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Agenda - 05-13-2010 - 1
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 13, 2010 Action Agenda Item No. 1 SUBJECT: Draft Social Justice Goal DEPARTMENT: Housing/Community Dev PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Draft Social Justice Goal INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara L. Fikes, 245-2490 PURPOSE: To review the draft Social Justice Goal for Orange County from the Human Relations Commission and provide feedback regarding the content of the goal document. BACKGROUND: In February 2004, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) asked the Orange County Human Relations Commission through the Human Rights and Relations Office to develop a social justice goal for Orange County. Since that time, much work has been done to develop the current draft goal as chronicled by the following timeline. Feb. 2004, 2005, 2006 Feedback was solicited from diverse segments of the County population including County human services departments, the Orange County Human Services Management Team (internal), the Human Relations Commission (HRC) and the Human Rights and Relations (HRR) Department. More feedback was provided by individual citizens as well. Research was also undertaken to inform the development of these goals. October 2007 A draft written Social Justice Goal was presented to the BOCC at a regular meeting. February 2008 The goal was further discussed on February 12, 2008 at a joint work session with the Human Relations Commission (HRC) and the BOCC. After the work session the HRC edited the draft goal based on these discussions. April 2008 At the request of the BOCC, the HRC presented the environmental justice criteria from the Social Justice Goal at a Solid Waste Transfer work session on April 15, 2008, and the BOCC instructed the consultants to incorporate those criteria into all future drafts of the Community-Specific Criteria for the site search. November 2008 The revised version of the draft was presented at the November 6, 2008 BOCC Meeting. Commissioner comments were received and plans were made to consider this further at the next BOCC Retreat in 2009. January 2009 Item was not considered at the 2009 BOCC Retreat due to time constraints. At this time, the Human Relations Commission (HRC) is interested in the BOCC considering approval of this document and is asking for additional feedback or guidance that will facilitate future consideration of approval at a future regular BOCC meeting. Joe Nanney, the Chair of the Human Relations Commission, will be present to review the past deliberations of the HRC and to discuss any Board comments received. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct cost associated with the BOCC receiving the current version of the Draft Social Justice Goal. However, there will be unknown costs for implementing some or all of the recommendations contained therein. RECOMMENDATON(S): The Manager recommends that the Board review the draft Social Justice Goal for Orange County and provide feedback to the Human Relations Commission regarding the content of the goal document. 3 INTRODUCTION Social Justice is an issue that has been addressed primarily by nongovernmental grassroots organizations. Orange County is one of the first local governments to consider a social justice initiative. This Social Justice Goal is intended to provide a framework for the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) and other County government employees, as well as local residents and other stakeholders to ensure that social justice is paramount indecision- and policy-making. Delivering on the Goal will require collaborative efforts at all levels of government; careful allocation of tax dollars; and a personal and collective commitment to the ideology of equal access and equal treatment. WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE? The Human Relations Commission has defined social justice in Orange County as a community that actively seeks to eliminate oppression) and create equal opportunity; where individuals may sufficiently provide for their physical and mental needs and the needs of their dependents; where individuals live in physically and mentally safe communities; where the environment and economy are sustainable and where all are able to participate civically. WHAT DO ORANGE COUNTY RESIDENTS WANT? The idea for an Orange County Social Justice Goal was formulated by the BoCC in 2004. The BoCC asked the Human Relations Commission (HRC) to develop a plan for ensuring social justice for all people in Orange County. From September 14, 2005 to June 17, 2006, the HRC solicited input regarding social justice in Orange County from the general public and county advisory boards and commissions.z The HRC conducted public "listening" sessions with the general community and directly contacted Orange County residents, volunteers, and employees for their comments.3 The project also was influenced by current trends in international human rights law and policy.4 Approximately 550 stakeholders gave input on the issue of social justice in Orange County. The categories of social justice are listed below in descending order of importance based on this community feedback. ' Oppression is the systemic and pervasive intentional