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!' ' ( DRA.FT ) )' . ""• 1970 PROGRAM PLAN COM.l.ViUNITY RELAT I ONS COMMISS I ON l' I ! I SECTION I - LEGISLATION 'l'he Commun ity Re lations Commiss ion h a :3 b een o per a ting for almo s·t thr e e y ears und er the ini t i a l o rdi n a n c e c reat ing the Commi s sion. The Commiss ion h as b e en a bl e in ma ny cas e s to i mpleme nt sue- ces sfu l ly its dut ies and fu n c ti ons to fost e r mut u a l und ers tanding , tol era n c e , a nd r e spe c t among a l l e c o n o mic , s o c i a l, r e lig ious , and ethnic grou p s i n the Gity ." Th e Bo a rd o f Al d ermen a l s o c h a rge d t h e Commissi o n with the re s pon s ib i lity " t o inves tigate , discourag e and s eek t o p rev e nt di scrimina tory pract ic es ag a ins ~ a ny i ndividu a l b e c aus e o f r ac e , c o lor , c reed , re ligion , n a t i ona l o rigin o r a ncestry. " · Her e t h e Comm i s s ion h as fo u nd that the o n l y too l i.t h as is that o f p e rs u as ion. In l ight o f the n a ture o f the d is- c r imi n u.to ry p rac t i c es s t ill e x i stin g in Atl a n t a , the Commis s j,on · h as f ound this t ool t o b e i n a dequ a t e . To do the job t h e Commi s - s ion b e li e v e s mu st b e done i n e limi n a t i ng disc r i mi n a tory pra ctice s, l oca l l e gis l ative act ion i s n eeded in t he f o l l owi ng areas: 0 �Pa g e 2 P£ograrn Plan 1970 · Draft 1. ·- ~ Public Accommodations. Although the 1964 Civil Rights Act has been an eff ective tool in eliminating discrimination in most businesses serving _the public, the law is applicable only to firms engaged in interstate coITuuerc e . Some Atlanta businesses not in interstate commerce, such as trailer-rarks, skating rinks, health spas and barber shops,discr i minate b e c a use of race. 'I' . ... In the o pinion o f t he Commi·ss ion, it is unju s t for this small number of businesses to enjoy the prosperity of this g r e a t City while the vast majority of busines s es are ab iding by the l etter a nd spirit of the Federal law. The Fede ral remedial process is slow, cumber some and e x pensive .· A loc a l public ac c ommo dations o rdinan ce wi t h e n f orceme nt powe rs through the municipa l courts of Atlanta is needed. 2. Contrac t Comp l iance . In 1967 the Board o f Alder- me n ena cted Ordi nanc e #31 - 41 . 1 makin g i t n e c essa ry fo r fi r ms contracting with the City t o h a v e a nondiscriminatory hiring p olicy . - Each s uppl ier c erti f i es h e do es n o t discr i minat e b u t nothing els e / 0 i s done t o enfo r c e the o r d inanc e . contai ns The o r dina n ce n o i n v e stigato ry o r enfo rcement p owers. In 1969 , the budget o f the City o f Atl a n ta was $2 0 7 ,000 , 000 . The f u ll imp l er,1e n tation of t h is o rdinan ce wo u l d be an i mp o r t ant l e v er i n e n d i ng emp l oyment discrimina ti o n in Atlanta . -=--- ~--=- - ---- - �Page 3 P~ogram Plan 1970 Draft 3. Fair Employment. The 1964 Civil Rights Act covers firms with 25 or more employees. This leaves thousands of Atlanta citizens without · • fair employment protection. Furthermore, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's backlog of cases in the Southeast is proof that more action is needed on a local level. Other Southern cities such as Miami and Na~hvill~ · have found their local fair · employment ordinances to be highly useful in combating discrimination. The Commission believes that Atlanta needs an ordina nce with enforceme nt powers to cover firms with ten or more employees. In order to enforce effective ly ordinances on public accommodations, contract compliance and fair emp loyment the Commission _ ne e ds subpoena, cease and desist, and other powe rs which may be n e cessary to implement th e se ordinances. The Commission recomme nds that th e number of Commission members b e increased from 20 to 22, with the additiona l two posit i o ns b e ing designat ed fo r young p e rsons age 22 or under. 0 Th e Commission asks th a t the t e r ms fo r these two youth po s itions be rot a t ed y e arly for incre a sed youth involveme nt. The youth Comm is s ioners ar e to hav~ full voting rights and powers. The y a re to serve o n an equa l b as is with t he o t h er Commis sion memb ers. �Page 4 Program Plan 1970 Draft SECTION II - TOWN HALL MEETINGS Immediately after its creation three years ago, CRC instituted a series of Town Hall meetings in disadvantaged areas. These meetings gave citizens an opportunity to express their grievances and City Hall a chance to take remedial action. CRC benefited from this program because it gave the Commission a direct involvement with the people in their neighborhoods. The'citizens benev . ....., fited because they had a direct line to City Hall. Concurrently the office of Community Development Coordinator was