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Lynda Marrone, left, Kari Suzuki and Phyllis May-Machunda were among those who attended the Moorhead Justice Circle meeting Thursday at the Hjemkomst Heritage Interpretive Center in Moorhead. Photo by Darren Gibbins / The Forum

Fight against discrimination
By Cole Short
The Forum - 04/27/2001
Becky Hulden delivered a startling but honest confession Thursday night.

“I’m a racist,” Hulden told a packed house of more than 160 people gathered to discuss racism inside Moorhead’s Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center.

“And I’m a sexist and an ageist,” she continued. “I grew up in a patriarchy and a racist society. And unless (we) get up every morning and say these things … we cannot change.”

Hulden said local residents have the power to fight racism, but they have to admit it exists and show the will to overcome discrimination.

The open forum was sponsored by the Moorhead Justice Circle, an equal rights advocacy group, and the Moorhead Human Rights Commission.

At the center of discussion was a civil rights report released in January by the Minnesota Advisory Council to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The 40-page report concluded minority residents in Moorhead are unfairly targeted by police, underrepresented in the public work force and discriminated against in school.

Justice Circle co-organizer Diane Wray-Williams said Thursday’s forum allowed people to offer their ideas to fight the types of discrimination in the report.

“This is the beginning of a long trek,” Williams told the crowd.

Williams and Sandi Berlin, the Justice Circle’s other organizer, released a list of 54 objectives to curb racism.

The list, compiled by more than 300 residents in small study circles around the city, proposes:

- Moorhead Schools and Clay County and Moorhead governments ensure at least 6 percent of their work forces are minorities.

“We believe those percentages should mirror our minority population,” Williams said.

- The Moorhead School District strengthen its English as a second language program and increase the number of minorities who graduate.

- The school district clarifies its policy for placing students in the Red River Area Learning Center, the district’s alternative education program.

The civil rights report said minorities comprise 15 percent of the enrollment in Moorhead Schools, but make up 54 percent of students in alternative learning programs.

- Within two to three years, the police, sheriff and fire departments recruit and hire more minorities.

- The city of Moorhead increase affordable housing units by 80 units within two years.

- The Moorhead Human Rights Commission will be granted the power to require mandatory mediation to settle disputes.

The civil rights report concluded the commission is understaffed with little power.

“We believe (the commission) needs teeth,” Williams said. “They need more power and the authority to deal with issues that come up.”

- The city of Moorhead will create an ombudsman’s or legal advocate’s office to receive and investigate complaints.

- Fargo-Moorhead media will provide information in a number of languages and focus on positive role models in the minority community.

- Background information on potential renters given to landlords by the police will only contain criminal convictions.

In January, advisory committee members said Moorhead’s crime-free multihousing program creates de facto segregation.

The second half of Thursday’s forum featured local residents’ opinions on the state of racism in Moorhead.

Pastor Vernnia Wright chastised the community for its lack of diversity in customer service areas, such as at shopping malls or local eateries.

“You won’t find minorities working in those places,” said Wright, who is black.

He said people treat him different when he’s away from his church or in large public settings.

“When I’m wearing blue jeans, I’m treated differently,” he said. “But when I have a suit and tie on, I’m treated like a human being.”

The Rev. Jackie Bernacchi called on religious leaders to take a stand against discrimination.

“I’m always shocked at the racial slurs that come out of the mouths of good Christians,” she said. “They don’t even know what they’re saying. We don’t know the evil we are at times.”

Margaret Bitz said most Moorhead residents don’t know if they’re racist or not.

“We aren’t aware if we’re racist,” she said. “We need to be educated on what we can do to stop racism.”

Jill Danielson of Mujeres Unidas (Women United) said many of the problems outlined in the civil rights report have existed for years.

She said some of the problems outlined in the report aren’t just bad will, they’re illegal.

Gene P. Johnson raised questions over the arrest rates of minorities outlined in the civil rights report.

The report said whites made up 94 percent of Moorhead’s population but comprised 46 percent of adult arrests. Latinos made up 3 percent of the population and 38 percent of arrests, according to the report.

In February, Moorhead police criticized those numbers. Their records for 1996-99 found Latinos made up 4 percent of adult arrests.

“I’m absolutely outraged that hasn’t been cleared up,” Johnson said. “I think that’s something that should be looked before giving credibility to the rest of the report.”

In a release Thursday afternoon, advisory committee chairman Alan Weinblatt said he has asked the group’s former staff research director to review the records.

Moorhead City Council member John Rowell said the 38 percent arrest rate unfairly attacks the minority community.

“That (rate) makes it appear crime in our community is a minority phenomenon,” he said. “That’s not true. … I’d like to know where they got the number 38.”

Rowell called racism a serious problem that must be solved through a community wide change of heart.

Moorhead Human Rights Commission Chairman Rick Henderson said action teams will be formed in coming months to help carry out the proposals presented Thursday.

“This is not the last step in the study circle process,” Henderson told the audience. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”

A complete listing of the recommendations presented by the Justice Circle can be found on the Minnesota State University Moorhead Web site (web.mnstate.edu/mhdrights).

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