Saturday, July 5, 2003 Meeting Notes

Meeting notes, People for Peace, Justice, and Healing

July 5, 2003

Agenda Items

1) Discussion about check-in notes in the meeting minutes PPJH meetings begin with a check-in round-robin in which attendees may decline to participate. Without dialogue or discussion by others, check-in participants may express feelings, talk about things going on in their personal/professional lives and mention concerns. Check-in is intended to ground attendees at the beginning of the meeting and build connections within the meeting’s community.

Topics discussed during check-in are often complicated and emotionally weighty. As such, through no maliciousness or disrespectful intent, the distillation of check-in comments for the meeting minutes frequently has the potential to distort, obscure or circumvent a message.

In addition, check-in is often very personal in nature. Including check-in notes in the minutes may discourage people from sharing something important to them for which those present may provide needed emotional support.

It was agreed by the people at this morning’s meeting that check-in notes shall no longer be included in the meeting minutes. This move is expected to increase the confidentiality of check-in and more strenuously protect individual’s personal disclosures.

2) Earth Charter Community Summit This year’s Earth Charter Community Summits will be held on Saturday, October 11th, 2003.

Venue update:

At this time, the search for a venue continues. The Summit is on the same weekend as homecoming at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) which was the first venue considered.

First Methodist Church (423 Martin Luther King Jr Way) is a possible venue. Not only is it a large venue, it is conveniently located for our inner city residents and active in the community. When Sheila held a discussion about the Earth Charter for one of the church’s adult Sunday School classes in April, interest in the Community Summit was expressed.

Other venues under consideration should First Methodist not work out are: Mason Methodist (in the North End), the Unitarian Church south of the mall and the Pierce County Environmental Services building in University Place. Ease of accessibility for diverse sectors of Tacoma’s community is one of the most important considerations in selecting a venue.

Other:

Other than nailing down a venue, progress is being made in planning for the Summit. Still collecting suggestions for speakers/presenters. Some ideas put forward today: anti-globalization activist, environmentalist, ACLU, Cascade Land Conversancy, promoter of Study Circles

Planning meetings are scheduled for every other Tuesday evening, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, at the “theater district” Tully’s in downtown Tacoma (764 Broadway). Upcoming: 7/8, 7/22, 8/12 and 8/26

3) United for Peace Pierce County Event, 7/15 at First Methodist Church

Marilyn Kimmerling is coordinating volunteers for the event

After Medea Benjamin speaks there will be a number of simultaneous break out sessions

Anticipating a followup event on a Saturday in early fall

4) Police Accountability Committee

The City of Tacoma’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) is establishing a citizen committee to monitor police accountability in response to citizen disenchantment with the Tacoma Police Department. The committee is expected to hear citizen complaints about their treatment at the hands of the Tacoma police and may provide courtroom monitors. Both citizens and police stand to benefit from this sort of citizen involvement.

Approximately 100 cities in the United States have such committees. As expected, some committees are considered to be more successful than others. Historically, Tacoma has never had such a committee and Seattle’s is not considered very successful. Among local cities which have such committees, those considered to be the most successful are in Boise, ID and Portland, OR

On Monday July 7 at 10:00 A.M., the ACLU will be meeting with the Tacoma’s HRC. One of the ACLU’s concerns is racial profiling. The meeting is open to the public and will be held at the HRC offices (747 Market St, Tacoma).

5) Tacoma City Council Bill of Rights Resolution Tim Smith, head of Tacoma’s Bill of Rights Defense Committee, will be presenting to the Tacoma City Council a resolution to support the Bill of Rights over the US Patriot Act in situations where the Patriot Act contradicts freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. This will be the second time Tim has presented the resolution as the City Council has had lots of distractions lately.

Each member of the City Council has a copy of resolution. Councilmen Bill Evans and Doug Miller have been the most supportive of the resolution to date.

On Thursday, June 26th, 2003, Associated Ministries and the ACLU cosponsored a forum about the Patriot Act at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tacoma. The discussion centered on Patriot Act intrusions on constitutional freedoms. Discussion panel included state and federal Attorney Generals, a County Librarian and an ACLU representative. The crowd of approximately 50-60 people was largely supportive of civil liberties. Although the Attorneys General spoke in support of the Patriot Act, their support appeared to be apologetic and indicated expectations about selective enforcement.

Announcements

Wednesday night vigils continue at the Federal Courthouse from 5 – 6 P.M. Please come and support the vigil if you can.

Respectfully submitted,