recent presentation by Vernon Baker, sponsoring Martin Luther King Day, and many other activities do not involve an attempt to influence legislation. Individuals, other organizations, and grant foundations, however, could not contribute funds to support these activities and have their contributions be tax deductible and in some cases endangering their own tax exempt status.

Because the BCHRTF wanted to maintain its ability to take positions on political issues when necessary, the board encouraged the formation of FHRAA, INC. (Foundation for Human Rights Action and Advocacy) under the IRS designation of a 501c3 organization. This group has a separate board of directors, a mission limited to educational programs and activities only, and is independent from BCHRTF.

Moreover, contributions to FHRAA, Inc. are tax deductible and FHRAA, Inc. is eligible to receive grants from other 501c3 organizations and well as bequeaths and gifts from individuals. The current FHRAA, Inc. board includes Dan McLaughlin, Teri Maurice, Lama Yontan Gonpo, Gretchen Ward, Lenore Bittner, Roger Williams, Barbara Veraniam, and Marian Breckenridge.

So, FHRAA, Inc. is a welcome addition to the human rights community in Bonner County and will in many instances contract with the BCHRTF to present educational programs not only in the schools but also for the community. FHRAA, Inc. is not in competition with BCHRTF nor will it supplant the activities of the BCHRTF, but working together these two organizations can increase the awareness of human dignity issues and concerns in our area.

If you need additional information about FHRAA, Inc. or would like to make a contribution to human rights education in our community, please give me a call at 263-6893 or email me at hellar@televar.com.

Task Force Participates in Teleconference

Brenda Hammond

Citizens of Potter County, Pennsylvania are facing a great challenge posed by the settlement of white supremacists in their area, including a remnant splinter of the Aryan Nations. The Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity put them in touch with the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force so that citizens from this area could share their experiences and lessons learned during the decade in which that challenge was in our backyard.

All three county commissioners, the mayor of Sandpoint, the police chief, administrator from the school district, publisher of the Bonner County Daily Bee, and representatives from the business and faith communities joined current and founding members of the Task Force. The group responded to a set of questions prepared by the Pennsylvania group about what was done, what we might wish we had done differently, and the different roles played by the various sectors of the community. Each was able to speak from his or her own perspective about the importance of being pro-active and taking a stand.

The feedback received from the Penn-sylvania participants after the con-fer-ence was that people there felt relieved, supported, inspired yet realized that they needed to prepare for the long haul and that much work was ahead of them.

For the Bonner County participants, it was good to look back and really see all that has been accomplished. We have come a long way in ten years by becoming a community and not just a task force human rights movement.

Dancers Help Students Interrelate

Deb McShane

The Human Rights Club of Sandpoint High School, through the generous support of a number of community businesses and individuals, was able to present two performances by Intersectionz Educational Artz at the Panida Theater on Friday, Feb. 22. All students at the high school had the opportunity to attend the hour-long performances. Intersectionz, formerly known as the Diversity Dancers, is an educational performing arts company composed of a diverse group of young adults from around the world who have come together to enhance community awareness of critical social issues.

The mission of the dance group is to educate communities about the healing principles of unity in diversity and inspire them to work for positive social change. Through dance and movement theater, Intersectionz confronts the destructive and divisive nature of racism, sexism, violence, and drug and alcohol abuse as well as the challenges of the AIDS epidemic, the needs of the poor, and the importance of family support and unity.

The goal of the performance was to create an open dialog with the youth in order to empower them to turn attitudes of apathy into enthusiasm, ignorance into understanding - working toward social change. Intersectionz performs on an average of 186 performances per year, reaching approximately 200,000 youth and families.

The Human Rights Club wishes to sincerely thank the following who so graciously helped underwrite the performances: The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, the Foundation for Human Rights Action and Advocacy, the Angels Over Sandpoint, the Pend Oreille Arts Council, Community Assistance League, Sandpoint, Evergreen, Kaniksu, and Lake Country real estate companies, and Karen Seashore and Tom Tillisch.

The club also extends a warm a thank-you to all who helped house and feed the dancers, and to those who assisted during the show at the Panida. It was truly a community-building venture, and responses from the students were overwhelmingly positive.Deb McShane

The Human Rights Club of Sandpoint High School, through the generous support of a number of community businesses and individuals, was able to present two performances by Intersectionz Educational Artz at the Panida Theater on Friday, Feb. 22. All students at the high school had the opportunity to attend the hour-long performances. Intersectionz, formerly known as the Diversity Dancers, is an educational performing arts company composed of a diverse group of young adults from around the world who have come together to enhance community awareness of critical social issues.

The mission of the dance group is to educate communities about the healing principles of unity in diversity and inspire them to work for positive social change. Through dance and movement theater, Intersectionz confronts the destructive and divisive nature of racism, sexism, violence, and drug and alcohol abuse as well as the challenges of the AIDS epidemic, the needs of the poor, and the importance of family support and unity.

The goal of the performance was to create an open dialog with the youth in order to empower them to turn attitudes of apathy into enthusiasm, ignorance into understanding - working toward social change. Intersectionz performs on an average of 186 performances per year, reaching approximately 200,000 youth and families.

The Human Rights Club wishes to sincerely thank the following who so graciously helped underwrite the performances: The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, the Foundation for Human Rights Action and Advocacy, the Angels Over Sandpoint, the Pend Oreille Arts Council, Community Assistance League, Sandpoint, Evergreen, Kaniksu, and Lake Country real estate companies, and Karen Seashore and Tom Tillisch.

The club also extends a warm a thank-you to all who helped house and feed the dancers, and to those who assisted during the show at the Panida. It was truly a community-building venture, and responses from the students were overwhelmingly positive.