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12+$7(67$7(,12855(3257BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITY2nd Annual Report - 2020
“…all men are brothers. If you harm me, you harm yourself. Love, agape, is the only cement that can hold this broken community together. When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.”Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on building the Beloved Community
12+$7(67$7(,12855(3257BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITY2020
1No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionPHRC Vision, Mission & Values .................................................................................................2History of the PHRC .................................................................................................................. 3PHRC Leadership History .........................................................................................................3Message from Governor ............................................................................................................4Message from Chairman ...........................................................................................................5Message from Executive Director .............................................................................................6Commissioners ..........................................................................................................................7Blueprint for Building the Beloved Community Introduction – The Enduring Problem of Hate ...................................................................... 9 Q&A with PHRC Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, MSW .........................................11 What is a Hate Crime? .......................................................................................................13 PHRC Social Justice Committees ......................................................................................15 No Hate in Our State: 2020 Critical Social Justice Dialogues ............................................17 Partnerships .......................................................................................................................20 Take Action .........................................................................................................................23Glossary of Terms .................................................................................................................... 25“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYTable of Contents
2www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommVISIONAs Pennsylvania’s Civil Rights leader, it is our vision that all people in Pennsylvania will live, work and learn free from unlawful discrimination.MISSIONThe Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission promotes equal opportunity for all and enforces Pennsylvania’s Civil Rights laws that protect people from unlawful discrimination.VALUESEquality - We believe strongly in the equality and dignity of all individuals. We uphold the principles of justice and fairness through our work, conduct and communication.Service - We subscribe to the highest standards of responsiveness, quality, timeliness and professionalism.Integrity - We uphold the highest standards of honesty and transparency. We are candid, trustworthy, credible, and unbiased.Excellence - We strive to excel in our work. We endeavor to ensure a highly prepared, diverse, competent, and committed workforce.Teamwork - We build and sustain strong, constructive and collaborative relationships.Respect – We value employees’ talents and dierences and treat them with consideration and importance.BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPHRC Vision, Mission & ValuesPennsylvania Human Relations Commission333 Market Street, 8th Fl | Harrisburg, PA 17101| 717.787.4410 | Email: PHRC@pa.gov
3No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYHistory of the Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionFor 65 years the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has been the essential agency addressing discrimination in Pennsylvania. Today it is the state’s top Civil Rights enforcement agency. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, or PHRC, enforces state laws that prohibit discrimination. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is the only state-wide agency that enforces anti-discrimination laws in housing, public places, and government services. The Commission was crafted from two pieces of legislation - the Pennsylvania Fair Employment Practice Act of 1955 (later changed to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act in 1997) and the Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act of 1961 (PFEOA). Both bills banned discrimination based on race, color, creed, ancestry, age, or national origin. A series of amendments to both acts over time evolved to also ban discrimination based on sex and disability. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act covers discrimination in employment, housing, commercial property, education and public accommodations. The Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act is specic to postsecondary education and secondary vocational and trade schools. In an amendment from 1970, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, as it is known today, was born. The PHRC consists of a diverse group of 11 commissioners who are appointed by the governor and conrmed by the Senate. The commissioners act as public liaisons, establish policies, and resolve some cases that are not settled voluntarily. The commission is independent and nonpartisan, with no more than six commissioners from one political party. The chairperson is appointed by the governor, and a vice-chairperson, secretary and assistant secretary are elected by commissioners each year. The executive director reports to the commissioners. PHRC LEADERSHIP HISTORYExecutive DirectorsChad Dion Lassiter ......... 2018 – PresentJoAnn L. Edwards ...............2011 – 2018Homer G. Floyd .................... 1970 – 2011Milo A. Manly ....................... 1968 – 1970Elliott M. Shirk ...................... 1956 – 1968Commission ChairsM. Joel Bolstein ..............2017 – PresentGerald S. Robinson ..............2011 – 2017Stephen A. Glassman ..........2003 – 2011Carl E. Densen .....................2000 – 2003Robert Johnson Smith ........ 1990 – 2000Thomas L. McGill, Jr. ........... 1986 – 1990Joseph X. Yae .................... 1974 – 1986Everett E. Smith ................... 1970 – 1974Max Rosenn ......................... 1969 – 1970 Harry Boye ........................... 1956 – 1969
