The TN Human Rights Commission works with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in an effort to help eradicate complaints of discrimination across the state of Tennessee.

This time the executive director of the THRC Beverly L. Watts along with several commissioners and staff members made their way to Clarksville to hear citizens with discrimination complaints or issues.

Richard Waters from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division covering Title VI was also on hand to answers questions or complaints concerning Title VI. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states:

No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Some of the complaints brought before the commission this evening were, job discrimination at Austin Peay State University when it come to equal employment and promotions for minorities.

Blind children being denied access to accommodations available to them thru the Montgomery County School system.

Where is the minority representation when it comes to getting biding contracts for government jobs and the main questions that seems to dominate most of these meeting is can an employer just up and fire you for no reason and how do I file a complaint if I believe discrimination was involved.

The commission expressed that each case and situation is different and needs to be handle and addressed on a case by case bases but in the case of being fired by an employee and they don’t give you a reason well the state of Tennessee is an at will employment state which means you can be fired and the employer does not have to give you a reason.

But if you believe you have been terminated or fired because of discrimination you have 300 days after your termination to file a complaint with their central office, and they will launch an investigation.. Their office is located at:

Phone: (615) 741-5825
Fax Numbers: (615) 253-1886 or (615) 532-2197
Toll Free: (800) 251-3589

For faster service you can down load a complaint form as well as access a wealth of information by visiting their website at http://www.state.tn.us/humanrights/

The THRC has regional offices in Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Nashville but check your local government because many city and county government offices like Clarksville may have a Human Rights Commission already in your town.

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Nashville

The Commission’s purpose is to identify, prevent and eliminate discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations through the receipt, investigation, and litigation of allegations of discrimination throughout the state of Tennessee. We are charged with the responsibility of verifying that all state governmental entities comply with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 pursuant to the State of Tennessee Public Acts, 2009 Public Chapter No. 437. We seek to safeguard citizens from discrimination by providing leadership and developing community-based education and outreach to promote an understanding of our work. Our responsibilities include encouraging, promoting and developing fair and equal treatment and opportunity for all persons regardless of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, national origin and disability.

Anyone who believes he or she has been discriminated against can file a complaint by calling THRC at 800-251-3589 or visiting a THRC office. More information is available at our website, www.tennessee.gov/humanrights.

For more details about the listening session please contact Bobbie Porter of THRC at 615-253-1608.

The recent discord over the makeup of the City Charter Review and Revision Committee has revealed a most unpleasant undercurrent in our government and our community. The fact that this committee, which will revise the city’s primary policy document, lacks any minority participation has caused many to question the selection process and the fairness of the results.

As the title of this commentary states, ‘We’re All In This Together!’ That is so very true and appropriate to this situation. The city charter affects and applies to every resident of the city. The declaration by the mayor’s office that there will be no minority participation is dangerous folly and actionable. This city depends on the millions of federal dollars annually funneled into our city coffers to operate. This declaration gives every one of those federal agencies reason to suspend those disbursements and investigate our government actions.

‘We’re All In This Together!’ also means that the city council should be mindful of its obligation to uphold all city, state and federal laws as sworn to in taking their oaths of office. Despite protests to the contrary, the denial of minority participation is a direct affront to state law regarding minority representation and participation in appointed bodies. (See TCA 10-7.601, et. al.) Beyond that, this denial places our compliance with Title VI law and regulations in serious jeopardy. Denying participation of protected classes in important decision and policy-making bodies is a direct violation of Title VI principles, law and regulations.

‘We’re All In This Together!’ would have us remember our Christian principles to be mindful of our fellow man. That means not treating others as we would not wish to be treated ourselves. That means not denying our fellowman the considerations we demand for ourselves.

‘We’re All In This Together!’ is common sense. We share this small blue planet together. Clarksville belongs to all of us. Gone are the days the of ‘White Citizens Councils’ of the ‘Old South’ that made political decisions without regard from the Black Community. Do we want to harken back to those detestable and terrible times? Have we learned nothing from the recent turmoil that resulted from noose displays and discrimination charges against our city?

