On Friday, September 8, 2006, a ribbon cutting ceremony ushered in a much needed Human Rights office in our community, located within the State School for the Deaf. The celebration was very uplifting, and various members of the community were shown appreciation for their hard work over the years that paved the way for state legislators to budget a satellite office in Vancouver. Earl Ford, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, offered thanks to those who spearheaded the Human Rights campaign in 2001, and offered a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr, “A truth pressed to the earth will continue to rise.” Some attendees spoke of discrimination that occurs regularly in the community, including the public schools and the workplace. [Read More...]

The state legislature has just approved funding for the State Human Rights Commission to expand its presence in Vancouver for the 2007 fiscal year, pending signature by the Governor. Various options were presented to the legislature which finally approved a state human rights investigator to come to Vancouver four days per month, as well as two weeks of education and outreach within the community, including meetings with community groups and the distribution of official brochures explaining the work of the Commission. Local access to the State Human Rights Commission has historically been limited to investigators taking complaints via a 1-800 number in Olympia. [Read More...]