4www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYMessage from Governor Tom WolfThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge from oppression. This legacy is one that must be protected. Hate, discrimination, and intolerance have no place in our state. William Penn showed us that diversity is a strength. We are the state created as a home of religious tolerance. We are the state where the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written and ratied. We are the state where President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address while thousands fought against slavery. History has taught the residents of the Commonwealth that our dierences of views, cultures, religions, and experiences all enrich our communities. Any crime motivated by bigotry, hate, or bias is an attack not just on an individual, but a trauma suered by an entire community. All Pennsylvanians must stand together to reject hate and celebrate the diversity of our commonwealth. I congratulate the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission for their work in ensuring our state remains a place of welcome and peace.Sincerely,Tom WolfGovernor
5No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYMessage from Chairman M. Joel Bolstein, Esq.Hate cannot be tolerated. That simple message informs all the work we have been doing for the past 65 years. And it is the message that will inform our work as we go forward.The mission of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is to stand against any form of oppression; that all people in Pennsylvania will live, work, and learn free from unlawful discrimination. It is the dream of every neighborhood to dwell in peace. Yet, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has reminded us, “Peace is not merely the absence of this tension, but the presence of justice.” The PHRC must continue to be a driver of justice if we are to deliver our commitment to protect you, your friends and your neighbors from hate and bias. Unfortunately, defeating hate requires constant vigilance. As the state’s top civil rights enforcement agency, the PHRC works diligently to build mutual understanding with diverse communities by joining forces with local communities, faith groups, elected ocials, and law enforcement ocers. I look forward to continuing to work with my fellow Commissioners, our Executive Director, Regional Directors, and the professional sta of each of our oces to help make PHRC one of the nation’s premier civil rights agencies. Sincerely,M. Joel Bolstein, Esq.Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission Chairman
6www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYMessage from Executive Director, Chad Dion Lassiter, MSWAlbert Einstein once said, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.” Last year, 2020, things got bigger, more complex, and more violent as evidenced by a once-in-a-century pandemic, an economic crisis as bad as the Great Depression, and a social justice protest movement that fueled international rage over police brutality. But these same events emboldened angry White Supremacist insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021 carrying with them vile racist images and a determination to cause harm and move us in the wrong direction. Building PA’s Beloved Community: No Hate in Our State is intentionally designed to move things in an opposite direction, a direction of peace, justice, equity. The goal for the project is to convene those who want to bequeath more equitable, more peaceful communities to future generations of Pennsylvanian residents and develop a meaningful action plan for that vision. A hate crime occurs once every hour in the United States. And experts believe even this is a serious underreporting of the problem. These are not small matters and left unaddressed, the consequences will prove dire. As the state’s top civil rights enforcement organization, we must assure that no one ignores the problems of white supremacist extremism, pandemic-related hate crimes, cyberbullying, or race-based violence that marred 2020. It is a threat not only to our communities, but also to our democracy. Throughout his life, John Lewis challenged us to be faithful and stalwart advocates of true peacemaking. “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” Hate, it is said, grows in ignorance and isolation. We present our second annual Building PA’s Beloved Community: No Hate in Our State report with the ambitious hope that we shed light on hate and its various faces – bias, inequality, injustice – such that it will nd no dark place of welcome in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sincerely,Chad Dion Lassiter, MSWPennsylvania Human Relations Commission Executive Director
7No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionRadheshyam M. Agrawal, M.D. “When rights of human beings are compromised, they loose the opportunity to a productive life.”Michael Hardiman, Esq. “Every day presents new opportunities!”M. Joel Bolstein, Esq., Chairman “I am very grateful to Governor Wolf for appointing me Chairperson and allowing me to continue in a leadership role alongside my fellow Commissioners, our wonderful new Executive Director, Chad Dion Lassiter, and our very talented and extremely dedicated professional sta.”Hon. Curtis Jones, Jr. “From the White House to our house, human relations is an important aspect of the quality of our life. Fairness, in housing, employment and racial and religious tolerance is an essential responsibility of our organization.”BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYCommissionersGeorge B. Dawson, Esq. “The road to justice should be free of impediments.”
8www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommMayur Patel, Esq., Secretary “I am proud to be part of a group of individuals whose singular focus is to ensure that the people of our Commonwealth are being treated fairly and with respect. This area of focus is now more important than ever.” BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYCommissionersAleena Y. Sorathia, Esq. “There is no justice when some—because of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, or disability, among others—are denied a safe place to live, learn, work, and socialize. I am proud to serve on a Commission that strives to build a Commonwealth full of communities free of hate and discrimination.”Adrian Shanker“The role PHRC plays is essential to the freedom to live, work, play, and visit Pennsylvania without fear of discrimination.”Dr. Raquel Q. Yiengst, Vice-Chair “My hope for PHRC is that it will continue to be the government agency that promotes civil rights, eradicates discrimination for all, and upholds Equal Educational Opportunity for all children so that we can create a better future for all.”
