History Of City's Hrc Rather Stormy One

I The Human Relations Commission- 12-years-old this year- las had a rather stormy history, full of paradoxes. One wit, s lormer employé, has likened it to serving as a UN observer In the Arab-Israeli border, with all its attendant comforts. -Militant blacks are currently attacking the comroission lor not doing enough, while critics are complaining that it is poing too much. -The HRC is credited with reducing tensions between blacks and whites in some áreas, but its detractors maintain lts actions and methods have increased tensions in other áreas Ivhere none formerly existed. -Black supporters of HRC praise the commission for its bfforts to increase black employment in the city, but add that Es soon as the "white establishment" bows to their demands End appoints a Negro to a responsible position, chances are he tviü be denounced as a "nigger" or an "Uncle Torn." The HRC perhaps reached its nadir last Tuesday when one of lts black commissioners called a black staff member an "estabIshment nigger." [ The commission, backed by Mayor Robert J. Hams, is now seeking additional powers from the City Council, but Republican Councilmen are contending that it is not handling its present powers in a responsible manner and want to restnct the powers it already has. The HRC is meeting with City Council tonight, and it will be asking for the power to issue cease-and-desist orders against persons and groups found guilty of discrimination, the power to seek civil injunctions in the courts, to subpoena individuals, witnesses and records, to engage in 'testing,' to assess civil Ipenalties of a monetary nature, and to expand its junsdiction [to take in county government, the Sheriff's Department, the Ann Arbor School District, and the University in matters regarding discrimination. . The commission's job is not the kind that is likely to make lots of friends. In its first dozen years, HRC at one time or another has come into conflict with the city pólice, the Sheriff's Department, the public schools, City Hall, the county, the University, realtors and landlords, and business firms. The HRC was formed in 1957 by City Council, largely with the backing and encouragement of the NAACP. lts objectives, as stated at the time: "to disseminate information and educaI tional matprials: to investigad prnhlp.ms and situations-'of discrimination; to aid in the coordination of private organizations concerned with human relations; to advise and recommend to the Council the appropriate steps to deal with conditions whicn strain human relations." The commission aimed "to promote mutual understanding and respect among all racial, religious and nationality groups and "to aid in seeing that no person in this city is depnved of equal services furnished by the citizens of Ann Arbor by reason of discrimination on account of race, color, creed, national origin or ancestry." . . . It was stated that any person may file a complamt of discrimination with HRC, which would then investígate and attempt elimination of discriminatory practices through concilThe powers of HRC were limited to educational activities, investigaron of complaints, hearings, and conciliatory efforts. How effective has HRC been over the past decade? lne, deree of its success is difficult to measure. The commission has made some remarkable achievements, but there is a difference of opinión as to how much HRC has actually accomP1S David C Cowley, who for several ye,ars has been director of the Human Relations Department, says that "as compared with other human relations committees in the country, Ann Arbor's commission has been a success." And Cowley, who last week announced his resignation as director in order to accept a position in Toronto, has a list of achievements available for the asking. ... But Dr. Albert H. Wheeler, a local leader of the NAACP I who was instrumental in forming HRC, now declares that_HKl_ "has let black people down" and that bigotry is still rampant ■ throughout the city. Mrs. Deborah Grubbs, a black commission member, ■ plains of inaction and . "nothing happening except talk." Cowley's predecessor as director, Robert L. Brown, re-H signed on April 1, 1968, after a short term in office, ■ ing that he had received no support from HRC for his pro-H posals. Brown, a black, contends that HRC accomplishedB "nothing" while he was there. And O. J. Henderson, a black who says he thinks riots ac-H complish more than committees, has proposed that HRC dis-B band because blacks "don't really need you." H Raymond Chauncey, HRC complaints investigator, reports ■ the following statistics as a measure of his workload: from ■ 1957 to 1963, the HRC investigated a total of 33 comiplaintsjin g Í964 47 complaints; in 1965, 75; in 1966, 52; m 1967, 29, in 1968, ■ wlyTaSr'number of complaints dropped 1 in recent ■ vears? Chauncey believes that the existence of HRC acts as ■ "a deterrent factor." Says Chauncey: "People know we're ■ hereChauncey points out that from 80 to 90 per cent of the I plaints he checks out are valid and have a basis m ac ■ ever, he complains, "Right now, all we can do is sp otlight a ■ case of discrimination." The new powers HRC is seetang. I Chauncey says, will give the commission teeth and enable it I twftïtierSrr-the dropoff in complaints. I "Human relations commissions all over the country are ! feet ■ L were years ago. For instance, school teachers don't cali ■ blalnkofhe;nifer47ortrhe" decline in complaints possibly mieht be the rise in popularity of black militants and separatists The years 19641966 were the years of the popular cm rïhts moement. "In recent years," explains Cowley civü ■ rights issues have bccome less popular-and more and more "Ttre'artSfyets'of Rap Brown and Carmichae! and I Cleaver and their followers think that orgamzations like HRC areBurifitfíhTraüaMeOrstatistics are slim, and ifs hard that well have to await the census of 1970 for statistics that I of HRC It also is known that the University Medical School, for I I S i making a concerted public effort to recruit more I bla?vean Thf comSsiofitself has taken on more blacks as I members. When it first started, HRC had 12 members only ■ Sd them black. Now five of the 12 members are black I Members are appointed by the mayor, with approval of the ■ CoiScü and serve without compensation. The political ■ tion of the commission changes with each administration. The ■ present Commission has only two members who are publicly I announced as Republicans. HRC has moved in a variety of directions in recent years. I Ithas: I -Been instrumental in influencing the passage of the Fair I Housing Ordinance of 1965, making it a misdemeanor for a realtor, owner or landlord to discriminate in the sale or renting of a dwelling. Played a significant role in persuading the community of the need for low-cost public housing. - Supported a "scattered site" policy urging the Housing I Commission to insure that low-cost housing will not be built l in segregated areas. (cfJI - Urged the city's Building and Safety Department, to see to it that rental properties conform to the building safety code. I jB- - Continually expressed concern to the Board of Education V f that the school system should hire more Negro teachers and r administrators. More blacks have since been hired by the school f system, though not as many as HRC would like. ' - Succeeded in persuading two trade unions representing I electrical workers and plumbers to take on Negro youths. for I apprenticeship training programs. I - Helped to créate a committee on police-community relaI tions to improve Communications between the black and white I I communities. ■ j - Sponsored several hundred discussion meetings in private I I homes to edúcate the community. 3 - Served as an ombudsman representing welfare mothers I I to insure respect for their rights. j j - Sponsored a summer camp program for children from I I low-income families. I ! - Establish a Day Care Center at the First Presbyterian I I Church for children of welfare mothers and working mothers. I ', -Sponsored a Cooperative Occupational Training Program I in the public schools. I - Created an employment placement service, headed by Jimmie L. Sumpter, to help blacks find jobs with the assistance I of the Chamber of Commerce. - Located emergency housing for the poor. For instance, in the winter of 1966, HRC combed the county to find a house for a family of eight who were found living in a car. I - Initiated a resolution, approved on Sept. 29 by City I cil, establishing a city affirmative action program, for the employment of blacks. Six-month goals were set for each city department. The Council approved a 9.2 percentage of blacks to the total number of employés. (Six per cent of Ann Arbor's I population is black.) J - Helped establish human relations offices in the public J schools and at the University. j ! - Sought financial support for a Black Theatre for Negro [ teen-agers. i ■ Working quietly, behind the scènes, HRC staff members have often been effective in heading off or quieting disturbI anees in the public schools caused by black-white confrontaI tions among students. School Supt. W. Scott Westerman reI cently praised HRC for its assistance during the recent disI turbances at Huron High School. i And following a black-white disorder at a street dance in I 1966, HRC and pólice officials co-sponsored a series of group I meetings with teen-agers in an effort to improve communi■ cations. On other occasions, however, HRC has locked horns with I pólice and school officials. In June, 1968, HRC opposed the I imposition of "partial martial law" at Pioneer High School aftI er black-white student disturbances. It also opposed the staI tioning of uniformed policemen at the school. HRC also investigated complaints of alleged pólice brutaliI ty. In March, 1968, HRC complaints that pólice had sprayed Mace in the faces of three Negroes