MARYLAND COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS' FAIR HOUSING WORKSHOP

Fair Housing: Know Your Rights Wednesday, July 28, 2021 10am to 11:30am Register at mccr.events/FairHousingJuly2021 Please join us for this informative workshop from the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights about the laws under the Fair Housing Act which provide protections that exist for all Marylanders. One of our most fundamental rights is to live peaceably where we choose - where everyone has equal access to neighborhoods of opportunity. Fair housing is the right of all people to buy, sell, or rent residential property, and to live where they wish without discriminatory criteria. Having chosen a place to live, we are guaranteed the right to reside there peacefully, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, marital status, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. There will be emphasis on current issues such as disability and sexual harassment as it pertains to housing.

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MCCR's July Public Trainings

Dimensions of Diversity Thursday, July 8, 2021 10am to 1pm Register at mccr.events/DoDJuly2021 This interactive training workshop provides both information and opportunity to examine and understand the concepts of culture, cultural information and its origin, and how it impacts the workplace. Workshop content includes: Key Diversity Definitions Cycle of Information/Misinformation Examining and understanding the issues of bias Multi-Cultural Communication Awareness​ Conflict Resolution in the Workplace Thursday, July 15, 2021 10am to 1pm Register at mccr.events/ConflictResJuly2021 This interactive training workshop examines the role of interpersonal conflict and its impact on the workplace. The workshop provides both insight and information on the causes and process of conflict and offers conflict management techniques. Workshop content includes: Causes of Conflict Cycle of Conflict Conflict styles Conflict Management Tools & Techniques​ Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Wednesday, July 21, 2021 10am to 1pm Register at mccr.events/SOGIJuly2021 This engaging training workshop highlights current information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity anti-discrimination law in Maryland. The workshop also provides information on the basic concepts, definitions, and issues that may arise in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. Workshop content includes: Definitions Applicable Law Kinsey Scale of Sexuality Orientation and Identity Issues Orientation and Identity in the Workplace​ Fair Housing: Know Your Rights Wednesday, July 28, 2021 10am to 11:30am Register at mccr.events/FairHousingJuly2021 Please join us for this informative workshop from the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights about the laws under the Fair Housing Act which provide protections that exist for all Marylanders. One of our most fundamental rights is to live peaceably where we choose - where everyone has equal access to neighborhoods of opportunity. Fair housing is the right of all people to buy, sell, or rent residential property, and to live where they wish without discriminatory criteria. Having chosen a place to live, we are guaranteed the right to reside there peacefully, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, marital status, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. There will be emphasis on current issues such as disability and sexual harassment as it pertains to housing.

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Source: MCCR release, July 1, 2021.

 Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month

June 22, 2021

The Board of Commissioners and the Staff of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights celebrates Pride Month, standing as allies and in support of the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community this, and every, month.  Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate, raise awareness, and participate in events that recognize the LGBTQ+ community.   As so eloquently offered by the National Park Service “civil rights are understood as freedoms of life, safety, thought and conscience, speech, expression, the press, assembly, and movement as well as the right to privacy and protection from discrimination.”  An equitable society must guarantee these aforementioned civil and human rights. The LGBTQ+ community has experienced victories and losses.  Within the past year, the United States Supreme Court has affirmed that the protections of Title VII extend to gender identity and sexual orientation.  The Court has recently held, in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, that municipal policies requiring non-discrimination from contractors providing public services, when exceptions are allowed, must accommodate religious beliefs.  We understand that fifty or more laws have been proposed that protect or advance the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.  We also understand that one hundred or more laws across thirty-three states have been proposed that limit the rights of transgender persons.  This month, we remembered those lost in the Pulse massacre five years ago.    As Marylanders, we have been leaders in standing with our LGBTQ+ communities.  Since 2001, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been illegal.  In 2012, persons of the same sex have been able to marry the persons they love.  In 2018, Maryland banned conversion therapy on minors.  The legal defense for violence because of fear, panic, or temporary insanity from being “hit-on” by a person of the same sex will be abolished.  We must continue to do better! Progress has been achieved in Maryland.  Yet the arc of justice must continuously bend towards supporting all historically excluded communities, often while combating against intolerance.  In Maryland, LGBTQ+ communities “continue to face significant and disturbing barriers in almost every facet of their lives, including public health, employment, community safety and housing.”  Maryland must identify and address disparities.  The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights will host a virtual event on June 28th, 2021, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm titled “A Hidden Health Crisis: Health Disparities facing the LGBT Community”.  You can register for free at mccr.events/LGBTQHealth.  We hope you can join us and please share with others in your community.  As Marylanders, and as a Commission, we must continue to support the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community.  On behalf of the Board of Commissioners and the Staff of the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Gary C. Norman, J.D., L.L.M., Chairperson Alvin O. Gillard, Executive Director

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US Senate Passes Bill to make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

The US Senate passed a bill on June 15, 2021 that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation. Juneteenth would become the 12th federal holiday. Most expect it to easily pass the House, which then would send it to President Joe Biden for approval. If the bill is enacted, the federal holiday would be known as "Juneteenth National Independence Day."