9No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYIntroduction: The Enduring Problem of HateThe problem of hate and hate crimes is signicant. The latest statistics from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) identied 940 hate groups operating across the country in 2019. While this is a small decline from 1,020 hate groups in the 2018’s, it is still a daunting number. SPLC also reported a signicant increase in anti-LGBTQ hate groups, from 49 in 2018 to 70 in 2019 and in white nationalist hate groups. There was also a slight increase in anti-immigrant hate groups. Building PA’s Beloved Community: No Hate in Our State was developed in 2019 as a social justice initiative in response to a series of incidents involving racial harassment and violence that occurred that year in York County. However, 2020 has brought its own hate-fueled woes. For one, the COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed violence against Asians and Pacic Islanders who were blamed for the virus. “I want to thank the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and it’s Executive Director, Chad Lassiter, for standing behind our Asian-American community,” State representative Patty Kim said. “We want to remind Pennsylvanians that it is unacceptable to tolerate racial slurs, xenophobic attacks and harassment, especially during this global pandemic. It’s wrong to shift blame or accuse Asian-Americans for this crisis. Pathogens do not discriminate.” Transgender related violence was also in the media when two Black trans women were murdered and another brutally attacked. Ocials suspect it was a hate crime motivated by the victims’ LGBTQ status. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called this horric violence against Black trans women an “epidemic.”Last year also saw a resurgence of domestic terrorism often motivated by white supremacist ideology. This ideology was on full display in January with the siege of the U.S. Capitol. According to former FBI director Christopher Wray, the deadliest attacks in the United States have been perpetrated by white supremacists. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is tasked not just with investigating hate crimes and bias incidents, but with creating educational and outreach eorts to help with the prevention. The Building PA’s Beloved Community: No Hate in Our State project is coordinated by the PHRC’s Education and Community Outreach Division which facilitates ongoing hate crimes prevention, education, and response activities statewide. This division also facilitates the Interagency Task Force on Civil Tension and the local advisory councils to the PHRC. The process began with town halls but in 2020 Building PA’s Beloved Community: No Hate in Our State had to pivot to digital gatherings. In 2020 the PHRC also created guidances related to coronavirus and, because Pennsylvania does not consider LGBTQ a protected class, for the LGBTQ community. The latest statistics from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) identied 940 hate groups operating across the country in 2019. The AJC’s 2020 State of Antisemitism in America survey found that 88 percent of American Jews believe anti-Semitism is a growing problem, but nearly half of U.S. adults have no idea what the term means.
10www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYLest We Forget2nd Annual Remembrance of the Tree of LifeOctober 27, 2020 was the second anniversary of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. At 9:46 AM, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joined Rabbi Myers at the synagogue for a moment of silence for the 11 people who were killed and the six who were wounded. Since this incidence, according to the American Jewish Committee, Jews have been murdered in Poway, California; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Monsey, New York simply for being Jews. The perpetrators share one quality – hate. “I think our community here has learned that they’re not alone. For the Tree of Life, we’re a community, we’re a family, we’re here for each other. If one is in pain, we’re all in pain, and that’s the way it has continued since that day.” said Rabbi Myer, who received the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Medal of Valor at its annual Awards Dinner in 2019. His medal had the inscription, “He who saves a single life, it is as if he has saved an entire world.”
11No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYQ&A with PHRC Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, MSWChad Dion Lassiter was appointed executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in 2018. He is nationally recognized in the elds of American race relations. He has worked with resilient and vulnerable families, youth and communities as they experience normal developmental transitions in challenging environments. He received a Master’s Degree at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Work, where he was the A. Phillip Randolph Award winner in 2001. Lassiter has worked on race, peace and poverty-related issues in Africa, Canada, Haiti, Israel and Norway. He is widely called upon often to provide commentary to various media outlets nationally and internationally. Prior to accepting his post at the PHRC - he was the Executive Director of the Red Cross House at the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and the President of the Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, Inc. at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. Lassiter told the Philadelphia Tribune, “My singular commitment is to grow the commission throughout the commonwealth and making it a national model where people study us for best practices.” Q: What is the Beloved Community?Simply put, the Beloved Community is about peace and justice. It is the result of intentionally creating a community that includes space for diversity, fairness, and pushes back against isms. A Beloved Community embraces the other and collaboratively creates communities where all can thrive. There is built into our country’s DNA an idealism of equality and freedom. These are transformational concepts and our country has had civil ghts for these to become a reality. Increasingly, the ghts have left us exhausted, bitter, and ghting not for one another, but against one another. We have to start by envisioning a future and then reimagining that future by recognizing that our assignment is to be a bridge of love in the midst of hate.
