On May 3rd, Bowling Green City Council introduced two amendments to the city’s Unlawful Discrimination codes. The amendments are intended to address recommendations that arose following the violent hate crime committed against two young Latinos at the Bowling Green Waffle House in March 2019.
Following the attack, La Conexion held a series of Community Conversations to listen to members of the community about their experiences and their ideas for a better future. During these conversations, many residents shared their own experiences with hate, prejudice, and discrimination in Bowling Green. Community members also expressed a desire for businesses to take on more responsibility for ensuring that employees have the training and policies to respond appropriately when an incident of discrimination occurs.
Over the next two years, La Conexion formed a policy committee to address the concerns that this incident brought up and better protect human rights in Bowling Green.
Members of the Policy Committee brought recommendations to members of City Council that ultimately resulted in the proposed changes to the Unlawful Discrimination codes. These changes include:
- Adding ethnicity, source of income, and immigration status as new protected classes to the existing code
- Including the concept of “actual” and “perceived” classes, as many discrimination incidents are based on perceptions
- Improving accountability and transparency in the reporting system by establishing a panel aimed at accepting and handling complaints. The panel expands this system from the City Administrator to also include an elected member of City Council, as well as the president of the Human Relations Commission (or their designee).
However, one of the Committee’s main recommendations remains unaddressed in the proposed amendments as introduced by City Council on May 3rd. The committee has asked City Council to consider additional changes to create a more direct incentive for employers to take reasonable steps to handle incidents of hate or discrimination on their premises. This can simply include establishing policies around upholding the city’s Unlawful Discrimination code and providing training for their employees. It is important to note that La Conexion, in collaboration with BGSU, worked with the City Police to incorporate curriculum on identifying and handling incidents of hate into their existing training for late night establishments. This training is available and offered free of charge to businesses and institutions.
The second reading of the proposed amendments is expected to be held at the May 17th City Council meeting. The Policy Committee is seeking statements and support from members of the public. Written testimony can be submitted directly to members of City Council via the contact information available on the Bowling Green City site. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of individuals who can attend in-person is limited. If you would like to testify before Council, you are strongly encouraged to reach out to La Conexion’s Policy Committee at laconexionimmigrantsolidarity@gmail.com so they can coordinate testimony to ensure capacity limits are not exceeded.
