HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUES IN DAYTON
4 December 2021
Around 50 activists, researchers, community organizers and local officials came together to discuss the state of human rights in Dayton, in the context of the biennial Social Practice of Human Rights conference
OBJECTIVES OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUES
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Increase awareness of participants on the relationship between human rights and local social justice initiatives Create a space for sustained dialogue to promote understanding of human rights cities/communities and to advance ideas and models for local human rights practice Identify new strategies for local organizing on key rights related issues including: policing, housing, and equitable development Build new cross-sector relationships between actors working on these key issues in Dayton and Ohio Explore an advocacy and activism agenda for the HRC, strengthening it collaborations
PANDEMIC TIME CAPSULE We started by sharing our personal experiences, based on the questions: ● What is a memory that you want to hold onto from the pandemic? ● What is an object/idea that you would put into a time capsule to memorialize it?
WORK TOOLS My Laptop MacBook Desk Laptop with Facetime open Favorite Mug (Gift from Nonprofit) 300 Pages of Qualitative Data Notebook and Pen
SELF-CARE Badminton Shuttle Running Shoes More focus on mental health (children & adults) Continued focus on mental health & self-care Continued focus on language EDUCATION Graduating from master’s program Flyer [UD] Acceptance Letter Graduation Cap
POLITICAL CONTROVERSIES, POLICING, AND RACIAL JUSTICE ISSUES Forced Vaccinations vs. Right to Choose Police Siren Double Pandemic: Racism and COVID –Black Lives Lost Curtain being pulled back Silver Spoon [Symbol of Freedom for Palestine] Pearls of wisdom, leaderships and contributions of women (1st African-American Female VP) Figurine of African American Woman with bottle of COVID vaccine inside her POLITICAL SIGNS/SYMBOLS All Missing Children Posters Colin Kaepernick kneeling for peace Make America Great Again sign Black Lives Matter sign 866 Our Vote [Shaker Heights, OH area code organizing sign]
DIGITAL TOOLS Zoom Monthly Family Zoom Meetings Smartphone with [...] symbol (indicating someone’s typing) Zoom Log-in Microphone
INTANGIBLES Hope Plants and Living Things that no longer exist Photo of Thanksgiving 2020 Student alone in a room Time with my family My House Empty Hotels
COVID Covid Vaccine Card Vaccine Card
MAPPING HUMAN RIGHTS IN DAYTON Following Latin American methods of social mapping, we developed a map on human rights realities in contemporary Dayton. Groups identified principal human rights problematics and challenges, opportunities and assets, and community responses to guarantee human rights
THE QUESTIONS WE ASKED: What are the problems, issues and challenges? What are our assets, infrastructure and identities that offer opportunities? What are community responses? How are people fighting back, transforming their realities, building alternatives?
ANALYSIS OF THE ICONS Geographic Spread ● ● ●
West = 58% of icons East = 30% of icons Huber Heights = 7% of icons
Ratio of Challenges/Issues to Responses ● ●
Challenges / Issues = 58% Community Responses = 36%
TOP CHALLENGES / ISSUES ● ● ● ●
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Food insecurity (apartheid) Environmental justice (pollution in poor neighborhoods) Divisions (highways & rivers reinforce social isolation/division) Poverty (unequal distribution of wealth and resources, intentional/systemic deprivation and disinvestment) Housing (lack of affordable housing, homelessness, gentrification) Corruption (political and economic) Policing (violence, mass incarceration, corruption, lack of community-based approaches) Gender based violence present around the city
Full notes of the groups can be found here
TOP OPPORTUNITIES / INFRASTRUCTURES ● ● ●
Lack of healthcare facilities Lack of grocery stores Rivers & highways divide city
TOP COMMUNITY RESPONSES ● ● ●
Cultural Organizations Community Gardens Women’s Organizations Full notes of the groups can be found here
HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES Jackie Smith and Rob Robinson presented the process and framework of human rights cities as a possible strategy to promote and strengthen human rights in Dayton.
WHAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS CITY? A Human Rights City is a municipality that refers explicitly to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or other international human rights standards and/or law in their policies, statements, and programs. It is an organizing and movement-building process that empowers residents to be active participants in re-making their communities to center people and human needs. It is a holistic approach that provides a shared language and framework across all human rights. It emphasizes economic, social, and cultural rights (right to housing, livelihood, education, health, water etc.) as they affect the lives of residents and their ability to enjoy civil and political human rights (voting, policing, freedom of speech, security of person) across racial, gender, ethnic, religious, and other status.