created to deal with City services in disadvantaged areas. Although the CRC has had an effebtive working relationship with Johnny Robinson's office, duplication of effort exists. CRC's main goals are to improve human relationi and to eliminate discriminatioh. services. The Town Hall me etings deal primarily with improving City The Commission recommends that the staff of the Community Development Coordinator be expanded with more City coordinators .being plac e d in disadvantag e d areas on a year round basis and that the Community Development Coordinator's office assume the responsibility for the Town Ha ll meeting program. SECTION III - PUBLIC HEARINGS 0 The Ordinance creating the Community Relations Cormnission sta t es in Se c . 3.8.~.: 0 "Pursuant to th e n aLted functions and duti e s of the Communi t y Re l a tions Comm ission , it is e mpowered to hold h ear ings and t ake the test~mony o f any p e rson u nder o ath. The Commi s sion, after t he c omp l e ti on o f any hearing, shall make a repor t in wr i ting t o t he Mayor setting forth th e facts fou nd by it and i ts recommendations. At a n y h ear i n g b efo re the Commission a witn~ss s hal l have t h e right to be advised ::iy counsel presP.nt during sur.h hearings." �_Page 5 Prbgram Plan 1970 Draft ,. The Commission has made very little use of this section of its charter. In an effort to get to the root cause of discrimi- nation, C~C will institute public hearings in such areas • as public accommodations, employment discrimination, school segrega t ion, housing discrimination and . other vital areas affecting improved human relations in Atlanta. SECTION IV - EMPLOYMENT 1. \f • -\.\1 Star ting in Septembe r CRC will undertake a systematic \ study ~f minority emplciyment and promotion in each City Hall . I . . I department, the Atlanta Housing Authori ty , and non-professional positi~ ns in the Atlanta School System. Upon comple tion o f this i study, \ the Commission will make a public report of its findings with recommendations. ·2. Jobs Creation-Atl anta , a joint project of the Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission and CRC, has been refunded for another ye ar. Maurice Mitchell h as b een employed to direct this project during 1969 - 70. During the last 12 months CRC has worked with 25 companies on their hifi n g and recruiting pract ic e s o f mi nority per·sons. · The plan for the forthcoming year is t .o continue working with these 25 firms and to add 15 n ew compa ni es . 3. · The Commission will work for the elimination o f discriminat ion in Atlanta l abor unions, trade a ssocia tions, and professiona l o rga ni za tions. 4. CRC will continue it s efforts with an ad hoc committ e e to make a study of ant ic ipa ted job o p e nings in Atl a nta during the nex t f ive years and how vocational and other training can b e g eared to me e t these n eed s. 0 �Page 6 Program Plan 1970 Draft 5. CRC wili consider having another workshop on minority economic development in mid-winter. SECTION V ·· EDUCATION 1. CRC will work with the new school board to improve the quality of education for minorities and the disadvantaged and to accelerate desegregation. 2. The CRC plans to work with the Atlanta School System and the City Planning De p a rtme nt in d e t ermi ning how loca tion s for new schools can assist in solving the desegregation problem. 3. The Commi ssion will make p ersonal calls o n each college president in Atlanta to urg e hi s insti tution to acce lerate student and faculty r e cruitment across racial lines. SECTION VI - POLICE-COMMUNITY. RELATIONS 1. The Commission will work with the Police Departme nt and the Urban Lab~ rato~y in d eve loping training programs in police-community relations f or senior officers , patrolme nt and new recruits. Efforts will b e made to utili ze outstanding sociologists, criminologists, p ~ychologists, psychi a trists, l aw enforceme nt offic er s and consultants in Atlanta and e l sewhere. 2. The CRC will off er its services to the Polic e Department in initiating more t raining in human relations f o r t he police/communi ty servi ces offic er s. 3. CRC will monitor Municipa l Cour ts and ma k e rec omme ndat ion s to judg e s on how huma n r e l at ions can b e impro v e d. �Page 7 Program Plan 1970 Draft SECTION VII - HOUSING 1. In the last nine years 22 Atlanta schools have gone. from all white to virtually all Negro. The City of Atlanta Planning· Department estimates that in 1967 and 1968 490 City blocks changed fro m white to non-white. After identifing one or two target ares for transition the Commission will seek to marshall ' total community support ..... y .... businesses, churches, the Atlanta School Board, human r~lations organizations, real estate brokers, and the press ..... to stablize these areas. The Commission will seek to develop ways and means to report and halt block-busting. 