or unintentional mistreatment of individuals in a disadvantaged group. Institutional imbalances in power contribute to this mistreatment. Oppression involves the systemic use of power to marginalize, exploit, silence, discriminate against, invalidate, deny, dismiss and/or not recognize the complete humanness of those who are members of the disadvantaged group. Stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination support oppression and keep it going. Oppressive systems and ideologies are maintained through discrimination. • Stereotypes are generalizations about groups of people that do not take into account within group differences. • Prejudice is a preference or bias toward or against a group of people based on incomplete or inaccurate information. • Discrimination is active; it is preferential or biased treatment based on stereotypes, prejudice, and /or historical practices. It results in unequal access and/or representation. z For a complete history of the Social Justice Goal process, please see Appendix A. s For a complete explanation of the data collected for this report, please see Appendix B. a The Government of the United States is a party to two international human rights treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). A key concept in both conventions is the principle that every person is entitled to respect without distinctions of any kind such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Adoption of the Orange County Social Justice Goal is an expression of local-level implementation of these treaties that have already been endorsed by the Federal government. . ORANGE COUNTY DRAFT .SOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL 4 Elimination of O ression 26.2 Percent Economic Self-Sufficient 20.4 Percent Ph sicall and Mentall Safe Communities 16.9 Percent Environmental Justice 13.3 Percent Civic Partici ation 13.1 Percent Others 10.1 Percent The HRC took this extensive community feedback on Orange County's social justice priorities and synthesized it in to the following goals and recommended actions. ORANGE COUNTY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Orange County is, without doubt, one of the most progressive Counties in the State of North Carolina, and offers more social justice programs than most other communities. However, the County and its residents are heavily impacted by state and national policies that have been predominantly regressive and have placed primary responsibility for social justice on local government's doorstep. While the County continues to grow and the demand for services continues to expand, County funds have not been increasing at the same rate. Each year government administrators and elected officials are forced to make difficult decisions regarding funding for programs, all of which are important to the health of our local community. s The OTHER category included issues such as reproductive justice and animal rights. OR4NGE COUIVTY'DRAFT SOCIAL JUSTICE COAL 5 SOCIAL JUSTICE VISION In working to achieve social justice, Orange County shall perform government duties including policy-making and budgeting with the express objectives of: • Striving for the elimination of oppression and inequity by creating an environment of equal opportunity in which no groups are targeted for harassment, exclusion, intimidation or violence. • Ensuring economic self-sufficiency by fostering a sustainable community in which individuals can sufficiently provide for the physical, social, and mental needs of themselves and their dependents, and by providing safety net mechanisms for those who find themselves unable to do so. • Creating a safe community by supporting policies, procedures, regulations, and programs that reduce harassment, exclusion, intimidation, and violence against Orange County residents. • Establishing sustainable and equitable land-use and environmental policies by creating land-use policies that are fair, reasonable and in line with a sustainable economy. To provide a just framework for governing, the Human Relations Commission suggests the Board of County Commissioners consider these questions when making all decisions: 1. What are the social justice implications of this decision? 2. If this decision has social justice implications, have all Orange County residents been given adequate notice of the issue, relevant information, and opportunities to give meaningful input before the final decision is made? 3. Does a proposed solution have a potentially cumulative social impact on a specific community or neighborhood? 4. If a proposed solution may be socially unjust, is there an alternative resolution that would have a less disparate impact while still accomplishing our core purpose? OR,4NGE COl3NT3'DRAFT~OCL4L .7L7STICE Gf7AL 6 SOCIAL JUSTICE GOALS GOAL: Foster a Community Culture that Rejects Oppression and Inequity The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color; religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or ethnic background; age; military service; disability; and familial, residential or economic status. GOAL: Ensure Economic Self-Sufficiency The creation and preservation of infrastructure, policies, programs and funding necessary for residents to provide shelter, food, clothing and medical care for themselves and their dependents. GOAL: Create a Safe Community The reduction of risks from vehicle/traffic accidents, childhood and senior injuries, gang activity, substance abuse and domestic violence. GOAL: Establish Sustainable and Equitable Land-Use and Environmental Policies The fair treatment anal meaningful involvement of people of all races, cultures, incomes and educational levels with respect to the development and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, policies, and decisions. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. GOAL: Enable Full Civic Participation Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS Recommended Actions for Overcoming Oppression and Inequity: • Expand Orange County's Civil Rights Ordinance to include protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. • Recommend that the County's municipalities and school boards adopt this Social Justice Goal. Recommended Actions for Ensuring Economic Self-Sufficiency: • Develop a countywide economic responsibility policy to outline the allocation of County funding to balance the needs of affordable housing, economic development, county infrastructure and a sustainable environment to improve employment opportunities. • Commission a study to explore establishing a job opportunities program for the economically disadvantaged and a temporary employment agency to provide benefits for trainees and new workers while they gain permanent status and benefits. • Amend the County's economic development plan to include a strategy to attract businesses that provide a living wage and health insurance; and to diversify tax revenues by recruiting and nurturing new businesses. • Conduct a pay equity study to determine if Orange County government provides equal pay for equal work considering education, experience and job responsibility, as well as race and gender; and ensure that all employees are paid the local housing wage. • Implement a Countywide policy requiring developers of new housing to make a contribution to a housing trust fund or to set aside a portion of the development for affordable housing units. Recommend that funds be used to create housing to meet pent-up demand for public (below 50 of Area Median Income (AMI)), affordable (50 percent of AMI), work-force affordable (80 to 120 percent of AMI) housing and family housing at all levels; and to accept only units that address these needs. ORANGE COUNTYDRAFT SOCIAL JUSTICE GDAL 7 Recommended Actions for Creating a Safe Community: • Support community resources and agencies designed to provide appropriate services based on community need and best practices. • Create acommission/task force to study the best practices for addressing domestic violence issues, such as establishing an Orange County shelter for battered women. • Create acommission/task force to study the best practices for delivering mental health services. • Commission a study by county service agencies to examine whether service delivery venues and methods reflect different cultural contexts present in the county. Recommended Actions for Establishing Sustainable And Equitable Land-Use And Environmental Policies: • Ask the following questions for all land-use decisions: 1. What are the environmental justice implications of this decision? 2. If this decision has environmental justice implications, have all Orange County residents been given adequate notice of the issue, relevant information, and opportunities to give meaningful input before the final decision is made? 3. Does a proposed solution have a potentially cumulative environmental impact on a specific community or neighborhood? 4. If a proposed solution may be environmentally unjust, is there an alternative resolution that would have a less disparate impact while still accomplishing our core purpose? • Strengthen and expand public transportation from northern to southern Orange County that meets the needs of individuals relying on public transportation without an undue impact on the environment. Recommended Actions for State Legislation The HRC suggests that the BoCC adopt a resolution asking the County's legislative delegation to pursue the following: • Improve hate crimes laws to increase protection to include unprotected individuals (i.e. women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people). • Draft language and seek a legislative sponsor for a statewide employment discrimination law so it may be enforced in Orange County. • Seek legislative authorization to implement a "big box" living wage ordinance. • Advocate that all people have access to affordable healthcare -including mental health services. CONCLUSION Social Justice is an important and universal consideration. Orange County has taken an important first step by developing and implementing a Social Justice Goal. The Human Relations Commission would like to thank the Orange County Board of Commissioners for their support and feedback throughout the process of researching and designing the Social Justice Goal. The HRC hopes that the Goal will make Orange County a place known to value diversity; a place where equal treatment is the rule, not the exception. ORr1NGE Coc~vrYDRAFTSoGAI JUSTICE GOAL 8 Appendix A Developing the Social Justice Goal Introduction Until recently, social justice was an issue that was primarily addressed by