12www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYQ&A with PHRC Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, MSWQ: Why should the PHRC be involved ? Let me answer your question with a question. How did we become so well adjusted to injustice? The PHRC, as the largest Civil Rights agency in Pennsylvania, has always been tasked with insuring a state free of civil rights harm. But we can’t stop there. The concept of the Beloved Community is written in our mission statement which reads, “The PA Human Relations Commission promotes equal opportunity for all and enforces Pennsylvania’s Civil Rights laws that protect people from unlawful discrimination.”Q: What is most challenging aspect of creating a Statewide Beloved Community?There is a tendency for all of us to default to comforts of the past that may be dysfunctional, but they are also familiar. The Beloved Community process doesn’t allow for that comfort if it is based on the suering of another. So, we have to start by envisioning a future and then reimagining that future by recognizing that our assignment is to be a bridge of love in the midst of hate. Josiah Royce, the philosopher credited with the original idea of the Beloved Community challenged us to reach greater heights of our humanity. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel remind us that there are those that prot from hate.Q: Is the Beloved Community strong enough to counter the rise of hate, especially on Social Media? You are right about the role of social media. It is indeed a potent outreach tool and can disseminate a message of ill will or a message of goodwill. Experts who study extremism say that social media has created a new pathway for people to become radicalized. But we can’t just shut down the sites. That won’t make communities safer from hate. We must create more Beloved Communities online and even then; hate will still surface but we must continue to attempt to dismantle it. LEST WE FORGET
13No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYWhat is a Hate Crime?A man from Leighton, PA posts an image of his arm and hand aiming an AR-15 rie at a congregation of praying Jewish men. This was not his rst image. He used fake names to post hundreds of anti-Semitic, anti-black and anti-Muslim messages, images, and videos. This is what hate looks like.A hate incident is any incident that is perceived as being motivated by prejudice or hate. In Pennsylvania, a hate crime is dened as a criminal act motivated by ill will or hatred towards a victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin. In Pennsylvania, hate crimes are termed ethnic intimidation and the oense is set forth in the crimes code, Title 18, Section 2710. “With hate crime legislation, the whole point of it is to get equal justice through the criminal justice system for people who have been disenfranchised eectively by the criminal justice system: women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people, who more often than not nd themselves disadvantaged by the biases of police departments and prosecutors,” Villanova University Sociology Professor Jill McCorkel said. When is an Incident Considered a Hate Crime?In Pennsylvania, a person commits ethnic intimidation if he or she is motivated by hatred toward the race, color, religion, or national origin of another individual or group of individuals while committing certain crimes.What are Examples of Possible Hate Crimes? (This list is not exhaustive.)• Harassment (in person or electronically)• Physical assault• Destruction of Property• Criminal Trespass• Arson or Firebombing• Terroristic ThreatsA hate incident is any incident that is perceived as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
14www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYWhat is PHRC’s Response to Hate Crimes?UPDATE: AAPI Hate Incident in PhiladelphiaLast July, Philadelphia resident Jing Chen had water thrown on her by a woman who had been panhandling. When Chen asked the woman why she did that, the woman responded by calling her a slur. Chen retorted, “you too.” But the verbal altercation escalation when the beggar punched Chin in the face. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the assailant was a 19-year-old Black homeless woman who was under court-ordered evaluation for mental health competency last year. She was arrested and charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and harassment. The question this case has raised is whether this is a case of ethnic intimidation or is this a mental health issue? About 80 community members, state lawmakers, and city ocials dialed in for a community meeting about the incident hosted by the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans was also on the Zoom meeting. Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said the mental health issue is a secondary concern — one for the defendant’s lawyer to worry about. “Without question, this is an instance of ethnic intimidation,” Lassiter said.PHRC tracks incidents reported to the agency to inform the Pennsylvania Interagency Task Force on Community Activities and Relations. This is a group of state agencies who work to prevent and respond to civil tension and violence arising from conicts between ethnic or cultural groups and when there are public expressions of bias or hate. The primary function of the group is to address civil tension when conicts occur, and to promote positive community relations among various groups to prevent tension. We remind people that if you are a victim of violence or if you witness an act of violence, you should call 911 immediately.Pennsylvania has Hate Crime laws for protection and we have an Ethnic Intimidation Law that can serve those who are confronted with these horrible acts. Check our website, www.phrc.pa.gov for information or contact our oce. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission can be reached at 717-787-4410 for complaints of discrimination related to COVID-19 to facilitate ongoing hate crimes prevention, education, and response activities statewide.
15No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPA Human Relations Commission Social Justice CommitteesEducational Equity CommitteeThe Educational Equity Committee’s (EEC) principle objective is to recognize that there are harmful inequities in many aspects of the Commonwealth’s educational policies and practices and to ensure that the PHRC takes all appropriate measures within its jurisdiction to address inequities whether they are found in academic programs, vocational programs, or programs for special needs students. The committee works to initiate open communication and begin constructive dialog with school districts that are experiencing educational inequities and render assistance wherever possible. Furthermore, the committee helps to identifying skill sets that are needed by prospective employees. Commission Chair: Dr. Raquel YiengstSta Lead: Carl Summerson, Esq.Fair Housing Committee The Fair Housing Committee (FHC) is dedicated to expanding the PA Human Relations Commission’s activities beyond the traditional role of enforcement by leading statewide discussions regarding armatively furthering fair housing and housing disparities within protected classes. The FHC seeks to collaborate with other agencies and stakeholders to advocate for equitable policies, projects and solutions that will lead to true equality in housing throughout the Commonwealth.Commission Chair: Mayur Patel, Esq.Sta Lead: Adrian GarciaPolicy & PHRA CommitteeThe purpose of the Policy & PHRA Committee (PPC) of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is to eectuate the policy goals of the Commission by spearheading eorts to enact, support, lobby, and provide guidance regarding issues relating to unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and education. The committee reviews issues of relevance to the Commission, drafts guidance, alerts and educates the Commission on novel approaches, to strengthen protections oered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the Pennsylvania Fair Educational Opportunities Act. Commission Chair: Aleena Sorathia, Esq.Sta Lead: Guerline L. Laurore, Esq.