“We’re All In This Together!” means that Blacks, Hispanics, Koreans, Native Americans, Middle East Indians, Pacific Islanders, Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Pakistani-Americans, the disabled- vision, hearing and/or mobility, even the GLBTQ community all deserve a seat at this table to decide the revisions to be made to OUR City Charter. That is what being FAIR is all about. It just makes good sense.

After all, ‘We’re All in This Together!’

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

The following are members of the city Charter and Code Revision Committee, created in August, 2007:• Ward 4 Councilman Wallace Redd, committee chairman • Ward 3 Councilman James Lewis • Ward 10 Councilman Bill Summers • Roger Mannes, attorney (former County Attorney) • Chief of Staff Jim Durrett • Jeff Truitt, engineer • Dave Cooper, a Fort Campbell soldier and entrepreneur • City Attorney Mason Wilson • City Clerk Sylvia Skinner • Dr. Jeannie Beauchamp, dentist • Former Councilwoman Mary Nell Wooten

As the city faces ongoing questions related to its Title VI compliance status, it’s worth reflecting on observations noted in a Leaf Chronicle editorial (5/17/06) in the aftermath of the city’s ADA lawsuit settlement. Is it still just ‘the Clarksville Way’ to needlessly waste taxpayer dollars?

Kudo’s to the Leaf Chronicle editorial staff for their editorial acknowledging the need to bring the City into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A second round of Kudo’s to the three members of the ‘Wheel Me On’ group who brought the lawsuit in the first place.

This excerpt from the Leaf Chronicle seems to acknowledge, for the first time, that we have a community problem:

“All of this is eerily similar to the City’s approach to the minority rights [issues] in the police department where ongoing claims of racial discrimination by black officers have led to millions of dollars lost in judgments against the City in Federal Courts.”

“ It’s time to change this mindset about oversight of civil rights. For when the Federal Court has it’s say, you do it right, or pay. And too frequently, that [the latter] is the Clarksville way.”

But does it have to be?

Part of our dilemma is that the whole community doesn’t see the full problem, so they fail “to connect the dots,” as it were. The powers that be, which includes the media, keep treating each situation as an isolated case. Thus it was refreshing to see the editorial group talking about “changing the mindset about Civil Rights.”

You see, it’s not just the ADA, but also Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 and all other federal nondiscrimination laws that must be addressed. City and County leaders will continue to needlessly waste your tax dollars until they follow federal law to the letter and adopt enforceable policies and procedures that leave no leave no room for doubt. The results of such actions will speak for themselves.

This will not happen as long as our city’s leadership maintains its current avoidance mindset. It had taken three years and a court decision to get them to begin to act right on the ADA issue, and that isn’t finalized yet. The Community may not have the same luxury of time in the Title VI issues because fraud charges have been brought regarding the use and expenditure of public assistance dollars. Unlike a civil rights complaint, it is likely only a matter of time before GAO and OMB auditors and inspectors are here, and those folks go by the letter of the law. When they shut off the money, it is not easily restored the next day. The taxpayers could see a major disruption of services, a loss of jobs, loss of revenues; businesses doing business with the City and County could themselves be audited. It doesn’t have to be this way. However, as the Leaf Chronicle editors noted, “too frequently, it’s the Clarksville way.”

Let’s connect a few more dots for those who have taken the time to read this far. To their credit, The All State, the student newspaper at Austin Peay State University wrote a headline story titled “Civil lawsuits sweep through APSU (2/22/07),” which said six discrimination lawsuits had been filed since December 2004. Although none have gone to court [as of this writing] , it shows that we do have a serious problem of community racial disconnect. What will the settlement of those lawsuits cost the community? Not just in monetary awards, but lost prestige, image and appeal?