nongovernmental and/or grassroots organizations, including faith-based groups, political parties and advocacy organizations. According to Jackie Byers, Research Director for the National Association of Counties, only three local governments in the United States have so far considered social justice in their work: Marin, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz Counties, all in California. However, none of these counties have actually established a "Social Justice Goal." Orange County is one of the first local governmental bodies to consider adopting social justice as a framework for its planning,.programs and actions. Timeline During a retreat in 2002 for the Board of County Commissioners' (BOCC), Commissioners members expressed interest in pursuing a social justice goal for Orange County. Together with the Human Services Management Team (HSMT), the County Manager's office began by drawing up a list of programs and potential needs that could be addressed in the document. HSMT's recommendations and discussions on the issue incorporated the Human Services Reform Task Force Final Report, which had been presented to the BOCC in September 1996. In November 2003, the County's human services directors added new items for general discussion, such as wages sufficient for housing, family-friendly practices in the workplace and ways of ensuring fair and equitable distribution of public resources and services across all population groups. During a BOCC meeting in February 2004, the Commissioners requested that the Department of Human Rights and Relations (DHRR) work on a social justice goal through the County's Human Relations.Commission (HRC). The BOCC asked the HRC to make recommendations on the document to the BOCC. As a first step, the DHRR began working with Professor John Calmore, Reef C. Ivey Distinguished Professor of Law at UNC' to define a foundation upon which a social justice goal could be built. This basis would provide information on what social justice entails and how it might be implemented by a local government entity. On February 16 and April 18, 2005, Professor Calmore met with members of the HRC and BOCC to help them understand more precisely the concept of social justice. Professor Calmore also met on March 8, 2005, with members of the HSMT to discuss implementation aspects specifically. WHAT IS SOCIAL JUSTICE? According to Professor Calmore, there is no "ultimate" definition for social justice. Each community must define social justice for itself and decide how to prioritize the issues involved. There are, however, four elements common to most descriptions of social justice (see Appendix C): 1. Substantive (actual), not just formal (legal), equality of opportunity. 2. A focus on eradicating the underlying causes of oppression (i.e., racism, sexism, homophobia, economic inequity, etc.) 3. An expansive view of rights, including explicitly those rights not always recognized in courts of law or by local governments 4. A reliance on witnessing, critiquing and speaking out as key components. Professor Calmore's research shows that while social justice advocates seek a more just society generally, they tend to focus particularly on people who are marginalized, disenfranchised, subordinated, excluded and under-represented as community members. To form Orange County's social justice goal, he suggested we ask the following of our community members: 1. What gaps in justice do you see? 2. What basic necessities, if any, are absent for any community groups? 3. What frustrates the hope of progress for various community groups? 4. What circumstances constrain community members from taking advantage of opportunities? 5. What, in the name of social justice, can this local governmental body do to provide redress and close inequality gaps? ' For more information on internationally acknowledged expert in social justice lawyering and social justice practice John Calmore, please see Appendix C. ORANGE COIJNTYSOCLAL .TUSTICE GOAL 9 Appendix B Social Justice Data Collection "HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR TAX DOLLARS SPENT TO PROMOTE SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ORANGE COUNTY?" When asked, "What is social justice?", one response is: "SOCIAL JUSTICE is the ideology that all human beings should have the right and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded them by society and the environment." How to Play the Game, PEA9vIESINAJAR 1. You have 13 tax dollars ($13). 2. You review the attached list. 3. From the examples under each category, you can either: a) choose specific issues and specify an amount of your $13 to be spent on those specified issues OR b) you can just choose an overall category and specify an amount of your $13 to be spent on that specific category. EXAMPLES BELOW: A. TO SPECIFY A SPECIFIC ISSUE IN A CATEGORY, DRAW A LINE OPPOSITE THE SPECIFIC ISSUE AND SPECIFY THE AMOUNT YOU WISH TO SPEND CIVICPARTICIPATION / .fair and equitable representation of all residents You've designated $4 of your $13 to / equal access to the voting process -~ $a / create a process that allows residents to petition be spent on the issue "equal access and/or vote to have their property included/excluded to the voting process" as art of a ci or town B. TO SPECIFY SUPPORT OF THE OVERALL CATEGORY, DRAW A LINE OPPOSITE THE CATEGORY AND SPECIFY THE AMOUNT YOU WISH TO SPEND C1VLC PARTICIPATION / fair and equitable representation of all residents ~ $6 You've designated $6 of your $13 to / equal access to the voting process be spent on the category "CIVIC / create a process that allows residents to petition PARTICIPATION' and/or vote to have their property included/excluded as art of a ci or town 4. If there is an issue not included on the attached list, please feel free to write that issue and the amount of tax dollars to be spent to support that issue on the back of the attached sheet. 