16www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPA Human Relations Commission Social Justice CommitteesPolice & Community Relations CommitteeThe Police & Community Relations (PCR)Committee recognizes that there are harmful inequities in many aspects of the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system, police policies, and practices that contribute to the disparate treatment of racial, ethnic and religious minorities as well as LGBTQ or gender-nonconforming persons. Our primary goal is to ensure that the PHRC takes all appropriate measures within its jurisdiction to address inequities whether they are found in criminal justice programs, police policies, patterns or practices as it relates to marginalized communities. Commission Chair: Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr.Sta Lead: Tameka Hatcher, MBADiversity & Inclusion Committee The purpose of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee is to foster a workplace environment which models best practices for state agencies and organizations. Diversity is the entire range of human dierences that includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, veteran status, physical and cognitive ability or attributes, religious aliation, national origin, citizenship, and political beliefs. Inclusion is involvement and empowerment where the inherent worth and dignity of all people is recognized. A diverse and inclusive work environment promotes and sustains a sense of belonging; it values and respects the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its workforce. The PHRC recognizes that it serves citizens from various races, ethnicities, and communities across the Commonwealth. Understanding the impact that racial identity and professional responsibility have on the communities we serve, the Diversity Committee will dedicate resources to studying issues of racial inequalities.Commission Chair: Mayur Patel, Esq.Sta Lead: Samuel Rivera, Esq.PHRC Program, Community Outreach and Training Committee MeetingThe purpose of the Program, Outreach and Training Committee of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is to spearhead, monitor, and support activities of the PHRC leadership, sta, and advisory councils as it applies to public education, outreach, and training. This committee also helps to identify training and educational needs both internally and externally to full the Commission’s responsibility to promote and instill best practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace and the community.Commission Chair: Michael Hardiman, Esq.Sta Lead: Laura Argenbright
17No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYNo Hate in Our State: 2020 Critical Social Justice DialoguesWith the death of George Floyd and the international cry for social justice exacerbated by a pandemic, 2020 proved to be a pivotal year. The work of the Beloved Community has never been more necessary. Under the leadership of Executive Director Chad Dion Lassiter, PHRC continues to provide its Social Justice Lecture Series and to strengthen relationships with its community partners to promote and advance social justice within the Commonwealth. Social Justice Lecture SeriesThe goal of the Social Justice Lecture Series is to help the community heal by educating the public and helping participants deal with the pain of racism, discrimination, and hate-related violence, while also reducing tensions. Follow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.com www.twitter.comAugust 21st, 2020 - 1:00 - 3:00 (EST) - ZoomLeading in Challenging and Complex Times Part IIPANELISTSHeather RothRegional Director HarrisburgPennsylvania Human Relations CommissionDiana MedleyRegional Director PhiladelphiaPennsylvania Human Relations CommissionGuerline L. LauroreDirector of Policy and Intergovernmental AairsPennsylvania Human Relations CommissionLyle WoodRegional Director PittsburghPennsylvania Human Relations CommissionAdrian GarciaDirector of Fair HousingPennsylvania Human Relations CommissionLailah Dunbar-KeeysAdjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology - Community College of PhiladelphiaMODERATORhttps://zoom.us/j/86244186172ZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 862 4418 6172 | Password: 914375Leading in Challenging and Complex Times - Part 2Leading in Challenging and Complex Times - Part 1This two-part series looked at leading at our workplaces and communities with an equity lens to ensure diversity and inclusion.
18www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYNo Hate in Our State: 2020 Critical Social Justice DialoguesPandemic of Hate“…the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.” United Nations Secretary, General Antonio GuterresRe-Imagining Social Justice: Past, Present, and Future ConsiderationsIn light of the death of George Floyd, the world began to ask – in this moment that we nd ourselves, what does social justice mean?Follow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comJUNE 30th, 2020 - 7:00pm - 8:00pm (EST) - ZoomPandemic of Hate:Combating Systemic and Structural Racism in the 21st CenturyVIRTUAL TOWN HALLChad Dion Lassiter, MSWExecutive DirectorPennsylvania HumanRelations CommissionReverend Marshall MitchellPastor - Salem Baptist ChurchCrystal M. EdwardsEducator / ActivistDr. Joe FeaginProfessorLailah Dunbar-KeeysAdjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology - Community College of PhiladelphiaMODERATORhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/89531150593?pwd=WDJPZ1dTanFmMWhqMVMxaTFCTGZEQT09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 895 3115 0593 | Password: 525334AUGUST 17th, 2020 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm (EST) - ZoomFollow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comChad Dion Lassiter, MSWExecutive Director Pennsylvania HumanRelations Commissionomas ParkerSuperintendent of theAllentown School DistrictDr. Khalid MuminSuperintendent of theReading School DistrictDr. Khaleel DesaqueDirector of SchoolImprovement, PennsylvaniaDepartment of EducationDr. Gregory SeatonFounder ofAnalytic Enterprise https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 828 0832 3678 | Password: 193618Re-imagining Social Justice:Past, Present, and Future ConsiderationsLailah