But the issues that could do the most damage concern the fraud charges involving expenditures and use of public money to rebuild the city after the tornado, build schools, improve Dover Road and other highway projects. It has to do with other transportation projects as well, and before it’s over, the Industrial Park and hospital projects could be affected. When charges of fraud are leveled, the highest officials in government– bureaucrats and elected– must investigate, because we are talking about an accounting of the taxpayer dollar.

There’s an old saying that goes “ the Wheels of Justice turn exceedingly slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.” Again, as the editors noted, the Community will pay, but only because leadership is not sincere in compliance with federal civil rights law! Here again, “It’s the Clarksville Way!” Or, is it, finally, time for that to change?

As we are now 43 years into the Civil Rights Act of 1964 being the law of the land, perhaps a brief primer is in order.

“Simple justice requires that public funds to which all taxpayers of all races contribute not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial discrimination.” — President John F. Kennedy, in his message calling for the enactment of Title VI, 1963.

On August 3, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Federal regulations and rules were formulated to effect its compliance and enforcement.

What Is Covered by Title VI?

Veterans Administration educational benefits, employee or student recruitment, social services, the distribution of benefits and services, construction, transportation, Contracting, Community Development Block Grants, Parks and Recreation, tax benefits enjoyed by private agencies, fraternal and non-profit organizations (501.c3), education institutions, hiring, housing, the location of facilities, welfare services, program effects on people in applicable communities, and law enforcement and environmental issues.

What Is Federal Financial Assistance?

Federal financial assistance means more than just money. It is also aid that enhances the ability to improve or expand allocation of a recipient’s own resources. Some examples include:

• Student Aid (releases recipient’s funds for other uses)
• Training of employees (permits better use of the employee)
• Grants, loans and tax-exempt bonds
• Bonds
• Property
• Loan of Personnel
• Tax incentives and tax exempt status
• Technical assistance, etc.

If an agency receives any federal financial assistance for any program or activity- the entire agency is required to comply with Title VI, not just that particular program.

How Does Title VI Apply To Public Policy?

Title VI is the mechanism that ensures that federal financial assistance, which drives or promotes economic development, infrastructure improvements, service delivery, and minority participation in decision-making is done without discrimination. The intent is to ensure that all persons have fair participation and representation in the planning and execution of public policy.

We are now in the 43rd anniversary year of the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That’s quite a milestone for the nation. Sadly, it’s a dark anniversary for Clarksville and the state of Tennessee. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2nd of that year. (Pictured left.)

Tennessee State Archives records show our own state legislature didn’t adopt it into the state’s law code until 1993. That’s twenty-nine years after it had became the law of the land! The law of the land, that is, except for the State of Tennessee.

That lag in time may help explain why our own city council has refused, even now, to adopt Title VI of that law, as the city’s official non-discrimination policy. There is a policy statement on display in city offices and the city’s website, to be sure. However, since it is required that the legislative controlling body of local government formally adopt Title VI mandates as official policy to receive federal financial assistance, these displays are meaningless without the council’s follow-thru. A mayoral proclamation is inapplicable. As TDOT’s Commissioner Nicely noted in August 2005, the city is not in compliance with the federal law.

Federal regulations and rules are easily available to the public via the U.S. Dept. of Justice (USDOJ) website. [http://www.usdoj.gov] Yet our city council continues to profess ignorance of this law. It is past time for the city attorney, even in an interim capacity, to “inform” them. They were elected to make “informed decisions!” They should be abused of their ignorance! A simple search on Google will direct you to the USDOJ website where an inquiry about Title VI will yield a wealth of information for careful perusal. [http://www.usdoj.gov/ocr]

Let us keep in mind a few salient facts:

• The city council has refused to adopt Title VI as the official policy of nondiscrimination.
• The City of Clarksville has no Title VI Implementation Plan.
• This city has lost every discrimination lawsuit filed against it since 2004 that has proceeded to trial- EVERY ONE.
• The city has been saddled with heavy judgments from each of the lost lawsuits, still yet to be paid. Our liability coverage, if indeed there is any, exceeds the minimum. That is a financial burden not needed as we seek to grow our community.
• The city, as of 2005, had failed to notify federal agencies from whom it was receiving federal financial assistance that racial discrimination lawsuits had been filed against it. This is a major violation of Title VI law, statutes and regulations.
• Receipt of federal financial assistance carries a mandate of Title VI compliance and enforcement by all recipient parties- prime and sub-recipient alike.
• Both the Tennessee Title VI Compliance Commission Director, Dr. John Birdsong, and TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely informed the city it must have its own Title VI Implementation Plan in August 2005. Almost two years ago now. With no corrective action by the City Council as yet.

