Human Rights Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Capitol MLK Day Celebration Highlights Human Rights

Unity and human rights were the theme for Monday’s State Capitol celebration of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy.

The human rights that Dr. King fought for decades ago persevere to this day.

A symbolic march from a downtown Charleston church to the capitol steps traditionally begins West Virginia’s MLK day ceremony. Fitting for the theme, there was unity among the diverse crowd.

The Capital High School VIP choir’s rendition of the song “Unity” set a melodic and insightful tone.

Among the crowd was nationally recognized journalist, author, women’s rights activist and Muslim Asra Nomani. Born in India, she was raised and educated in West Virginia.

In 2003, Nomani was the first woman in her Morgantown West Virginia mosque to pray in the male-only main hall, a precedent setting and ground breaking action.

Nomani said continuing Dr. King’s crusade for race, religion, creed and gender rights – human rights – is vital for everyday life to move forward.

“It begins with all of us. Social justice and human rights is for all of us,” Nomani said. “Whatever our identity, Dr. Martin Luther King was so clear that we can have no hierarchy of human value, and that is

exactly how we must live in the 21st Century.”

West Virginia State students Diorie Robinson and John Fitzpatrick were among the younger people in attendance who said they stand firm with helping to champion Dr. King and Asra’s Nomani’s human rights campaign:

“I think it’s extremely important. Everyone needs their human rights,” Robinson said. “Everyone in the world matters – no matter what race you are, where you stand in the city, anything like that.”

“A lot of times we just look at it like a lot of people think that Martin Luther King was only fighting for colored people,” Fitzpatrick said. “He was really fighting for all human rights for everybody.”

Another State Capitol MLK day tradition – the Freedom Bell which signifies peace for all. This year, with anti-racism and transgender challenges among human rights issues facing West Virginians, that bell rings with passion and purpose.

WVU Community Holds Reproductive Rights Rally

The West Virginia University community, who say they are frustrated with the university administration’s response to recent developments, held a rally for reproductive rights on campus Thursday.

The West Virginia University community held a rally for reproductive rights on campus Thursday.

Students, faculty, and workers at WVU say they are frustrated with the university administration’s response to recent developments in reproductive rights, specifically the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, as well as last month’s passage of HB 304 in the state legislature.

Graduate student Ellie Aerts, who helped organize Thursday’s rally in front of Woodburn Hall on WVU’s downtown Morgantown campus, said the rally was meant to provide a sense of community for students on campus as well as gather signatures for a petition.

“I’m hoping that the administration will not only put out a statement, acknowledging that those things happened and help students just grieve that,” she said. “But also, there are accommodations that the university can make to help prevent the need for abortions, as well as help students obtain abortions in other states.”

Organizers hope to send a similar petition to both the state legislature and Congress.

Politics were a particular focus of speakers at the rally. State delegates Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, both spoke, as did current Morgantown city council member Ixya Vega and former council member Barry Wendell.

All four politicians spoke about the importance of the upcoming election in November. That resonated with temp library worker V Konopka, who uses they/them pronouns.

“There’s a large concentration of young people here, and these are the people who are voting, who are a change making in our communities, they are a huge part of the Morgantown community as well,” they said. “These are also people who may not have been able to receive sexual health education in their formative years of school. And so this is an opportunity to educate people on the science of abortion, but also on their rights that they have and the power that they have.”

Fairness WV Brings Back Nondiscrimination Bill As ‘Fairness Act’

Fairness West Virginia, an advocacy group for the state’s LGBTQ+ population, held a panel for the press Tuesday morning to discuss its proposed ‘Fairness Act’ for the 2020 legislative session.

If passed, the bill would prohibit discrimination that’s based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Panelists included religious and business leaders who favor such legislation. They described a new generation entering the workforce that’s more diverse than the last, which wants employers who appreciate that fact by implementing inclusive policies.

Fairness West Virginia executive director, Andrew Schneider, said passing a law that makes discrimination illegal for all people could help attract and retain residents.

“Passing this law is the right thing to do for our state,” Schneider said Tuesday. “It’s good for business, it’s good for the economy, and it’s the only way we should treat our LGBTQ friends, neighbors and community members.”

Schneider’s group has supported several bills with similar objectives at the state level, but the Legislature has yet to pass any of these bills into law.

