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"Promoting Civil and Human Rights Around The World" |
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Meetings
Dear
IAOHRA Conference Participant, On
behalf of IAOHRA, the State of New Jersey, and our conference
hosts--the New Jersey Human Relations Council, New Jersey Commission
on Civil Rights, and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights--, and
local Co-Chair Dr. Joan Rivitz and Local Co-Host Jim Peeler, I
would like to thank you for your participation in last week's 58th
Annual IAOHRA Conference: Building the Boardwalk to Justice in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. Thank
you so much for joining us --as a speaker, moderator, conference
staff member, panelist, award recipient, attendee, local or national
conference planning committee member, sponsor, or supporter.
Your involvement helped make the conference a wonderful
opportunity to share information about how to reduce bias and
discrimination, explore the challenges of human rights work in
today's world, and learn about the tools and resources that are
available to all of us--whether we work in government, for a private
business, or for an advocacy organization or non-profit group. It is
believed that the 58th Annual IAOHRA conference was the largest
international human and civil rights conference ever held in
New Jersey, and we could not have been prouder to have been a part
of the historic conference. With
record accessibility to persons with disabilities to tremendously
useful workshops, from thought-provoking plenary speakers to an
enormously helpful staff, the conference in Atlantic City was a
great success, thanks to your collective dedication and support.
At a
time when we have become a truly "global" world, we
are--ironically--further apart, in terms of ensuring equal
opportunity to housing, jobs, services, education, and resources to
all people, regardless of our race, religion, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, age, or
other characteristic. So now, more than ever, is when we need
to be even more vigilant in supporting those who protect our civil
rights, human rights, and human relations. Have you imagined the
alternative? Imagine
a world, a nation, a state, a county or municipality without a
governmental body to go to when someone is denied the right to rent
a home simply because of her skin color, or the right to interview
for a job because of his religion, or the right to educate their
children simply because the parents are of the same sex, or the
right to enter a governmental building because of the person is
differently-abled? Imagine
the millions of people who could not seek any redress, obtain any
remedy, or change any unfair rule, because there is no governmental
body in their community that will take the time to help them.
Imagine a community where our statutory agencies are depleted of
resources, diminished in stature, or outright closed down....just
imagine the results, and imagine how much worse our communities
would be. It's not too hard to imagine, but with the
work of all of you who attended the conference and shared your
ideas, we can actually stand strong in favor of civil rights, human
rights, and human relations. If we are not there to not stand
up for those who need help in securing justice, who will? Thank
you for standing strong and joining us last week in Atlantic City,
and we invite you to come back to New Jersey--The State That Doesn't
Hate. Hopefully we all left Atlantic City more knowledgeable and
enthusiastic about the work we do--in government, in business, in
education, in non-profit groups and advocacy organizations.
Hopefully we all realized that there are many of us that can join
together--businesses, governments, non-profit groups, advocacy
organizations--to make our communities truly safe, secure, and
special, for all people. We have made many advances in ensuring
equality for all, but much, much more must be done. As Rev.
Reginald T. Jackson said on Wednesday at the Opening Ceremony,
we must be diligent and begin to "Re-Build"
the Boardwalk to Justice, together. Gracias! |
IAOHRA held it's 58th Annual
Conference, September 12 -15, 2006, in Atlantic City,