WHAT DO HUMAN RIGHTS CITIES DO? ● Cultivating political and legal imagination—making the impossible possible (changing the political script) ● Support and convene spaces for intersectional cooperation (collaborative campaigns, projects) ● Promoting human rights learning & culture (empowerment, youth leadership) ● Building local human rights constituencies & social cohesion (focus on repairing past and present damage to create a foundation for equity for all) ● Connecting across cities and linking local—global (knowledge and support to generate bottom-up and top down pressure) ● Creative institution-building and collaboration with governmental allies to deepen democratic process and outcomes
TRANSFORMING DAYTON
Groups discussed what a human rights based Dayton would look like, and what steps we need to take to get there
KEY “TAKE AWAYS” ON THE FUTURE WE WANT FROM DAYTON: people over profit, cars and things 1.
Transformation in livability of Dayton Transportation, safety, green spaces, resources, beautification, housing affordability/equity, community land ownership, pollution remediation, living wages
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Redesign systems for justice Reform/demilitarize police, mental health and care services, community empowerment and restorative methods, education reform, gender and sexuality equity, anti-racism
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Open communication, transparency and investment Community dialogues, alternative media, access to government officials and information-sharing, accountability mechanisms, coalition-building, breaking down silos among activists/organizations, participatory budgeting/community shared resources
CHALLENGES TO GET TO THE DAYTON WE WANT 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)
The challenges for change are systemic and historical: geography and infrastructure are used to maintain and reproduce structural exclusion and racism Many of the issues have the same root, but we tend to work on the issues, and not on their roots, leading to silos. People in power gaslight our community voices The table/room/system is corrupt/corrupting Economic corruption regarding misappropriation of funds that contribute to the marginalization of neighborhoods We have local organizing but not enough around economic issues, schools, finances, civic education We need inclusive community spaces - not places just for students like the HUB Change the narrative- “we are a HUMAN RIGHTS practitioners city in need of …” - branded/marketing-attract talent
STEPS WE CAN TAKE TO GET THERE Short term Reimagining Dayton ● ●
Reimagine our community to center/value people over cars, property, and things Reimagining public safety
Mid and long term ● ● ● ●
Breaking down the silos, and building alliances ● ●
Creating a citizens initiative for human rights in Dayton Build narratives of interdependence that show how different issues are connected and require systemic change
Uplift, celebrate and strengthen our assets & alternatives ●
Important to uplift & celebrate our assets & accomplishments & connect with one another & keep learning together
Spreading the word ● ●
Revise our language/narratives to connect to the people we want to have on board Opening media to alternative sources
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Creating an independent Human Rights Council Human rights curriculum in our schools. Elected officials grounded in the HR framework Having a different metric for success/measure well-being index Change requires a multi-layer approach & means working together both at the grassroots & legislative (local government) level.
EVALUATION, INSIGHTS & NEXT STEPS
Through a survey, we evaluated the workshop. 29 participants completed the survey.
INSIGHTS FROM PARTICIPANTS ON WHAT IS NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD ●
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“Structural exclusion has been designed and follows both natural (river= and infrastructure (highways) barriers, but it is also reproduced on a daily basis through policies, daily interactions, government programs, etc.” “New times call for new methods” “Although there is a lot of organizing going on in Dayton, it tends to focus on issues, but not much on economic issues and the overarching system.” “Huge disconnect between how interconnected the problems are, and how siloed organizing is.” “Human rights framework can be useful for alliance building and overcoming silos among organizations and activists”
HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE HUMAN RIGHTS DIALOGUE?
WHAT DID YOU LIKE THE MOST? 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
Participatory exercises and methodology Energy and connection Diversity of people Being there in person Action focussed Thoughtful and inspiring participants
WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST FOR THE FUTURE? 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
More time Diversify and amplify participation (map who is not in the room) Using these ways of working in SPHR Using more art Concern about distancing in Covid times
FOLLOW UP ON THE MEETING: HOW SHOULD THIS CONTINUE? ● ● ● ● ● ●
Report and contact list New meeting(s) (different opinions on how soon: next month, quarterly, in six months) Convene broader, and give initiative to grassroots groups HRC should define its role (convener, catalyst, participants) More specific sessions on topics or tactics/strategies Open a space for the human rights cities initiative