Lawmakers Danielle Walker from the House of Delegates and Mitch Carmichael from the Senate were present for the discussion.

Carmichael, who serves as Senate president, told the panelists he adamantly opposes all forms of discrimination as a principle of his faith, but he couldn’t guarantee the bill will have any success in the 2020 session.

He warned there might be a need for some amendments, without specifying which changes the bill might need.

“This may not be the right bill, it may not be the right time,” Carmichael said. “It may not be in the perfect structure. And we need to find that out.”

The West Virginia Human Rights Act already provides “all of its citizens’ equal opportunity for employment”, public accommodations and housing, regardless of things like race, religion and age.

But the state’s laws for equal opportunity don’t mention “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as characteristics people shouldn’t discriminate against.

Del. Jim Butler, a Republican in Mason County who plans to run against Carmichael in the upcoming primary, said in a press release Monday including the two items would “set up a circumstance where people have special protections rather than equality.”

Butler — who did not respond to a request for comment before this article’s publication — also cited concerns he had for members of West Virginia’s business and religious community.

He mentioned the bill could have negative consequences for “employers, people who rent or sell homes, or anyone else who may be accused of being politically incorrect.”

Danielle Stewart, a transgender woman from Beckley, called opponents like Butler a “vocal minority.”

Stewart said she has been all over the state raising awareness for trans people. She often checks out local business, where she says interactions are typically positive.

“There’s no issues with bathrooms, there’s no issues with getting served food, there’s no issues with shopping,” she said. “It’s really a vocal minority that’s fighting against this. And they’re fighting against this not because of religion, not because of right and wrong, but because they want to maintain control.”

Stewart chairs the Beckley Human Rights Commission, which helps the city ensure equal opportunity to employment, housing and public accommodations. Earlier this year, the Beckley City Council voted to pass an ordinance that ensured equal opportunity to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Beckley is really the center of southern West Virginia,” she said. “We’re really hoping that other municipalities will take up nondiscrimination ordinances, in addition to what we hope that our state Legislature takes up.”

Fairness West Virginia reports there are 12 other local governments in West Virginia that have passed similar ordinances that prohibit discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Former W.Va. NAACP President Jim Tolbert Has Died

A long-time advocate for civil rights among African-Americans in West Virginia has passed away.

James Alvin Tolbert Sr, passed away last week in hospice care in Kearneysville. He was 85.

Tolbert served as President of the West Virginia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, from 1986 to 2007. He was a Life Member of the organization and chaired Region III, which covered seven states including West Virginia.

He also worked in the medical field for several years as both a medical and nuclear medical technologist.

He’s been recognized for numerous local, state, and national services, earning various awards and recognition in the name of civil and human rights.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, at Eackles-Spencer & Norton Funeral Home, 256 Halltown Road, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425.

The funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017, at Zion Episcopal Church, 301 East Congress St., Charles Town, WV 25414.

In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that donations be made to Hospice of the Panhandle, 30 Hospice Lane, Kearneysville, WV 25430.

Civil Rights Activist, Ruby Sales, to Speak with Residents in Charles Town

Civil Rights activist Ruby Sales is coming to Charles Town Saturday to speak to the community and open up a dialogue on racism and injustice.

Ruby Sales was just 17-years-old in 1965 when a shotgun-wielding resident of Hayneville, Alabama, fired at her as she and a group of activists tried to enter a grocery store to buy soda. Jonathan Daniels, a 26-year-old from New Hampshire, was with her group. Daniels stepped in front of Sales and was killed instantly. Ever since, Sales has devoted her life to being a civil rights activist.

Now 66-years-old and a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Sales travels the country in the hopes of training a new generation of peace and justice workers – addressing issues such as racism, poverty, the prison-for-profit complex, voting rights, and unjust police and vigilante attacks. Sales is nationally recognized as a human-rights activist and social critic.

On Saturday, Sales will speak first at the Charles Town Library with young people ages middle school and up. She will then move on to the Old Opera House, which is also in Charles Town, for a second talk that’s open to the rest of the community.

“A Conversation with Young People” will be held at 3:00 PM at the Charles Town Library.
“Community Dialogue” will be held at 7:00 PM at the Old Opera House.

Both talks are free.