So on your agenda, John had um provided his resignation from the commission with other commitments that he had coming up in his professional life. U so he has resigned from the commission. Uh so that'll be part of our action tonight is
to appoint a new chair. Um so as well as John's resignation, we do have a new member joining us tonight. uh Bart Fletcher uh that was appointed by the city council I believe end of May, first part of June. >> That's right. >> Um so joining us as a new member. So
welcome. Thank you. >> Um appreciate you being a part of this commission. I think you'll find that there's a very well like-minded group here that want to see just information and progress throughout Wilmer. So >> uh yeah, I don't know if you want to
introduce yourself, Bart, maybe a little bit. Uh Bart Fletcher. Um titles Reverend Doctor, but I go by Bart, of course. Um [snorts] pastor at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Spicer, but I live here in Wilmer. I've been here a year. Um appointed by the bishop to come
to this area. Um love my church, love the community. I was part of the Wilmer Area Government Academy and um really love the uh emphasis on the city of inclusivity. That's really hard. Um >> [clears throat] >> My wife and I, she's not deceased, but
we raised a family of 12 children through adoption. Um, so we had a diverse family and, um, I remember 30 year years ago starting as a white couple adopting children of other cultures, just how difficult it was in Minnesota for my children. So, um, I
learned early about white privilege and believe that it exists and want to align myself with those who don't have that benefit. So, I'm glad to be here. All right. Thank you. Yeah. So, I want to do maybe just a quick round of introductions so you know
that faces. So, I know run into each other a couple times with Kyle Box, operations director for the city of >> I'm Alan Clark. I work at Woodland Centers um the adult rehab supervisor over West Counties, some main offices in
Monavidio. >> And on the pride committee? >> Yes. Also involved with Wilmer Pride. Okay. um on the unofficial board of Wilmer Pride. We're not a official nonprofit yet, but I'm working towards that. So, we're gearing up for our big
weekend this weekend. So, okay. >> Um Justin Osk, Wilmer City Council and uh lead pastor at Benji Lutheran Church. So, I don't have I've got the Reverend part, not the doctor part, but I just have [laughter] to say that. Yeah, I know. I appreciate that. But like you, I
kind of you know, Justin works I'm Erin Osland. Um, working on Doctor. Um, I'm a Wilmer native. I I don't know what else to say. I'm a former high school teacher. I'm working on my doctorate in Latin American history and human rights. I study gender and labor
and but I do a lot of immigration related work in the present. Um, so yeah, that's I'll just keep it short. Okay. Jill Benson. Uh I'm I'm all of a sudden the oldest person in my department at
Bridgewater College in England. >> Okay. >> And I teach ELLL there as well. >> Okay. >> And so um I'm on the pride committee as well. And and I I like to sing as well. So yeah,
>> Richard and I've been on this committee for I think the two of us have the most seniority. But uh I have been interested in the issue for years. I was in the Peace
Corps a number of years at Bolivia and uh had some experiences there of really seeing what life is like from people that on surface was very different but right down to it they have the same values and the same.
>> Yeah. and I'm Pablo Oreon, director for community growth for the city. Um, I am also I could be called a neverend um been working for the city for a little over three and we have
>> Should I go? >> Go ahead. >> Sorry, it's strange being online. Um, so I'm Sarah Crretchman. Hi Bart. It's good to see you. >> We were in the government academy together. And I am a fellow faith leader. So there are a bunch of us in
this space um in the ELCA and running for city council as well. Um I'm not with you all because I have been traveling for work for the past four weeks. So I'm excited to be back in Wilmer tomorrow after four weeks away.
Good. Great. Just in time for Pride. >> Exactly. [laughter] >> Okay. Well, thank you everybody. Um, just kind of kind of going through the agenda here. Uh, Jill, I'll turn it over to you to kind of run the agenda if that's okay and here for any questions.
>> So, uh, I, uh, call the meeting to order. Um, is there anyone who seconds? >> Yeah, it's neat. I'll second it that you start the meeting. >> Uh, does everyone uh say
>> I [clears throat] guess we just open it up. >> I don't think we need to do a roll call, do we? Unless we need it for the recording. >> Yep. I've got it recorded and I've got it documented here. So, we're all good with your introductions. Yeah. Yep.
