| CINCINNATI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION PRESENTS THE 2008 GREAT YOUTH DEBATE 11/08/2008 City Council Chambers, Cincinnati City Hall Issues debated: Should use of the N-word be banned from media and the radio? Should all types of public schools in all locations have equal total funding per student? Shoud gay marriage be legal throughout the United States? |
Photonews from the
CINCINNATI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
Cincinnati City Hall
801 Plum Street, Room 158
Cincinnati, OH 45202.
(513) 352-3237
www.chrc.us
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Click on any photo for larger view
Click on any photo for larger view
| Copyright 2007-2009 All Rights Reserved Charleston C. K. Wang, Esq., Publisher |
On 8/23/07, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission conducted a special information gathering meeting at the Drake Conference Center. Over 45
leaders and stakeholders from a diverse cross section of the community attended to examine what is going right for Greater Cincinnati, what issues are in
need of attention, how are they to be prioritized, and what programing can the CHRC deliver to address the issues. This was a pre-summit event and an
important part of the strategic visioning process that CHRC is undertaking to renew itself and to find better ways to serve the needs of the community. A
larger summit meeting will occur in September 2007. Shown in photo above is Cheryl Meadows, Executive Director welcoming the participants. Mr. Will
Thomas, President of CHRC is seated at furthest right of this photograph. The meeting was facilitated by Mr. James Stowe, Executive Director of the
Columbus Community Relations Commission & President of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.
leaders and stakeholders from a diverse cross section of the community attended to examine what is going right for Greater Cincinnati, what issues are in
need of attention, how are they to be prioritized, and what programing can the CHRC deliver to address the issues. This was a pre-summit event and an
important part of the strategic visioning process that CHRC is undertaking to renew itself and to find better ways to serve the needs of the community. A
larger summit meeting will occur in September 2007. Shown in photo above is Cheryl Meadows, Executive Director welcoming the participants. Mr. Will
Thomas, President of CHRC is seated at furthest right of this photograph. The meeting was facilitated by Mr. James Stowe, Executive Director of the
Columbus Community Relations Commission & President of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.
| News Update: On 8/21/07, Dante Allen, 19 was indicted for murder, felonious assault and illegally having a gun after a prior felony conviction in the death of Ernest Crear, On 8/12/2007, Earnest Crear, 19, was shot and killed at around 2:58P.M. just south of Rockdale Avenue & Knott Street, even as the "Peace Bowl" football games were going on. This deadly violence caused an immediate halt of the football tournament which was organized to promote community peace. This tragic death, the 44th homicide in the City of Cincinnati, once again highlighted the urgent need to reduce gun violence on the streets. Photos Below: On Sunday 8/12/2007, the 1st Annual Youth Football "Peace Bowl" Tournament was held at the Avondale Playfield, Cincinnati, Ohio. Neighborhood Footballs Teams playing were Little Red Machines, Walnut Hills War Hawks, Evanston Bulldogs, Avondale Warriors, Hill Top Hawks, Tri-County Eagles & Madisonville Tigers. Shown in photo below declaring the games open is Cheryl Meadows, Director of the CINCINNATI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION which sponsored the event with other neighborhood groups, including the Avondale Community Council, Evanston Community Council, U. S. Bank, Boy's & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Police Department. A Cincinnati Police Color Guard was on hand for the Opening Ceremony. The CHRC plans to continue with the Annual Football with greater outreach with every year. Other CHRC news: APPOINTMENT, dated 6/19/2007 submitted by Mayor Mark Mallory, pursuant to Article XXVII of the Administrative Code and subject to the consent of Council, whereby the Mayor appointed Charleston Wang to serve as a Member of the Board of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission. Mr. Wang will serve a three-year term to expire on June 30, 2010. The Appointment was approved 9-0 by Cincinnati City Council on 6/27/2007. |
Janice Tsai Jezek Addresses CHRC Concerning
Issues Regarding Bodies ... The Exhibition
On 3/12/08, Janice Tsai Jezek provided the CHRC a summary of her concerns
regarding “Bodies ...The Exhibition”, which is the controversial exhibit displaying
REAL human bodies stripped of their skin, plasticized, cut up, and posed
(sometimes with props). This exhibit of real dead human bodies will be at the
Cincinnati Museum Center from February 1st to September 1st, 2008.