Dunbar-KeeysAdjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology - Community College of PhiladelphiaMODERATORLeave No Child BehindWhat will be the long-term impact on today’s schoolchildren and how do we serve them in a digital environment while ensuring equity and high quality? The Historical Signicance of the Relationship Between Blacks & JewsBlacks and Jews have faced similar challenges in America. They have traditionally been civil rights allies. There has also been incidents of Black anti-Semitism and Jewish racism. How do we maintain a strong, vital allyship? Representative Dan MillerState Representative forthe 42nd DistrictPaige Joki, Esq.Sta AttorneyEducation Law CenterKhaleel S. Desaque, Ed.DDirector - Department ofEducation - Oce ofSchool ImprovementDr. David Bateman, PhDProfessor ofSpecial EducationShippensburg UniversityFollow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comOCTOBER 16, 2020 - 4:00pm - 6:00pm (EST) - Zoomhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 844 4356 8005 | Password: 253976Leave No Child BehindServing All Children in the Digital EnvironmentWho: PHRC & Special Guests Includingthe Honorable Representative Dan MillerMODERATORS and HOSTSDr. Raquel YiengstPHRC CommissionerMorgan WilliamsPHRC Interim Chief CounselMorgan Williams, EsqAssistant Chief Counsel, PHRCtheRipOffBanDaiD.pennsylvaniaHUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSIONwww.phrc.pa.govFollow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comOCTOBER 27, 2020 - 5:00pm - 6:30pm (EST) - Zoomhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 865 5208 1002 | Password: 775459PHRC Presents: The Historical Significance of theRelationship Between Blacks and Jews - Part 1Chad Dion Lassiter, MSWNational Expert on Race Relations& Executive Director of the PHRCEarl Bowen, Jr.RabbiBatya GlazerRabbiMarcus AllenCEO - Big Brothers Big Sisters IndependenceHeadshot Marcus Allen, CEO, BBBS Independence Asaf Romirowsky, Ph.DDExecutive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME)Allison Pokras
19No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYNo Hate in Our State: 2020 Critical Social Justice DialoguesThe Fair Housing ActHousing is a right and when those rights are violated there is justice under the law.LUNCH AND LEARNTOPIC: THE FAIR HOUSING ACT AT 51: ADDRESSINGHOUSING DISCRIMINATION IN THE 21ST CENTURYADRIAN GARCIADirector of HousingFEATURING:PHRCSocial JusticeLunch &Learn SeriesWhen:November 12, 202012:00 - 1:00 pmWhere:333 Market Street, 8th FlHarrisburg, PA 17101Who We Are:The Pennsylvania HumanRelations Commission isthe agency that enforcesthe laws that prohibitdiscrimination in thejuristictional areas ofemployment, education,housing & commercial property and publicaccomodations.Follow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.come Fair Housing Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1968, aer the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had been working on the Poor People’s Campaign to address economic inequality and shortages in employment and housing. is workshop will explore how the issues of steering, redlining, gentrication and environmental waste continue to disproportionately aect the most vulnerable populations.CONTACT:TAMEKA HATCHEREducation Coordinator717.783.8486thatcher@pa.govhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 892 9622 0546 | Password: 282006LUNCH AND LEARNTOPIC: WHAT CONSTITUTES A HATE CRIME?CARL SUMMERSONChief Hearing ExaminerFEATURING:PHRCSocial JusticeLunch &Learn SeriesWhen:OCTOBER 22, 202012:00 - 1:00 pmWhere:333 Market Street, 8th FlHarrisburg, PA 17101Who We Are:The Pennsylvania HumanRelations Commission isthe agency that enforcesthe laws that prohibitdiscrimination in thejuristictional areas ofemployment, education,housing & commercial property and publicaccomodations.Follow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comOver the past four years, many factors have contributed to the steady increase in the number of hate crimes reported. But what constitutes a hate crime – and how is it charged in Pennsylvania? Surprisingly, even some in law enforcement are unaware, which puts victims of such crime at a legal disadvantage. Come learn about the Ethnic Intimidation Law, an enhancement to the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, and its application.CONTACT:TAMEKA HATCHEREducation Coordinator717.783.8486thatcher@pa.govhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 895 6052 8061 | Password: 442094What Constitutes a Hate Crime?Knowing what a hate crime is and what can be done about it becomes very important in an era of increased hostilities.LUNCH AND LEARNTOPIC: INTERRUPTING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINETAMEKA M. HATCHEREducational Outreach CoordinatorFEATURING:PHRCSocial JusticeLunch &Learn SeriesWhen:SEPTEMBER 24, 202012:00 - 1:00 pmWhere:333 Market Street, 8th FlHarrisburg, PA 17101Who We Are:The Pennsylvania HumanRelations Commission isthe agency that enforcesthe laws that prohibitdiscrimination in thejuristictional areas ofemployment, education,housing & commercial property and publicaccomodations.Follow us:www.phrc.pa.gov www.facebook.comwww.twitter.comStudies show that students of color, particularly African-American boys and girls are more likely to be disciplined in schools for the same or lesser infractions as race White students. e seriousness of this nationwide problem was recently highlighted in Florida, where a six-year old Black girl was arrested and ngerprinted for throwing a tantrum. is workshop will explore how disproportionate discipline at the elementary and secondary levels impact educational outcomes and contribute to the disparate number of racial minorities incarcerated in county, state and federal correctional facilities.CONTACT:TAMEKA HATCHEREducation Coordinator717.783.8486thatcher@pa.govhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353106860?pwd=WDlYZUNEZ1k5SHJTdG9vKzJrRXpqZz09#successZOOM LINKMeeting ID: 812 2659 7765 | Password: 975353Interrupting the School-to-Prison PipelineThe over criminalization of black and brown children within schools and the disparate treatment that they receive in discipline with suspension and expulsion rates calls us to interrupt the pipeline.
