After nearly two years of research, meetings and public comments, the Nashville Town Council voted to approve an ordinance establishing a Human Rights Commission at its regular meeting this month.
The approval comes after a revision to the original draft of the ordinance at the suggestion of Town Attorney Wanda Jones.
The council voted 3-2 in favor of a second reading. A motion was then made to adopt the ordinance, passing with the same votes.
Council President Nancy Crocker, Vice President Anna Hofstetter and councilmember Tyra Miller all voted in favor of the commission.
Council members Jane Gore and David Rudd opposed both the second reading and the adoption.
Changes made to the proposed ordinance were based on community input and legal advisement, Crocker said last month.
She said changes were made based on what the community was saying to the council and that the adopted ordinance is more concise than the first.
The adopted ordinance states that the town recognizes the need to “support civil and human rights through community education and guidance toward existing resources provided by state and federal agencies.”
The town also recognizes the need “to provide a centralized way for citizens and visitors to address these issues through a local human connection.”
The commission will establish a relationship with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission “to foster educational resources as well as to provide utilization of the resources.” It continues that the commission will work with existing civil and human rights-related programs in the community.
The state commission enforces state civil rights laws and investigates complaints of discrimination while providing education to organizations, companies, landlords, associations and individuals on their rights and responsibilities under Indiana Civil Rights Laws, according to the ICRC website.
The commission will create an informational page on the town’s website and members will present an annual report to the town council about progress made.
The draft of the Human Rights Commission ordinance was developed based on findings from the Nashville Human Rights Advisory Committee, which was formed at the beginning of 2021. The committee worked for nine months to evaluate the need for a town Human Rights Commission before presenting the findings and a recommendation to town council last fall.
The committee stated in their recommendation a record of “bias and discrimination” has been documented by a variety of sources including the newspaper and testimony by shop owners, students and delivery drivers. A need was also documented based on comments taken from more than 100 people who participated in the Nashville Solidarity Rally in 2020. Last fall, committee President Domonic Potorti said the town has few — if any — reliable or consistent ways to report or evaluate the quality and treatment of its citizens and visitors.
An established Human Rights Commission will consolidate all of that reporting instead of having it scattered among different organizations. According to the draft of the new ordinance, the town “recognizes that the declaration and elevation of civil and human rights upholds the sanctity of the individual and guarantees their ability to participate freely in society.”
The commission will not have the authority to prosecute any individual or organization about whom a complaint is made, but would be a resource for people to file a complaint. The commission would also provide resources to an individual that specializes in the area most appropriate for a given complaint.
There are already processes in place to file such complaints at the state and federal levels. The local commission would only serve as a resource in the process of filing a complaint.
The commission will be made up of five volunteer members of the Brown County community at-large, selected by the town council. Last week, Crocker said members for the new commission will be selected at the end of this year along with other board appointments for 2023.
According to its ordinance, the commission will develop a code of ethics, which would require members to keep complaints in confidence.
Right now there are at least five entities an individual can go within the community now to make a complaint: the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Brown County Health Department, Nashville Town Council, the Brown County Visitors Center and Brown County School Corporation.
Having a commission would centralize complaints, Crocker said.
The public speaks
A portion of the meeting was dedicated to public comment, which allowed each person wanting to speak three minutes.
Members of the community spoke both for and against the commission for nearly one hour on Aug. 18.
Nearly 30 people were present at Town Hall for the second reading and adoption of the commission, and 15 spoke during the portion for public comment — 11 for the commission and four against.
Local individuals and representatives from community organizations offered their support of the commission.
Shari Frank represented the League of Women Voters of Brown County, saying that the commission would be a useful resource for those facing discrimination.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘if that happened to me I’d just walk up to the manager and complain,’ but if you’re a minority and you’re already in an intimidating situation, that’s not going to happen and it’s not a viable solution,” she said.
Local resident Kevin McCracken said the commission will serve as a valuable resource for people who feel they’ve been the target of discrimination and serve to provide information and education to those who seek out information.
He said he thinks “really important first step” in transforming the community from one that is “significantly viewed” as one that is not friendly to minorities to one that is welcoming.
“It will support the prosperity by bringing more people into Nashville,” he said.
Others expressed their concern in the creation of a human rights commission.
Brown County resident Joe Havlin said he believed the ordinance is a redundant law and that the commission would operate with a political agenda.
“You took original ordinance language out of it to make it look like it was harmless,” he said. “I don’t believe that’s the case, I still believe and I’ll stand by it that there’s an agenda behind the human rights board.
“We don’t need another law. … we have laws for a reason, let’s utilize them. Let’s not add to (existing laws) to say we’re going to be the ‘feelings police’ and if you got your feelings hurt we’re going to help you.”
He added that he believed it an overreach into an area that does not need it.
“There’s plenty of opportunity to go to the civil rights people or whomever to make your complaints. I don’t support it and I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Local business owner Pam Gould said that she did not support the commission because “we don’t know where this is going.”
“We have got to grow up and love each other,” she said. “We do not need the dangers that are potentially in this kind of regulation, in the current censorship environment, to invade our small town.”
Gould said she and her husband have been subject to political censorship and other forms of censorship, having had political things removed from their places of business.
“We do not need another way to pit neighbor against neighbor. If we have issues we should be doing it face to face, not behind the back, exercising the government to do something it can never change the heart for,” she said.
Melissa Rittenhouse also sat on the advisory committee and spoke to her background and involvement in the creation of the ordinance.
She spent a decade in law enforcement, going into people’s homes, helping them in the middle of a crisis and what she learned is that not everyone has their own power to make something better for themselves.
“That’s where agencies, the government, the police department, domestic violence shelters, education, that’s where those things come in with an advocate, who can take the necessary steps to improve their situation. I see that as being the biggest strength of this (commission),” she said.
During the nine months of research, Potorti said the group spoke to many community members and worked hard to determine if there was value of a human rights commission in the community.
”We believe that Nashville is a unique community. It’s composed of individuals from every walk of life, whether you see them or not, they exist. Each of these deserve to be heard, deserve equal access. We believe (the commission’s) establishment will empower everyone in the community to understand more fully that the town does value each of their voices,” he said.
This commission, he added, will be the human connection if an individual wants to talk about an experience they had.
Resident Jim Hays used the opportunity at the Aug. 18 meeting to encourage the crowd to come to Town Council meetings on a regular basis, not just when there are certain items on an agenda.
After public comment, the meeting was turned back over to the council.
Rudd did not have a comment.
Hofstetter said she was impressed with the civil conversation and ability to “respectfully disagree” about certain topics.
Miller said that the ordinance supports free speech and that if people had the ability to self-regulate there wouldn’t be a police department and that she believes this commission will help.
Gore echoed Jim Hays, encouraging participation from the community at town council meetings.
Crocker thanked the advisory for their work to form the ordinance.
“We charged the committee with giving the council a recommendation — why would we not listen to them?” she said.
The ordinance is available to read on the town’s website at townofnashville.org/ordinances.
