TITLE
Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare an ordinance amending Chapter 2.44 of the Long Beach Municipal Code to: (1) revise the title of the Human Relations Commission (HRC) to the Long Beach Equity and Human Relations Commission; and, (2) to amend the purpose, functions, and membership of the HRC, as outlined in Attachment A. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
On January 19, 2021, City Council directed the City Manager to work with the Human Relations Commission (HRC) to update and expand its mission and scope and change its title to the Long Beach Equity Commission in line with recommendations from the Racial Equity and Reconciliation Initial Report.
Since receiving City Council’s direction to update the mission and scope of HRC, the commissioners have been actively engaged in shaping the process and recommendations included in this letter. In February 2021, the Commission formed an ad hoc committee that met on a regular basis to work with staff from the Office of Equity, Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department), and City Attorney’s Office to understand the process of updating the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) and the parameters of advisory commissions.
On March 24, 2021, the Office of Equity held a Community Stakeholder Visioning Session (Session) to engage Long Beach community stakeholders in a brainstorming discussion about the potentially updated name, roles, and functions of the HRC. A total of 35 community stakeholders participated in the session, including local nonprofits and community leaders from varied backgrounds and areas of focus. The session was facilitated by a third-party consultant and centered around the following discussion questions:
· Role: What should the Commission do differently, or be tasked with, in order to be more effective at advancing equity and justice?
· Internal: What are ways the Commission could influence internal City culture, programs, and systemic policies and procedures that impact the comm...
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