20www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPartnershipsDr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the true work of the civil rights movement was to build the Beloved Community. We cannot do this work alone. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission partners with many agencies cross the Commonwealth as we work together to develop the local community blueprint for a Beloved Community. The PHRC’s vision is that all people in Pennsylvania will live, work, and learn free from unlawful discrimination. We strive to help communities create and develop an action plan aimed at inclusion. Work to develop community-wide plans aimed at expanding economic opportunities. Here are considerations to working in partnership:Step 1. Craft a shared vision of the Beloved Community The rst step is to listen and create the vision that you seek. Your community has a variety of voices. And as many voices as possible should be included in the creation process. This is a brainstorm stage, and every suggestion should be welcomed. What for your partners would a Beloved Community include? The diversity of voices will make for a more robust and supported vision. Step 2. Reach out to “The Other” Be intentional as you seek to partner. Actively seek to partner with programs that reach out to help those in the most need — the hungry, the homeless, and the unemployed and those that have been the most marginalized in your community. Step 3. Develop a Reconciliation Pathwaybell hooks has said, “The truth is that you cannot build community without conict. The issue is not to be without conict, but to be able to resolve conict, and the commitment to community is what gives us the inspiration to come up with ways to resolve conict.” As you seek to build a more peaceful community, your group may have to move through past harms. It would be helpful in the beginning to develop a reconciliation pathway procedure so that when you reach a point of painful conict there is a process that would lead to reconciliation. Step 4. Create a Beloved Community Stress TestJosiah Royce, an American philosopher credited with creating the Beloved Community concept believed that “Every proposed reform, every moral deed, is to be tested by whether and to what extent it contributes to the realization of the Beloved Community…When one cannot nd the ‘beloved community,’ they need to take steps to create it and if there is not evidence of the existence of such a community then the rule to live by is to Act So As To Hasten Its Coming.”The PHRC’s vision is that all people in Pennsylvania will live, work, and learn free from unlawful discrimination.
21No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPartnershipsAsking these self-reective questions will help the group test the quality of beloved community, • How are your actions and behaviors impacting others?• What are our assumptions?• What are we tolerating that we shouldn’t? • Where are we intolerant where we should be more empathetic?UPDATE: Reading School District According to Reading School District superintendent Dr. Khalid Mumin, the district has met all 96 terms of a conciliatory agreement with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Mumin told the Reading Eagle, “We embarked on a ve-year plan and we looked at safe schools, academics, communications and engagement, also scal responsibilities and partnerships.”After several complaints from parents, employees, and the community regarding discrimination in the district, one of the terms required by the state was to bring in a director of equity and incorporate what ocials call “deep equity training” for administration, sta, and students.As a result of the work, District ocials have reported a change in the interactions between the sta and students. “As a top civil rights enforcement agency, it was our job to come in and do what we had to do,” said Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the PHRC. “Now, what we can do is take this and model it at other schools who have some presenting challenges.”
22www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYPartnershipsPHRC is continually working to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new collaborations. Our partners include: • Local Human Relations Commissions and diversity organizations • PHRC Advisory Councils• American Civil Liberties Union• Anti-Defamation League• Commonwealth Oce of Human Relations• The PA Department of Corrections • The PA Department of Education • US Department of Housing and Urban Development • US Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission • The State Police and local law enforcement agencies • Reading School District • Interfaith organizations • Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern PA • NAACP - Cheltenham and Philadelphia Chapters • Governor’s Oce• PA General Assembly • Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services • Urban League of Philadelphia• World Aairs Council of Harrisburg• University of Pennsylvania • The Palmer Foundation• United States Department of Justice UPDATE: Racial Achievement Gap in Pittsburgh Public SchoolsResearch shows that if a child lacks the ability to read prociently by third grade it will be very dicult for the child to ever catch up. About 30 years ago, with that knowledge Wanda Henderson led charges with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission about the Pittsburgh School District racial achievement gap. Her concern: “The problem is that students of color are just not learning in Pittsburgh Public School. They have continually failed to educate them decade after decade after decade.” Years have not brought improvement. In 2015/2016, only 37 percent of African American students could read at procient levels compared to 68 percent of white students, an achievement gap of 31 percent. In 2019: 38 percent African American prociency and 75 percent white, an achievement gap of 37 percent.The PHRC gave the school district a failing grade for its lack of progress in closing the achievement gap.
23No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYTake ActionTo support social justice, an important step after educating yourself about racism and other inequities. To learn you must rst listen. Listen to the voices of the people who experience the ism. There are a lot of good books that can help provide this type of education. Consider this list below as a starting point: Books for Adults 1. “The Color of Law,” by Richard Rothstein2. “The New Jim Crow,” by Michelle Alexander 3. “So You Want to Talk About Race,” by Ijeoma Oluo 4. “Stamped from the Beginning,” and “How to Be an Anti-Racist,” By Ibram X. Kendi 5. “White Fragility,” by Robin Diangelo6. “White Rage,” by Carol Anderson 7. “Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria,” Beverly Tatum 8. “Race Matters,” by Cornel West 9. “Police Brutality an Anthology,” by Jill Nelson 10. “America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege and the New Bridge to a New America,” by Jim Wallis11. “Racism: A Short History,” by George M. Fredrickson 12. “Systemic Racism: A Theory of Oppression,” by Joe R. Feagin Updated on June 11, 2020 13. “From Slavey to Freedom,” by John Hope Franklin 14. “Dismantling Racism: The Continuing Challenge to White America,” by Joseph Brandt 15. “White-Washing Race: The Myth of a Color-Blind Society,” by Michael K. Brown, Martin Carnoy, Elliott Currie, Troy Duster, David B. Oppenheimer, Majorie M. Schultz and David Wellman 16. “Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice,” by Paul Kivel 17. “White Collar Factory: Black Education in Urban America,” by Jack Washington 18. “White Privilege and Black Rights,” by Naomi Zack 19. “Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Dierences That Make A Dierence,” by Howard C. Stevenson 20. 20. “Just Mercy,” by Brian Stevenson 21. “Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Black Social Gospel,” by Gary Dorrien 22. “The Great Wells of Democracy: The Meaning of Race in American Life,” by Manning Marable 23. “Democracy In Black: How Race Still Enslaves The American Soul,” by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.
