Gov. Minner Proclaims January Human Relations Awareness Month
January 3, 2006
Dover - Gov. Ruth Ann Minner today signed a proclamation making January Human Relations Awareness Month in Delaware, recognizing that "all human beings are born with the right to be treated with dignity, fairness and equality." "The creation of Human Relations Month demonstrates our year-round, constant commitment to ensuring equal opportunity in Delaware, one of my highest priorities," said Gov. Minner at the ceremony Tuesday in Dover.
The proclamation kicks off a month of ceremonies as well as a new public-service announcement by the governor promoting a new toll-free telephone number for Delawareans to call if they believe they have been victims of discrimination.
The event honors the efforts of the state's Human Relations Commission, created in 1962 under Governor Elbert N. Carvel to battle segregation. Today the commission receives more than 300 calls a year on a wide range of discrimination issues and holds hundreds of outreach events to inform and educate citizens.
The proclamation, signed by Gov. Minner and Lt. Gov. John Carney, declares that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Constitution of the United States, without distinction of any kind, such as race, sex, age, color, creed, religion, marital status, national or social origin, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, political or other status."
Minner presented the proclamation to the members of the Human Relations Commission. "The signing of this proclamation is a chance to remind ourselves of the many reasons to be hopeful," said Juana Fuentes-Bowles, Director of the Delaware Department of State Division of Human Relations. "While the struggle for human rights never ends, we have reason to believe that humanity can always better itself. We in Delaware should never be complacent."
The new toll-free number for the state Human Relations Division is 1-877-54-HUMAN.
Schedule of Events for Human Relations Awareness Month 2006
January 14 - Martin Luther King Jr. dinner and celebration, the Rusty Rudder restaurant, Dewey Beach, 4:30-9:00 P.M.January 16 - Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, 3-8 P.M., Chase Center, Wilmington; special guest, actor Danny Glover, will be present for a live interview
January 16 - Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, noon-3 P.M., Mt. Zion AME Church, Dover
Date/time to be announced - Kiwanis luncheon with featured speaker Calvin Christopher, chair of the Delaware state Human Relations Commission, Hotel DuPont, Wilmington
Through July 31 - "Remember Me: Stories About Delaware's African Americans, 1700s-1800s," museum exhibit at Delaware State Visitor Center and Galleries, Dover