>> All right. As we look at the agenda last time, is there anyone who needs to add or move things from the agenda? approve any proposal on the agenda. >> All those in favor?
>> I I >> Is it all right if we go to regular business now? >> Yep. We look at the minutes here first. We just get approval of the minutes from the last meeting. The next action which is >> here's the so letter
>> should be in your packet too. Yeah. >> I think the very last page of your packet should be the minutes last meeting the back of the [clears throat] A motion and a second. There's no correction.
>> I move to approve the minutes. >> All in favor? Okay with you uh Jill. So the regular business here 5A as we had talked about earlier top of the meeting John had Solado has submitted his resignation uh
from the commission just with other personal commitments that he had come up and I believe his letter is attached in here at the end here. Um so he has been removed since he was appointed chair of the commission. we would just
procedurally like to appoint a new chair uh for the human rights commission. I know that those seats have been set here at the last meeting. So, if there needs to be any other changes, we can work through that. But uh we'd be for sure in need of a new chair for that comm for
this commission. >> Said clerk point of order. Isn't it the mayor that appoints the chair? >> So, it's a recommendation from the commission that would go to the mayor for his consent. Yeah. Yeah, >> cleaning up language slightly in my
parliamentary kind of way. >> So motion and motion and second for nomination and then for confirmation by the mayor one a one year term. I would move we appoint the vice chair. Mr. Chairman,
I think that I should not be chair. I think I should stay in a familiar role for me. Ellie, would you be sure? >> Sure. [laughter] a second to that.
>> I'll second it. All those in favor? All right. Thank you. I do believe that will open up the a secretary role. >> So, we do need to just backfill that. It's a
>> it's a really easy job. I can take all the notes for you. So, if there is um just in case if I'm gone, if Pablo's gone, that would be when you just record the meeting or take notes of the meeting or if the chair and vice chair are gone. Allan, you've had to do
that before. You have to run the meeting. So, um, I guess we'd look for a recommendation or appointment of Secretary for the Human Rights Commission. I'm happy to help the secretary if unless there's someone else that is
interested. >> I would endorse Sarah. >> Great. >> I second it. All in favor? >> Thank you. That's my housekeeping. [laughter] >> Can I press on another
just the again my anal brain thinking like so does this term then for both of them would go for the remainder of the current year or a year from now? >> The current year. So March March of every year is the annual meeting.
um where the chair, vice chair, and secretary would be reappointed. >> We got bumped because we didn't have coral in March. >> Yeah, I remember that. That's why >> And the only time I missed was the time
I got in a hit that day. >> Oh man, my tenants has been good. Kyle, to clarify for this meeting, you've got the notes down. >> Yes. Yep. We're recording here on recording. So, and we'll got all the
minutes here and all that. So, >> Kyle's always great at that. >> Yeah. >> I may since we're talking about recording, um, usually it's put on the website, right? >> Yes. Y. So if you ever miss or somebody
wants to listen to our meetings, uh we can always direct them to the website or Yeah, we'll keep it with Jill for the rest of this meeting. >> Okay. >> To run to go ahead and just
Yeah. >> So, do you want me to go to the next item, Jim? >> Yes. >> So, you have received a little handout there. Um, hoping most of you heard that. Uh, I had the opportunity
to be u selected on the um governor's council to record the truth and operation of Metro Search and Operation Paris. Um we have had two meetings. Uh one was kind of an organizing meeting.
Um a week ago, over a week ago, we had our first official meeting kind of to start working on uh a little bit of the the strategic uh calendar uh of events.