24www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommNext StepThe next step is to get deeply involved in the work of transformational change. Many communities have human relations commissions for community members to become involved. Other actions include: • Monitoring incidents of hate online and in the news and report it to the PHRC • Joining a group in your community working towards equity • Bringing allies to the table• Joining a PHRC Advisory Council Books for Children and Teens 1. “A Kids Book About Racism,” by Jelani Memory 2. “This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work,” by Tiany Jewell3. “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi 4. “Fair Housing Five & The Haunted House’” Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center Updated on June 11, 2020BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYTake Action
25No Hate in Our State 2nd Annual Report - Pennsylvania Human Relations CommissionActivism – A policy of taking direct action to achieve a political or social endAdvocacy – Active support for an idea or cause and aims to inuence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or physical/mental disability.Bigotry – An unreasonable or irrational attachment to negative stereotypes and prejudices of individuals and groups belonging to one or more social identities.BIPOC – Black, Indigenous and People of Color Civil Rights – are an essential component of democracy. They’re guarantees of equal social opportunities and protection under the law, regardless of race, religion, or other characteristics.Discrimination – The denial of justice, resources and fair treatment of individuals and groups (often based on social identity), through employment, education, housing, banking, political rights, etc. Diversity – Means dierent or varied. The population of the United States is made up of people belonging to diverse groups characterized by culture, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, ability, etc.Ethnic Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons of the same race or national origin who share common or similar traits in language, custom, and tradition.Equality – Everyone having the same rights, opportunities, and resources. Equality stresses fairness and parity in having access to social goods and services.Equity – Everyone getting what they need in order to have access, opportunities and a fair chance to succeed. It recognizes that the same for everyone (equality) doesn’t truly address needs and therefore, specic solutions and remedies, which may be dierent, are necessary.Hate Crime – A criminal act against property, a person or group where the victim is intentionally targeted because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, gender/gender identity or ethnicity.Hate Incident – An action or behavior motivated by hate but legally protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. Examples of hate incidents include: name-calling, insults, distributing hate material in public places, displaying hate material on your own propertyImplicit Bias – The unconscious attitudes, stereotypes and unintentional actions (positive or negative) toward members of a group merely because of their membership in that group. BUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYGlossary of Terms
26www.phrc.pa.gov facebook.com/PAHumanRelationstwitter.com/PA_HumRelCommBUILDING PENNSYLVANIA’S BELOVED COMMUNITYGlossary of TermsInclusion – An environment and commitment to respect, represent and accept diverse social groups and identities; an environment where all people feel like they belong. (In K-12 learning environments, inclusion can sometimes also refer to the practice of integrating students with disabilities into the classroom setting.Marginalization – the act of relegating someone to an unimportant or powerless positionMulti-Racial – A hate crime that involves more than one victim or suspect, and where the victims or suspects are from two or more dierent race groups, such as African American and white or Hispanic and Asian.Oppression – A system of mistreatment, exploitation, and abuse of a marginalized group(s) for the social, economic or political benet of a dominant group(s). This happens within a social hierarchy where people are ranked according to status, often based on aspects of social identity.Physical/Mental Disability Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on physical or mental impediments/challenges, whether such disabilities are congenital or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age, or illness.Prejudice – A premature judgment or belief formed about a person, group or concept before gaining sucient knowledge or by selectively disregarding facts. Racial Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons, such as Asians, blacks, or whites, based on physical characteristics.Racism – The marginalization and/or oppression of people of color based on a socially constructed racial hierarchy that privileges white people.Religious Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on religious beliefs regarding the origin and purpose of the universe and the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being. Examples are Catholics, Jews, Protestants, or Atheists. Social Change – changes in human interactions and relationships that transform cultural and social institutions. Social Justice – means equal rights and equitable opportunities for all.Sexual-Orientation Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons based on sexual preferences and/or attractions toward and responsiveness to members of their own or opposite sexes.Systemic Oppression – A combination of systems, institutions and factors that advantage white people and for people of color, cause widespread harm and disadvantages in access and opportunity.Transgender Bias – A preformed negative opinion or attitude toward persons perceived to be transgender and/or transsexual.
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Special thanks to contributing writer/editor Lynette Hazelton and Director of Communications Laura ArgenbrightLynette Hazelton Laura ArgenbrightTHANK YOU!
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