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Editorial: Human rights task force must keep goals clear

Fri., March 11, 2016

The Spokane County Human Rights Task Force is the area’s latest attempt to form a united front against hate. Its goal – and it’s a lofty one – is to match the effectiveness of the long-standing Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

But as history shows, it won’t be easy. Politics must be sidelined, jurisdictional power struggles eliminated and the goals must remain clearly in sight. The stamp of approval of the man who started the North Idaho initiative 35 years ago is an encouraging sign.

“This is a historical moment in Spokane,” Tony Stewart said of the formation of the task force. “All communities have them. This one is for you.”

The Spokane County task force does not face the daunting start-up challenges of Stewart’s group, which initially met in a Coeur d’Alene church, in 1981, with white supremacists hovering in the back trying to intimidate.

Since then overt hate, for the most part, has been driven underground. Neo-Nazis on parade have become a thing of the past. But, lately, civil discourse has coarsened, and the concept of political compromise has been replaced with standoffs and shutdowns.

This is reflected in the presidential campaigns, where the rhetoric has become sophomoric, bombastic and irresponsible. Emboldened by the obnoxious tone, hate has bubbled to the surface. And, as usual, it’s historically downtrodden people who are the targets.

Our area has experienced its share of ugly events, with the latest being the break-in and desecration of a Sikh temple in Spokane Valley. Other examples are “Death to Islam” graffiti at a mosque, a swastika painted on Temple Beth Shalom, and the 2011 bombing attempt at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march.

Enter the Spokane Human Rights Task Force, whose formation was announced on Tuesday. Volunteers are expected to oppose discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or socioeconomic status.

The hope is to bring the efforts of many smaller groups under one umbrella for advocacy and education. The task force has a diverse group of board members, including Baptist Rev. Happy Watkins, Downtown Spokane Partnership President Mark Richard, Catholic Charities Director Rob McCann, YWCA Chief Executive Officer Regina Malveaux and Hershel Zellman, who helps organize Spokane’s Community Observance of the Holocaust.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, who is also a board member, said on Tuesday, “We have to make sure there’s a clear message. We will support this group, and my commitment is we’ll prosecute hate crime offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”

Past efforts to fight discrimination have splintered or fallen victim to governmental budget cuts. The new task force is a nonprofit, nongovernmental entity with broad-based buy-in. It’s a model Tony Stewart has endorsed.

Let’s hope the new task force can be as effective as its respected counterpart in Kootenai County.

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