100520 HRC AgendaHUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
MEETING NOTICE
4401 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
- Agenda –
October 5, 2020 – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Commission Members
Kendra Curry
Heather Fruen
Donna Meyer
Trista Rehnke
Ose Sesay
Heaven Shaw
Zachary Snabes
Jennifer Toavs
1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Agenda Approval
4. Approval of Minutes – September 8, 2020
5. Open Forum
6. Discussion Items
• New Commissioners
o Ose Sesay
o Zachary Snabes
o Jennifer Toavs
• HRC Member Recruitment
• Sunnyside Park Clean-up
• Status of Removal of Racially Restrictive Covenants
7. New Business
8. Communication/Information Sharing
9. Next Meeting/Agenda – November 2, 2020 at 7:00 pm
10. Adjournment
From the City of New Hope Friday Weekly Update Memo September 25, 2020
Removal of Racially Restrictive Covenants –
Community Development staff was informed by New Hope Parks and Rec staff about a
program that is currently being overseen by the Golden Valley Human Right
Commission titled “Just Deeds Program”. This program seeks to take an active effort to
remove restrictive covenants that were placed in deeds in the early part of the 20th
century. These covenants were used to segregate non-Christians and ethnic and racial
minorities into select areas of cities and create homogeneous communities where
wealth was concentrated in all-white communities. Despite being unenforceable, the
language of racially restrictive covenants still exists in property titles. In 2019, the
Minnesota legislature passed a law to allow property owners to renounce the covenants
on their properties. City staff is researching the Golden Valley project to see if it
potentially something that could be taken on by the New Hope Human Rights
Commission.