2. The CRC plans to send out te a ms of black and white staff members to various apartme nt buildings and housing developme nts and ask for housing. In doing so discriminatory practices will be identified and dealt with. 3. The Commission will contact Th e Advertising Council and the Departme nt of Housing and Urba n De v e lopme nt to find out the avail a bility of public service TV s p ot s , ads and car-cards. The staff will then urge local me dia to u se thes e public servic e a ds on ope n housing . 4. CRC will continue to parti c i pa t e actively as a memb e r of 0 the Met r o p olit a n Atlant a Hou s i n g Con,fere nce which seeks to further · ope n hou s i ng a nd t h e dis pers al of low- income housin g to all qua d r a nt s o f the City and su~u r b s. 5. Th e r e i s a t remend ou s n eed in Atlanta fo r a c e nt ra liz e d agency whi ch lists availab l e h o u sing at a ll i ncome l evels. CRC p l ans to ta l k to representatives o f the American Friends Serv i ce �Page 8 Program Plan 1970 Draft Committee, Metropolitan Fair Housing Conf erence and the Mayor's Housing Resources Committee to see if such a function can be assumed. SECTION VIII - PUBLIC INFORMATION 1. CRC will strive to further its public information role by working closeiy with all news media and having members and staff speak to church and civic groups. ' It is the wish ofv th~ staff to involve more intensively Commission members in public speaking roles. The ~taff will make personal calls on television stat ions and service clubs offe ring a list of panelists and speakers who reflect a wide range o f experienc e and vi ew points in the human relations field. 2. Sp ec ial effort will be made to concentrate on the human relations education of white and blue collar workers in Atlanta. The staff will prepare two or three stories for the 25 larges t company house organs in th e City. Personal calls will be made by th e staff at high cooperate levels to urg e the use of these materials ~ pECTION IX - INTER- AGENCY COOPERATION i. 0 Th e Commission will invite all Atlanta professional a,rganiz a tions conce rn ed with the huma n r e lations to a one day mee ting at City Ha ll in Dec emb e r so e a ch organization can outline it s p r o gram p lan f o r 1970. 2. Th r o ug h out t h e y ear th e staff will conc e ntra t e on i mpr ovi ng communications with o the r huma n r e l a t i on s orga niza t i o ns .... . wo rk i ng �Pa ge 9 Prngram Plan 1970 Draft directly wi th them a nd thr o ugh t he Atlanta Chapte r of t h e Nationa l Associ a tion of Inte r-Group Rel at ions Of fici a ls (NAIRO). SECTION X - WORKSHOPS IN HUMAN RELATIONS \. 1. In mid-1970 the CRC sta ff pla ns to r e p eat several s e ssions of the Work shop in Hu man Re l a tions f o r n e w City Hall employe es. 2. As a follow up to the Workshops in Human ·Relations, CRC plans V • '\&i an on -going p r ogr am on human r e latio n :·i for City of Atl a nta p e rsonnel. Each ~epartme n t will be asked to d e signat e a p e r s o n thr ough which the i ! Commi s sion can work. I SECTION XI - REACTION TO CRI S I S CRC 1 s for e most function is to ide ntify a nd e limina te discrimi ina tion in At lan ta. minimized . I f th is job i s d o ne , civil di s o r d ers wi ll b e Howe ver a ma ste r plan n eeds to be dev elo p e d outlinin g wh at CRC shoul d do in event o f a racia l cr i s i s. For e xamp l e: 1. The ope ration of Rumor Control . 2. The o rga ni zat ion o f " Inter fai t h Mobi l iza t i o n ", a group o f Atl a n ta min i ster s tra ine d to act a s 0 obs erv e r s and r eporters at hosp i ta l s and poli ce sta t i ons . 3. The ide nti fica tion o f a lis t o f community l eaders who c a n b e c a lled o n f o r s p e ci f i c a s signme nts. SECT ION XI I - RESEARCH The Board of Aldermen charged the Commi$sion with several responsibil i ties includi ng .. .' .. "To make studies, and to h ave 0 �Page 10 Program Plan 1970 Draft . studies made, in the field of human relations, and to prepare and disseminat e reports of such studies." Due to lack of staff, the Commission has not adequately discharged this re,sponsibilit_y . . The Commission requires a full time staff member to initiate specific studies in the field of human relations in 1970. This staff member will work closely with the Community Council, the Urban Laboratory, and colleges and universities to avoid ~uplica...., \' . tion of efforts.

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�I II Pa.ge Program Plan 1970 Draft SECTION XII - HIPPIES CRC will endeavor to serve as a communications link between the growing hippie community and the City of Atlanta. CRC plans to hold periodic meetings in the near Northside neighborhood with residents, business proprioritors and landlords and to make recommendations to City officials. / �