OKC task force to study human rights commission
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said Thursday that Ward 7 Councilwoman Nikki Nice would co-chair a task force to develop a proposal for a Human Rights Commission.
Holt announced his intention to form the task force in a series of Twitter posts.
Co-chairs besides Nice are Maurianna Adams and Quintin Hughes, who both advocated for formation of a Human Rights Commission in remarks to the city council Tuesday.
Holt said in an interview that he met with them Wednesday and that he expects to be "very inclined to support what they come up with."
Membership of the full task force, whether it will hold public hearings, how it will present a final report, and other details are still to be decided.
Advocates of the idea said Tuesday that 67 other cities have such commissions and urged that Oklahoma City be "the 68th." Tulsa is among the 67.
Assuming it would be adopted by ordinance, any proposal would need support of a majority of the city council. Holt said he expected the task force report could be ready by fall.
Holt noted Oklahoma City's previous human rights commission was disbanded in 1996 "by the narrowest of margins" by the council, over then-Mayor Ron Norick's objections.
Holt formed a homelessness task force that began meetings last year.
Tulsa commission
Tulsa's 15- member Human Rights Commission "strives" to enforce Tulsa's human rights ordinance by serving as a quasi- judicial hearing board for discrimination complaints, according to the city of Tulsa's website.
The commission annually reports the disposition of complaints to the mayor and city council. It is organized within the Mayor's Office for Resilience and Equity and meets monthly at City Hall.
The commission is authorized to conduct surveys and hearings, and "issue such publications and reports which will promote good will and reduce discrimination."
According to the website, the its function is "to foster mutual respect and understanding and to create an atmosphere conducive to the promotion of amicable relations among all members of the city's community."
OKC4HR
Adams and Hughes are part of a new coalition, Communities for Human Rights, formed in the aftermath of George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minneapolis.
The coalition advocates establishment of a human rights commission and formation of a city department of Human Rights and Economic Opportunity. It favors training for city employees that "focuses on racial sensitivity and provides equity tools."
Hughes, president of Northeast OKC Renaissance Inc. and an Oklahoma City Public Schools employee, said the coalition envisions initiatives beneficial to all residents and that contribute to advancement of the city's economy.