THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080162
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GREG GOLDFARB, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Three years ago, it was racism.
Two years ago, fair housing.
And now, the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission will tackle affirmative action at its annual public forum and panel discussion Monday at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts.
``The whole subject of affirmative action is very much in the news,'' said commissioner Betsy O. Karotkin. ``It is very important now, with the problems facing African-Americans, and others. There's the feeling that we should support affirmative action to give people a chance to move ahead.''
Free and open to the public, this is the third major public forum sponsored by the advisory body since its inception in 1991. Last December, about 100 people attended a session on fair housing laws and the year before that, about 125 turned out for a discussion of race relations.
Moderating this year's event will be WVEC-TV anchor Barbara Ciara. Panelists include Bill Thomas, a businessman and civic activist; Steve Pershing, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney; Deborah Alexander, a cultural diversity consultant; Jeffrey Acosta, MacArthur Memorial curator; and Brenda Andrews, editor of the New Journal and Guide.
Each panelist will present an opening statement, then the debate gets under way. Audience members will be invited to ask questions.
``Only through open discussion can we arrive at a way of satisfying everyone's needs,'' said Karotkin.
Despite the commission's efforts to be recognized as a citizens' advisory board and referral service for alleged human rights violations, identifying those concerns is difficult for city officials and community leaders when people don't step forward to articulate them.
Since 1993, the 11-member commission has received only 15 formal complaints about human rights violations, mainly in the areas of housing, employment and education.
Commissioners are trying to determine if that reflects that people don't know about the commission, or whether it means the city is doing a good job managing and promoting cultural diversity.
``There are not a lot of people coming out to the forums,'' said Karotkin. ``That's because, by and large, people are very happy living in Virginia Beach.''
Commissioner J. Scottie Griffin, however, isn't sure why the forums don't attract more citizens interested in learning about human rights issues and multiculturalism.
He said attendance likely would be even lighter if an annual awards presentation wasn't held in conjunction with the debate.
``Unfortunately, I believe a high percentage of the crowd is there because they have friends or business associates receiving awards that night,'' said Griffin.
Although there have been few, if any, citizen complaints about affirmation action in the city, commissioner Paula E. Henao said that the forums are not only designed to address human rights issues and concerns, but to also generate badly needed publicity for the commission and the work that it's doing.
``We're encouraging anybody in the community who has an interest in human rights to come to the forum,'' said Henao. ``We're hoping for a good turnout, because sometimes people have feelings on these subjects, but don't know where to take them.'' ILLUSTRATION: WHEN AND WHERE
The Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission's public forum on
affirmative action and human rights awards presentation ceremony
will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Virginia Beach Center for the
Arts, 2200 Parks Ave. For more information, call 427-8374 or
427-8042.
by CNB