In calling for its enactment, President John F. Kennedy identified “simple justice” as the justification for Title VI:

“Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes, or results in racial discrimination. Direct discrimination by Federal, State or local governments is prohibited by the Constitution. But indirect discrimination, through the use of Federal funds, is just as invidious; and it should not be necessary to resort to the courts to prevent each individual violation.” See H. R. Misc. Doc. No. 124, 88th Cong., 1st Sess., 3, 12 (1963).

The battles of the civil rights era are mostly thought to have resulted in major victories. However, as this 43rd anniversary approaches, a local citizen’s watchdog group has been studying Clarksville’s compliance status and the results do not speak well of us this late in game. To be kind, the city’s Title VI compliance status seems to be less than adequate, if not, totally nonexistent. Frankly, this is a seriously perilous situation. But how can it be?

Some salient facts to keep in mind as you consider this situation:

1. The City of Clarksville has no Title VI Implementation Plan. City Council has never adopted Title VI has the official nondiscrimination policy of city government.
2. More than nine racial discrimination lawsuits have been filed against the police department and the city.
   Of all the cases that have thus far gone to trial, the city has been found guilty every time.
3. The city is saddled with heavy judgment awards from each of the lost lawsuits. They are still yet to be paid and they are accruing interest, daily.
4. The police department has been undeniably and irrefutably identified as a racially hostile work environment for minority officers and personnel.
5. TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely stated in 2005 that the city and county must each develop their own Title VI Implementation Plan, as required by federal and state law, and disallowed Ms Woodle’s declaration that we could piggyback off of TDOT’s plan.
6. The receipt of federal financial assistance requires Title VI compliance up and down the line of that assistance distribution flow.
7. A loss or suspension of federal financial assistance becomes a real probable consequence when noncompliance is not addressed and remedied by primary recipients or their sub-recipients, including contractors and sub-contractors.

The City of Clarksville and Montgomery County are, indisputably, recipients of federal and state financial assistance. They are subject to compliance laws, rules and regulations of the federal and state agencies which distribute or pass thru federal financial assistance to them. Efforts by private citizens to urge local governmental bodies to meet compliance requirements and standards has met with strong resistance and direct denial. This noncompliance status jeopardizes the continued receipt of the myriad forms of federal financial assistance which continually flow into the city and county coffers and funds so many services and programs. Real leadership would move to put this ship, which is our local governmental triumvirate, on course, steering a true and honest path of compliance. The pie is big enough for all of us. After all, this is, “The Gateway To The New South!”

However, the issue has not gone away. If anything, the pressures on our community are even greater now that federal officials are beginning to review and investigate fraud allegations that have been lodged with their different agencies. It’s about time they came out of their shells to ascertain the true status of compliance here.

July 2nd will mark the 43rd anniversary of Pres. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act into law. Our own state legislature however didn’t adopt it into the TCA until 1993. Our city council still has yet to do so to this day.

Federal regulations and rules are easily available to the public via the USDOJ (U.S. Dept. of Justice) website. Yet our city council reps claim they know nothing about this law and relied on the former city attorney to advise them. Please forgive our incredulity at this farce of an excuse. They are elected to make “informed decisions!” The Internet is not the big bad bogeyman of old.