Uh if you want to learn more about it, it's right in front of you. I'm not going to read it. Um the most important part is that as uh this is in process um since the get-go there has been um a
sign uh a partner in all of these process especially in the collecting of the stories that um we have here and she will describe her role on all these process and she can um bring us up to
date on what is going on what could be going on here local. >> Yeah. Okay. So, hi again. Um, I'm Aaron. >> Hi. Nice to meet you. >> Nice to meet you. So, I am here because I want to make sure that Wilmer's
stories are told in this collection process. So on the truth council there there are the people that were appointed like Pablo they had an automatic representative from the ACLU the advocates for human rights and somebody else I think I don't remember off the
top of my head um but there's a report that will come out of this council that's supposed to be done in December um I'm pretty sure but part of the information that will inform that report is interviews testimony ies that are
collected through trained um story collectors. So the advocates for human rights are the ones that are doing that training. It's free. Um in my human rights related roles at the University of Minnesota, so I do a lot of ICE
related things right now. So one of my roles is that I'm a um research assistant for the director of the human rights program. So she's the one that had me. She's like, "Okay, we're going to go to the advocates and you're going to get trained in the storytelling." Um it takes two hours to do one individual
interview and I am a busy woman so I'm like I can't run around Wilmer taking like everybody's um story. Most people probably can't collect a lot, but my hope was that um we could somehow through this commission
or sharing through other avenues, whatever groups it is, if it's indivisible, whatever, the advocates offered that they would do one full virtual training for just people from Wilmer. So, if we had I don't even know a few weeks if we got a date set and had a few weeks to advertise like, "Hey,
everybody from Wilmer that wants to get trained and how to because you have to be trained to collect these stories." Um, I think that would be really cool. There are down the line going to be group collections of storytelling. So
there would be like one trained person at a table like this where it's more of a conversation, but that story is still being um collected. Uh what's happening with these stories is that they're being recorded on audio, but because of concerns of legal things or what what is
is observing legal, is it not? Are you going to get federal charges? These kinds of things. Most of these stories are being connect collected anonymously. So when you have like I have this app on my phone, I haven't done it yet. I go to record from you. anybody. There's it's could you could interview anybody who
has any kind of opinion on what happened in December, January, whatever. I record you. It's totally anonymous. As soon as I hit send, that story audio goes to like an offshore server in like Europe somewhere. Um, it gets transcribed and
the audio gets deleted. So, when I went to my training, I was with one of many of my historian colleagues and they're like, "No, the audio." But then we're like, well, the point is that no one it's not identifiable. Um, because it's going to create this archive, but no one
knows at what point will that archive like be fully publicly accessible, but those stories will help inform the report that is being worked on by Pablo and the rest of the truth council. Um, so yeah, I guess mostly I'm here is
because I want to spread that like this is a thing that's happening. There's a very short window of time where it's happening. Uh, and I don't want my hometown and the place where I was all winter seeing things happen and working
as an observer. Uh, I don't want the stories from this community to be left out of that report because many I don't know a lot of real people that have been trained in this yet. Um, so I think it would be cool to have some sort of a group event maybe like in the end of September, beginning
of October so that those stories are in there early enough to get into that report that comes out in December. But yeah, thoughts, feedback, I guess I'm just looking for like ideas on how do we get the word out to even get, I don't know, 30 people to go to a training,
right? Even if 30 people get trained and interview one person each, that's 30 people stories from Wilmer that end up in that report potentially. at least in the archive. >> Would would Indivisible let you post on their, you know,
>> totally think they would. Yep. Yeah. But I didn't know like, you know, what the role of this commission like is that something that um you know down the line it would could be like the human rights commission is holding a group storytelling event or something like
that for the truth council or or not. Is that not something that you guys are into? Erin, I think that um indivisible uh human rights commission
legal woman voters uh we have three networks right there that >> could potentially um collect 30 people trained. >> Um so so I think that's kind of one thought that I have. Yeah.
>> Um I would I would um as you know I would like to see it happening sooner than later. >> Um so >> do you think it makes sense that if I can do like hey we want a Wilmer
community training? I mean they could surely if there was somebody from Morris or wherever that actually wanted to show up they could and say oh you can't you're not allowed but it could promote be promoted as like Wilmer area training or even you know I could say
well you could call it like rural area something I don't know but or to just spread the word of hey everybody from around here these are the virtual trainings that exist. I feel like if my personal opinion is if it's like a very Wilmer concerted thing
that then more people might be likely to go to be like, "Oh, this is community this community's thing." >> I think Wilmer bought a lot of, you know, ice presence. I know St. Cloud might have too, right? They're kind of a different demographic than we are.