As reported in the June, 2021 edition of Fair Housing News: "Juneteenth is a celebration of emancipation and Black liberation. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US, and one of several “Emancipation Days” observed by Black diasporic communities in the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and the US. The holiday is celebrated on June 19th because on that date in 1865 Union soldiers told enslaved persons in Texas that the US Civil War had ended and that they had been freed from bondage by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Freed Black and Afro-Indigenous people from Texas brought the celebration with them when they migrated to other states. Juneteenth is a communal celebration, nowadays commemorated with events like block parties, cookouts, parades, and rodeos. Like many memorial occasions in the Black diasporic tradition, Juneteenth is a celebratory, instead of solemn, commemoration.. Baltimore City celebrates Juneteenth with events like the Juneteenth Open Air Celebration at the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Juneteenth Popup at Hanover Cross Street, and the Reservoir Hill Association Present Juneteenth. The Maryland Legislature passed a bill in 2021 making Juneteenth a holiday, and some counties celebrate it this way also, such as Howard County as of  2021. For more events in Baltimore, go to https://www.eventbrite.hk/d/md--baltimore/black-history/." Sources: The Voter, League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, May/June, 2021. https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-juneteenth-announcement-20210408-fj4fglngzbewhmgawm5e4usgna-story.html. https://www.chesapeakefamily.com/juneteenth-freedom-day-maryland-events-for-2021/.

The Senate passed the Juneteenth bill under a unanimous consent agreement that speeds the process for considering legislation. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass. with 60 co-sponsors. Markey tweeted on June 14, 2021: “We have a long road towards racial justice in the United States and we cannot get there without acknowledging our nation’s original sin of slavery. It is long past time to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”

Many states recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texas, New York, Virginia and Washington. 

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Source: Associated Press article, June 16, 2021. https://apnews.com/article/senate-approves-juneteenth-federal-holiday-58d4fbd343f17df0b03dd0d0a221e452.

 COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill Signed into Law

May 24, 2021

Contact: David Card
202.408.9514 x122
press@ndrn.org

WASHINGTON, DC – On May 20th, President Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. This vital piece of legislation includes what was initially known as the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act, a bill NDRN has long supported.

“People with disabilities are frequent targets of hate-motivated crimes,” said NDRN Executive Director Curt Decker. “Today, we stand as an ally with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who have experienced a rise in hate-based crimes since the start of the pandemic.”

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act enables the attorney general to distribute grants to state and local law enforcement units to implement the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This system helps to identify and classify hate crime activity, equipping law enforcement with vital information to fight back against hate crime. Additionally, the funding enables the local governments to create important hotlines where hate crime activity can be reported.

“The disability community is composed of people from every background, color, and creed. Consequently, the AAPI community is part of the disability community and vice versa,” continued Decker. “NDRN believes this important legislation will positively impact the lives of people with disabilities as well as members of all other minority communities.”

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.

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Source: National Disability Rights Network press release, May 24, 2021.

  Forum on Inclusion, Equity, and Opportunity in Schools

Tune in to our event on June 22, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm ET Re-imagining Inclusion, Equity, and Opportunity in Schools: A Conversation and Call to Action

SAVE THE DATE! Join the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law on June 22, 11:00 am - 12:15 pm ET as we host a conversation and call to action to re-imagine inclusion, equity, and opportunity in schools. This event is free and accessible to all, and we encourage you to share it with your networks. Monique Dixon,  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the U.S. Education Department Office for Civil Rights, will give the opening remarks. We will also host a national panel of policymakers, educators, clinicians, and students with lived experience. These speakers include: Kristen Harper - Director of Policy Development and Outreach, Child Trends Narell Joyner - Consultant, Settlement Agreement, G.P. et al. v. Montgomery (AL) Public Schools  Ebony Laboy - MPH Candidate, Rollins School of Public Health Marvin Mitchell - Consultant; former Special Education Administrator, J.P. Manning Elementary School (Boston, MA) Kadian Simmonds - 2nd Grade Teacher, J.P. Manning Elementary School (Boston, MA) Speakers from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law include: Ira Burnim - Legal Director Holly O'Donnell - President & CEO Jalyn Radziminski - Communications Manager RSVP for this event here. More about the event: Historically and during the COVID-19 pandemic, students with disabilities, especially BIPOC students, have been disproportionately segregated, punished, and policed in school settings. The pandemic has challenged school systems to be more flexible in restructuring the way education is delivered, including by using strategies that would have previously seemed impossible. Join us as students, families, educators, advocates and other stakeholders across the nation regroup and reassess what education looks like, both in-person and online, when students are included and receive equal educational opportunities. ***ASL, interpretation, and closed-captioning is available for this webinar If you are experiencing difficulties registering or have accessibility questions please contact communications@bazelon.org. ***** Source: Bazelon Center newsletter, June 16, 2021.