after a fight at St. Joseph's 9 Hospital, resulted in a suspension of Mace by the pólice chief. On another occasion, HRC charged that one of Sheriff Douglas J. Harvey's deputies was unnecessarüy brutal to a j I prisoner. But the most publicized incident involved an HRC I staff member, Chauncey, who claimed that, while he was inI vestigating discrimination at a local bar, a city pólice officer ■ struck him in the face and charged him with being a disorder■ ly person. The patrolman resigned and was then hired by I I Sheriff Harvey. I I The commission's testing procedures have drawn the most I ■ fire from critics. ín 1967, both the Board of Education and the H City Council criticized HRC's methods of investigating allcgcd I discrimination in the schools. The then Mayor Wendell I ■ cher assailed HRC for allowing two of its staff members to I telephone Pioneer High School, posing as employers seeking ■ non-Negro help. Shortly thereafter, HRC member Mrs. Ralph I F. Kraker resigned, saying she didn't like the "tone" of HRC. About the same time, School Board Trustee William C. I Godfrey charged that as a result of HRC pressure, the quality I of education in Ann Arbor schools "is being debased system■ atically." Still, HRC feels testing is important, if it is to be effective. I Last April, HRC called for a city-authorized testing team to I check city homes and apartments for evidence of racial disI crimination. Tonight, HRC will ask City Council to confirm I its testing powers. Meantime, HRC investigations of complaints continue, H ranging from studies of possible bias in loan applications by ■ finance companies to investigations of alleged discrimination H at the local Elks Lodge, at the Parkhurst and Arbordale ■ Apartments, and at the University, which some commission ' members recently charged is the area's "largest discrimina The HRC has been unable to get some of its other projects off the ground. A "walk-in" office established by HRC at 210 N. Fourth Ave. was closed because of the small number of persons visiting it. Another HRC project, an organization called FAIR (Future Adults in Intergroup Relations) was I formed by high school students with the aim of working toward I better racial relations in the city. The inter-racial group has since disbanded. , j In addition to the other new powers it is seeking, HRC tonight will ask City Council for the authority to initiate I plaints on its own motion. It will also ask for the authority to prescribe "an affirmative action" program for contraetors I doing business with the city. It wants its cease-and-desist and I civil injunction powers, if approved, to be made applicable to I housing discrimination, amployment discrimination, and I crimination in public accommodations. 1 Finally, and this unnerves some city officials, HRC wants I "full access" to the records of all city agencies. i But if City Council approves the increased powers for I HRC, which will mean a lot more work for the commission, I I they'll have to look to improving attendance at meetings. HRCl ; has, on occasion, been troubled by attendance problems. LastM I July, HRC was unable to obtain a quorum to do business forB L three consecutive meetings. i The 12 members of the present commission are: jl j - Lloyd T. Williams, Jr., HRC chairman. Williams, white,! I who lives at 1101 Martin PI., is an attorney for the Ford MotöT j Co. and a past president of the Ann Arbor Board of Education.B ; - Mrs. Mildred Officer, vice-chairman. Mrs. Officer, black,! 1 is a member of the NAACP and also a member of the Model I Cities Policy Board. She lives at 731 Fountain. I : -John Evans of 1072 Morningside, white, works for the I Institute of Social Research at the University and is also 1 suing a PhD in sociology. 1 -Mrs. Deborah Grubbs of 724 N. Main, black, is active I with the NAACP and is a member of the Model Cities Policy I Board. I -Mrs. Wendell Hobbs of 3000 Overridge, white, is with the realty firm of Hobbs, Caldwell and Spaly. She is also active in Republican women's organizations. i -John P. Kirscht of 701 Indianola, white, is a councilman I Í and represents the City Council on the commission. I - Evelyn Moore of 401 N. División, black, is an employé i of the U-M School of Education. She is also a member of the local Black Caucus. 3 - Cedric Morris of 904 Greene, black, is a custodian at t Bach School. He is also a member of NAACP. ï - Theodore J. St. Antoine of 1930 Alhambra Dr., white, is I a professor at the U-M Law School. j j - Rev. Terry Smith of 649 Worthington PI., white, is I ister of the First Congregational Church. ! i -Mrs. Stanley Thayer of 1706 Glenwood Rd., white, is the I wife of the former majority leader in the State Senate. She is I ï also a member of NAACP, a member of the board of the 1 munity Center, and an announced Republican. E -Paul Wasson of 3200 Pittsview Dr., black, is in charge of I E emergency admissions at University Hospital. He is also al f member of NAACP. I