>> Yeah. Um but yeah I think I think if to highlight how um we were really bish right and we can all think people right that if got the
training then we talk to them right and so >> I think to say Wilmer you know to highlight the message >> you know >> it's great that we had a play about does and and so it's uh yeah this you know we
we still have a important role to fill >> this group have a social media presence Facebook maybe >> no it's very low okay >> but there's people around this table that have pretty good Facebook >> okay that could all yeah
>> yeah I'd [laughter and clears throat] be happy to post whatever Right. >> I think Erin, it's a great idea to have this group be like the convenor of that >> one to also just make sure that people know that this exists as a place to share future
>> any interactions that may be human rights violations. I think that's important. And then also to have I think Indivisible is wonderful. We we I love working with them. And sometimes folks would be hesitant to engage if they were hosting anything um that may be
interested in something like this. So um I think this would be great. Yeah. >> Cool. Yeah. I mean I basically one want to get the word out about these trainings, two hope that people can then engage in
collecting interviews, but you know if there was some group group testimony collection event like be a part of that. But also, I can't like run a whole like I need I need help from the people around me in this space right here because
I'm a busy lady. >> Yeah. But I want to make sure I was like, I need to go. Sure. You know, but >> I think it's really important too just for like for the for human rights commission as a representative of the
Warmer City government to listen that our citizens will will have a chance to go and be heard especially after something traumatizing, >> right? And engage in a state. >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> What are the next steps like tangible
items you're looking for here, Erin? Um, well, I could email the woman that sets up these trainings and say I went to the, you know, came to this group and everybody seemed on board with like, yes, can we please try to get a Wilmer
area training set up and then once I had that date set, somebody else maybe make a make a Facebook post that's sharable to and start spreading the word to or whatever Instagram Instagram, Tik Tok, wherever
it needs to go to start spreading the word with all of the organizations that you're in or the committees that you're on and the spaces that you're in to be like, go to this if people want to go to that. But >> do you need any sense? >> The training takes like two hours. >> That took me to
where's a good place for that? >> People would feel safe. >> They may I don't know. I'll have to ask if they would come and do it in person. They may just do it virtually. >> Oh, okay. in person would be cool too though. >> Okay. >> Safer virtually, right?
>> Yeah. >> You mean for the training? >> For the training. Yeah. So, that would be like step one. So, like I'm still waiting on finding out about a group storytelling training. That hasn't happened yet because I'm supposed to be
part of doing that at like on campus at the U in the fall, doing that with students. Um, but we haven't had that training yet. But if and when that came up, then I'd be like, we should do that, too. You know, >> but for now, it's individual. >> It's individual. Yeah. And it could be
you can interview, you know, somebody that did mutual aid work. You can interview people that are no longer in this country. You can interview anybody that you want to that has thoughts, words, anything. It's not, it doesn't have to be like, oh, the most dramatic
thing happened. It could just be like here's what I saw in my community. I saw, you know, the same 75 people show up and deliver food every day. I saw whatever it whatever it is. Um,
I just think it's important to get stories on paper. >> Besides you, do we have anybody connected to Wilmer on advocate of human rights? Not that I know of.
I don't know. >> Just wondering because of trying to see >> Yeah. >> trying to form a little task force or something. >> Yeah. >> I definitely will help. >> Yeah. >> Because I have an interest on >> Yeah.
>> making sure the stories are coming out. >> And it could even be like let's say you know a bunch of people get trained. We could still have like a group story gathering thing, but it's like people are spaced out maybe in the community center, you know, in pairs where it's
[clears throat] going on >> or something like that. >> Yeah, they did that at arrive recently with some uh research students from Oh, they were working with Minnesota interfaith power and light and it it went really well to have different
interviews throughout the space. So that would be great. >> Yeah, >> Erin, I can help you make like social media graphics and content. Um, and then if someone else wants to work on like the event coordination side, >> yeah, I can I'll start on the email with
just like getting the training set up and then we could go from there. >> Yeah, >> I guess. Yeah. >> And keep me in the loop. >> Y >> I'll be I'll be glad to work with you. >> Okay. I'm on the list of people.