A simple search on Google will direct you to the USDOJ website. Once there, a simple inquiry about Title VI will yield a wealth of information for careful perusal. Try this: <www.usdoj.gov/>

Let us keep in mind a few salient facts:

1. The City of Clarksville has no Title VI Implementation Plan.
2. Nine racial discrimination lawsuits have been filed against the police department and the city.
3. Of the the cases that have thus far gone to trial, the city has been found guilty every time.
4. The city has been saddled with heavy judgments from each of the lost lawsuits, still yet to be paid and accruing interest.
5. The police department has been clearly established as a racially hostile work environment for minority officers and personnel.
6. TDOT Commissioner Nicely has stated that the city must develop its own Title VI Implementation Plan, as required by state and federal law, and disallowed Ms Woodle’s declaration that we could piggyback off of TDOT’s plan; oddly enough however, he has not reported this violation to USDOT, as is required under USDOT Title VI law and regulations.
7. Even the CMCSS buries its Title VI implementation and compliance documentation under an avalanche of bureaucratic subterfuge and semantics. This, despite the fact that, Title VI law and regulations require openness and ease of access to the public on this material. You can’t even access it on their website. Ever try to get a public record from our local school system? It’s easier to extract hens’ teeth.
8. The receipt of federal financial assistance requires Title VI compliance up and down the trail of that assistance distribution.
9. A loss or suspension of federal financial assistance becomes a real probability when noncompliance is not affirmatively addressed by primary recipients or their sub-recipients, including contractors and sub-contractors.

These facts are irrefutable. Both the city and the county are sub-recipients of federal and state financial assistance and thus subject to the requirements of Title VI.

It’s been forty-two plus years since this legislation became the law of the nation. How long will we continue to procrastinate before “Gittin’ ‘er dun?” And “Why Procastinate?”

This commentary is based on the news report in today’s Leaf Chronicle that “Clarksville Human Relations Commission may have violated law, that no public notice was given of a meeting with title VI compliance officer”.

What is the Tennessee Sunshine act you ask? Well the law makes that fairly clear in it’s introduction:

The general assembly hereby declares it to be the policy of this state that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret.

This is a laudable goal and one which I agree wholeheartedly with. I do not believe in secret acts by the government or it’s agents. It is one of the reason why I have such serious problems with secret searches by police; warrantless spying on American citizens; secret prisons; rendition of people to countries with, well lets be nice and say lax human rights records; and secret courts.

All meetings of any governing body are declared to be public meetings open to the public at all times, except as provided by the Constitution of Tennessee

Lets see what the law identifies as a meeting:

(2) “Meeting” means the convening of a governing body of a public body for which a quorum is required in order to make a decision or to deliberate toward a decision on any matter. “Meeting” does not include any on-site inspection of any project or program.

So in order to qualify as a meeting which requires public notice, the meeting must be for the purpose of deliberating towards, or making a decision; on any matter. Any meeting which is not directed towards those goals would then, not be subject to the sunshine laws.

CHRC Chairman Robert Brooks said to the Leaf Chronicle that:

The meeting was designed to be a lecture by Birdsong, not a debate among commission members — that, he said, would have been properly advertised. No action was taken at Tuesday’s meeting

This meeting was much like an in-service training session conducted by a state employee to help familiarize the commission with an area of their responsibility.

The article quotes an Enoch Hagans, The executive director of the Title VI Action Committee, as saying

I don’t participate in closed-door meetings. I don’t understand why it was closed…It should have been announced. I believe it should have been open to the public so the public could come and express their viewpoint.

I do not believe it was the intention of the CHRC or it’s individual members to deny this group or the public at large, their rights to address the commission at a normal public meeting. It should be beneath the dignity of anyone to suggest otherwise. However during an in-service training session public participation would have been a distraction from the things they were there to learn, and thus would have been in-appropriate. I am sure, if anyone has questions for John Birdsong who is the executive director of the Tennessee Title VI Compliance Commission, the CHRC can invite him back on a future date or they can contact him directly.

I intend to be at the next meeting of the CHRC to give my thanks and show my support for the commission, and the important work which they do for our community.