• Major ethical objection to this exhibit: These bodies are NOT donated by the
individual, thus complete lack of informed consent. Consent in our society is key—thus the reason for consent prior to donating organs.
• Exhibit company clearly states that the bodies are all "unclaimed bodies from China". If you are okay with this, would you be okay with an exhibit of
unclaimed Katrina bodies, of which there are over 100 still unclaimed?
• Bodies are ALL Chinese. Do you think an exhibit made up of any one race of bodies is appropriate? Would the exhibit have succeeded this many years, or generated greater
community outrage if all of the bodies were African-American or Jewish?
• Human Dignity. What would your reaction be if you learned of an educational exhibit in Iraq, set up exactly like the one here, made up of unclaimed bodies of U.S. Soldiers? If
you find that undignified and you would be irate, then you should also be regarding this exhibit.
• The Museum's argument is the educational merit of the exhibit. But does “educating the general public” justify the violation of basic ethical standards of consent? And if
education is the main mission, why has this exhibit been displayed primarily in U.S. shopping malls and casinos? Also, education did not justify Nazi experimentation or the
syphilis studies done between 1930 and 1970 on African-Americans. There are limits to what we as a society should do in the name of learning and education.
• This exhibit is a profit generator. Paying money in admission fees to support this exhibit further perpetuates the need for more bodies to be
procured in China and processed to support more exhibitions, thus perpetuating the cycle of violating human rights.
• Displaying people’s bodies in this manner, without consent, for profit is not only a violation of human dignity, but exploitation. What culture puts their dead on display for
profit? Is displaying another culture’s dead any better? What does this say about the degradation of our values here in the U.S.?
• If you died someday alone and went unclaimed, would you want YOUR body cut open in this way, sent on a traveling show, and displayed for the world to see? Maybe yes,
and maybe no. But shouldn’t that be YOUR choice?
If you agree with my position, please join me in making a stand in support of human rights and in recognition of the dignity and value of all people. I am advocating a unified
community opposition effort, with participation from all ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Let us come together and speak in ONE voice in opposition to this exhibit.
Janice Tsai Jezek 3/12/08
Background articles regarding this exhibit and the controversy it has generated can be found at http://morristsai.com/boycott-bodies-the-exhibition.html
Issues Regarding Bodies ... The Exhibition
On 3/12/08, Janice Tsai Jezek provided the CHRC a summary of her concerns
regarding “Bodies ...The Exhibition”, which is the controversial exhibit displaying
REAL human bodies stripped of their skin, plasticized, cut up, and posed
(sometimes with props). This exhibit of real dead human bodies will be at the
Cincinnati Museum Center from February 1st to September 1st, 2008.
• Major ethical objection to this exhibit: These bodies are NOT donated by the
individual, thus complete lack of informed consent. Consent in our society is key—thus the reason for consent prior to donating organs.
• Exhibit company clearly states that the bodies are all "unclaimed bodies from China". If you are okay with this, would you be okay with an exhibit of
unclaimed Katrina bodies, of which there are over 100 still unclaimed?
• Bodies are ALL Chinese. Do you think an exhibit made up of any one race of bodies is appropriate? Would the exhibit have succeeded this many years, or generated greater
community outrage if all of the bodies were African-American or Jewish?
• Human Dignity. What would your reaction be if you learned of an educational exhibit in Iraq, set up exactly like the one here, made up of unclaimed bodies of U.S. Soldiers? If
you find that undignified and you would be irate, then you should also be regarding this exhibit.
• The Museum's argument is the educational merit of the exhibit. But does “educating the general public” justify the violation of basic ethical standards of consent? And if
education is the main mission, why has this exhibit been displayed primarily in U.S. shopping malls and casinos? Also, education did not justify Nazi experimentation or the
syphilis studies done between 1930 and 1970 on African-Americans. There are limits to what we as a society should do in the name of learning and education.