>> Yes, I wrote Yep. Yeah. I have a list of people from like an Indivisible meeting and then a constitutional observer meeting. I had people like give me their names like if you're interested in doing this once I have a date to give to you. So, there are some people I've met that
are interested already. Awesome. Any other questions for Thank you so much and we'll be working. >> Yeah, >> thanks for letting me come. >> If you flip um your um sheet that I hand
out, uh you have some events. Um >> I'm going to start with the one is not included there. It's happening on Thursday evening. Um the League of Women Voters um will have a visit from the Secretary of
State's office uh Melanie Hassel Lip. Uh some of you have met her. She's been in the area a handful of times. That will be Thursday at 5:30 at the Wilmer Public Library.
um and she is just encouraging people to um get out to vote or to explain what does a vote mean for each word. So that's on Thursday and then um you have
all the information that that I have received for Wilmer Pride in front of you that's happening this weekend. Um the main event I think is uh from 11 to 4 at Rice Park. Um but you have see you
see some of the uh activities they're having. There's a pride worship at Vinci. Um sorry I didn't include that one there. Um, and then there is also a pray >> a pickup choir if anybody is interested
in coming an hour early before the service to uh practice with the director. >> Think of that. [clears throat] >> That sounds fun. >> Are you a good singer? >> You ask. [laughter]
And I believe following the service there will be also a Pride drag show. And I don't know when that's going to happen. >> Actually, I can give you some updates on on the events of Pride. >> Um so Friday is the kickoff event starting at Intuition, which I believe
starts at like >> I think it's 4 4:30. >> Um and [clears throat] then there will have uh trivia that night as well. And then following that is actually the drag show at Spurs on Friday night. So it is
this Friday starting at 7:30 um at Spurs will be the drag show and that goes until 10. Um Saturday is the big day with Pride in the Park. Um like Pablo said from 11 to 4. Um we had a good
turnout last year. We had probably three to 400 people. We're hoping for even more this year. So, um, a lot of different family-friendly events for that. And then we have the worship service following that. And then actually we also have an event on Sunday
uh with purpose artisians and that will be at the Wilmer Community Center. Um, it starts at I believe 300 p.m. Um, and it's just kind of a windown event. It's uh movement, sound, that kind of stuff, like doing yoga, self soothing, and then
we're wrapping it up with a community pot. So, we're encouraging people to bring stuff just kind of a wind down to the weekend and relaxing for the weekend. >> Friday night, too, is when we host as long as they last uh ride flights uh and
honor April Benson at Intuition. And so that's Friday 4:30ish. So yeah. So uh and as a friend is making some crocheted hearts for me to pass around as well.
Not not me. >> So 4:30. And then this is still coming down the road but we are working um pressing the gas now for welcoming week and the information is there in
front of you. Um the last two three years we have had a proclamation read by um our city mayor. Um we're hoping he will do that again this year. Uh if you
want to tune in just to listen to what um the proclamation says, that' be great. Or if you want to show up to the council meeting and visit us, that' be great as well. >> Are they going to close the streets here for that or? >> Yes.
>> Yep. >> Right down at the corner. >> Yeah, it's on this block and then around Lfield Avenue. >> That's really nice event. Yeah, the event might start growing. So, we're happy to to continue to
provide a space for community members to come and learn from each other about different values and music and foods and events like that. So, those are the events I have to share. Anybody else have any announcements for
events? I have one request for the agenda next time. Um I would love for us to think about how we might share more of the like resources that are available in Wilmer and in the area um as the human
rights commission. So, I'll share that document in an email, but just how we might share that more broadly with folks that I know are struggling right now um with the still lingering consequences of um immigration enforcement in in the
winter time. Awesome. I move uh to adjourn the meeting. >> Is there a second? >> All second. >> All in favor? >> Thank you everybody. >> Thank you. Thanks Sarah.
>> Thanks Sarah.