Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312250117
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV_1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
The Rev. Gary Schroeder, council president, described the $2,000 in county money as a ``shot in the arm'' for the group and its six committees. Montgomery supervisors approved the funding by a 5-2 vote on Dec. 13.
The money will allow the 24-member council to take some of the ``nuts and bolts'' steps toward getting up and running, Schroeder said.
Getting organized and obtaining county funding has been a long time coming.
The proposal for the council first came before the Montgomery Board of Supervisors in July 1991 in a report filed by the Minority Opportunity Task Force.
Among six recommendations, the group urged the creation of a County Council on Human Relations to deal with divisive racial issues.
The supervisors voted in favor of forming the council two months later, but with several conditions recommended by County Administrator Betty Thomas. Primary among them was that the Human Relations Council represent all minority groups in the county.
Thomas also wrote that the supervisors should seek clarification on the council's responsibilities, accountability, goals and objectives.
That process began during the next 11 months, when Deputy Assistant County Administrator Randy Wertz and representatives of the school system, the Blacksburg and Christiansburg ministerial associations and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People set to work figuring out what other groups should be invited to join the effort.
Wertz and Oscar Williams, then head of the Montgomery NAACP, also sought to put together bylaws for the council. In the process, Schroeder said, Williams reported that no other county in Virginia had a similar group.
``In that regard, at least, it kind of puts Montgomery in the forefront,'' Schroeder said. ``I think that's something we can be proud of.''
The Human Relations Council first met in October 1992 and began a still-evolving process of adding members and brainstorming what its mission should be.
It made its first forays into the public eye early this year. First, it issued a statement in early January on the contentious school-holiday name issue that contradicted a public stand the Board of Supervisors had taken weeks before.
While the supervisors urged the School Board late last year to return to the use of the traditional Christian-based names of ``Christmas'' and ``Easter'' rather than ``winter'' and ``spring'' breaks, the Human Relational Council backed the secular names. Moreover, the council said the issue was not a religious matter, rather one of respect for the needs and sensitivities of minority groups in the community.
In April, just weeks after the School Board reaffirmed its policy on the secular names, the Human Relations Council sponsored a panel discussion and forum on the issue in Christiansburg that drew more than 100 people.
The council's second major initiative came in a series of public forums that its committee on race relations advertised for each of the county's four high schools.
At the first forum in Blacksburg, one person showed up; for the second in Shawsville no one came, according to Guylene Wood, a teacher who heads the council's committee on race relations. Her group canceled a third meeting in Riner and held a fourth in Christiansburg that drew 10 participants.
``There really wasn't a lot of interest,'' Wood said. Her committee, which includes David Moore, the only black member of the Montgomery School Board, decided to take a reactive approach and not meet unless there is a specific matter to address in Montgomery County, where blacks represent less than 4 percent of the population. The committee hasn't met since.
During the winter and spring, because they were still just getting started, the Human Relations Council didn't submit a budget request with other county agencies. By June, though, it had asked the county for $4,000.
The Board of Supervisors talked about giving the council $2,000, but postponed action on June 28 until it had a detailed budget to consider along with a clarification on the council's ``proactive'' role.
Appearing last week before the supervisors with that budget and a four-part policy statement, Schroeder said he understood from press coverage that board members were concerned that the public would construe financial support for the council as an endorsement of its programs.
``This is not a group looking for ways to stir up trouble and embarrass the people who support us,'' said Schroeder, pastor of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church in Blacksburg. Schroeder is on the council as a representative of the Blacksburg Ministerial Association; he's due to relinquish the council presidency to Williams, a Virginia Tech official, in February.
To further define its mission, the Human Relations Council pledged to limit its pro-active activities ``to programs held for and educational materials distributed to students'' in the county schools, according to the policy statement. Such activities require the prior consent of the school superintendent and the council.
Second, the council pledged to develop a reactive stance, ``mobilizing our resources and membership and organizing programs in response to issues as they arise.''
Third, the council pledged to ``educate and sensitize ourselves'' by saving a block of time at its five meetings a year for speakers on ``issues and concerns pertaining to human relations,'' according to the policy statement.
Finally, the council will develop a speaker's bureau on human relations issues for schools, clubs, religious and community organizations.
With these guidelines and the $2,000 for forums, seminars, printing and supplies, the Human Relations Council's five officers will meet Jan. 14 in a community room at New River Valley Mall.
Besides starting the ball rolling on programming, the council must decide how much money to seek for the next fiscal year, which begins in July. Schroeder told the Board of Supervisors that the council will explore obtaining funding from the Christiansburg and Blacksburg town governments, as well.
by CNB