• This exhibit is a profit generator. Paying money in admission fees to support this exhibit further perpetuates the need for more bodies to be
procured in China and processed to support more exhibitions, thus perpetuating the cycle of violating human rights.
• Displaying people’s bodies in this manner, without consent, for profit is not only a violation of human dignity, but exploitation. What culture puts their dead on display for
profit? Is displaying another culture’s dead any better? What does this say about the degradation of our values here in the U.S.?
• If you died someday alone and went unclaimed, would you want YOUR body cut open in this way, sent on a traveling show, and displayed for the world to see? Maybe yes,
and maybe no. But shouldn’t that be YOUR choice?
If you agree with my position, please join me in making a stand in support of human rights and in recognition of the dignity and value of all people. I am advocating a unified
community opposition effort, with participation from all ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Let us come together and speak in ONE voice in opposition to this exhibit.
Janice Tsai Jezek 3/12/08
Background articles regarding this exhibit and the controversy it has generated can be found at http://morristsai.com/boycott-bodies-the-exhibition.html
CINCINNATI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION CONDUCTS PRE-SUMMIT INFORMATION GATHERING MEETING
To read latest CHRC Newsletter and
news of appointment of Charleston
Wang to CHRC board, click here
news of appointment of Charleston
Wang to CHRC board, click here
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| TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL HOMEPAGE OF THE CINCINNATI HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, CLICK HERE. |
| Left photo shows the judges looking towards the debater in Cincinnati Council Chambers. Photos above from top to bottom show the third place, Oak Hills High School, debaters Megan Damcevski (not in photo), Blake Wagner, (not in photo) and Connor Ruebusch (top photo on right); second place, Withrow University High School debaters Brittani Brown, Taylor McCleod, and Diamond Austin (from left to right of center photo); and first place Summit Country Day School debaters Jay McLean, Stephanie Ogban, and Max Williams (from left to right of bottom photo). Cheryl Meadows, Executive Director CHRC is shown presenting the awards.Anna Rahtz, CHRC Project Coordinator is shown at right of top photo.and she has provided the following details on the Great Youth Debate: On Saturday November 8th, high school youth from six area schools had a chance to publicly debate controversial issues of race relations, cultural diversity, and education. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC), with funding from the College of Mount Saint Joseph Student Philanthropy Project, sponsored the "Great Youth Debate" in the Cincinnati City Council Chambers. Modeled after the 2007 movie, "The Great Debaters," teams of three students argued the affirmative and opposition sides of policy issues, representing their schools. The six teams were from: Madeira High School, Oak Hills High School, Summit Country Day School, Withrow University High School, Woodward Career Technical High School, and the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (made up of students from Western Hills University High School and Walnut Hills High School). Don Juan Fasho of 101.1 FM, the Wiz, moderated the debate. The topics of debate included: 1) banning the use of the N-word in the media; 2) equal funding of public schools; and 3) legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. The debaters were scored individually and overall as a team by five judges on an objective 10-point scale on criteria such as: professional conduct, speech delivery, effectively rebutting opponents' arguments, and backing up arguments with reliable facts. The judges included: College of Mount Saint Joseph students Marvin Brooks, Rhyanne McDade, and Sondra West; attorney Anisha Asha Williamson; and Aiken University High School educator David Fairbanks. Summit Country Day School won first place, and was presented with a $150 prize to the school. Withrow University High School won $100 for second place, and Oak Hills High School won $50 for third place. Cash prizes were designated to be spent by the schools on educational expenses. All debaters received participation trophies. While the judges deliberated, the audience was given a chance to speak out on the issues, as well as to give feedback on the event. - Report by Anna Rahtz. Based upon the responses and requests from the audience, the CHRC plans to convene additional youth debates in the future. The CHRC is interested in making the Great Youth Debate an Annual Event and solicits your input in making it happen. Please contact Cheryl Meadows, CHRC Executive Director, at 352-3237. |