5. Thank you!! You have completed the interactive game! ORAI~'GE COUh'TYSOCLAL JUSTICE GOAL 10 -- Q'UES'TIONS Ask the HRC Member whu.gaveyou this document D_E contact the Departmeotof Human Rights & Relations @ 960-3875. SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE EXAMPLES ELIMINATION OF OPPRESSION _ / wage fairness/equality (regardless of gender, race, / free, 24-hour public transportation physical disability, religion, sexual orientation, / affordable housing nationality, etc.) / comprehensive job training / eliminate physical bamers to public buildings to / eliminate barriers to adoption due to sexual increase access by physically challenged residents orientation of potential parents / ensure equal access to education., healthcare, / mamage equality for all employment opportunities, contracting (regardless / eliminate profiling on the basis of age, ethnicity, of gender, race, physical disability, religion, sexual race orientation, nationality, religion, etc.) / countywide internship/apprenticeship programs / condemn any laws/policies that promote / condemn any laws/policies that infringe and/or discriminato ractices lessen residents' civil ri hts/liberties CHIC PARTICIPATION / fair and equitable representation of all residents / maintain paper trail of votes cast / equal access to the voting process / time and place.for residents, particularly / create a process that allows residents to petition communities of color, disabled, lower income, and/or vote to have their property included/excluded etc., to discuss concerns with elected officials as art of a ci or town 'ENVLRONMENTAL JUSTICE / promote the use of organic and local agriculture / promote recycling programs / promote building practices that limit negative / promote solid waste and tonic waste impact on natural resources, are energy efficient and management programs balance needs of people with protecting the / promote air and water quality programs environment / place new development in targeted areas / reserve & conserve o ens ace/ arks ace / rotect wildlife reserves J ~~ PHYSICALLY8z11~'IEN'3'ALLYSAFECOMMTJNITIES !~ / community police/neighborhood watch programs / eliminate gang activity / strengthen and enforce hate crime laws / promote drug/rehabilitation programs j / eliminate the practice of locating potentially / include/increase violence prevention programs in i harmful industries, landfills, etc. in or in close the curriculum at school proximity to minonity communities / create safe havens (shelters) for individuals in i / strengthen minimal housing standards like requiring abusive (sexuaUphysical) relationships i indoor lumbin and air conditionin SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE EXAMPLES ECONOMIC SELF SUFFICIENCY, / equal access to education, healthcare, employment / comprehensive job training opportunities, (regardless of gender, race, physical / free public transportation disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, / childcare, healthcare, and utility subsidies religion, etc.) / ensure adequate wages to afford shelter, food, / provide affordable healthcare and preventative healthcare healthcare programs / affordable housing / laws protecting immigrant residents from labor / wage equality/fairness ex loitation / overnment economic safe net -_ OTHER. / - _ / ORANGE COUNTYSOCLAL JUSTICE GQAL LIST~NINGS ----------------------------------------------- NORTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER LISTENING --------------------------------------------------------- March 08, 2006 0 Residents Participated b'T'I~~R Pt{YS1C,~I,LI'&`IVIENTALLYSAI++&.COMMUNTTIES~ ENVIRONMI;NIAI JUSTi('I~~ SOME COMMENTS: Broadly favorable comments regarding the "user friendly" tool. Favorable cotntnents regarding the fact that the issue of social justice is being considered. [The custodial staff made these comments, but chose not to participate in the process.] ORANGE COUNTI' MAIN COURTHOUSE LISTENING March 22, 2006 1,Resident Participated Cl~ l( P:~RTICTPAT1dN ECON011TIC SELF SUFFICIEN(;l' ELIMINATION (7F OI'I'RCSSI()N $1 --- O 1"HEk $4: Renovate the old Wal-Mart for youth & adult usage $5: Renovate em t dwellin units for Katrina survivors 1VI $2 ~ $1 JUSrrcr ORAI~'GE Cot>rvrrSOCIAL JusrrcE Goan, Appendix B ~~ SOUTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER LISTENING Apri105, 2006 OResidents Participated EVENTS/GROUP SOLICITATIONS EVENT/GROUP DATE # of Partici ants 1. Human Services Adviso Commission Forum Se tetnber 14, 2005 42 2. The Efland Gos el Festival Se tember 24, 2005 13 3. Oran a Couu Halloween Hoo la October 28, 2005 32 4. Estes Park Health Fair November O5, 2005 lg 5. Hillsborou h United Church of Christ November 12, 2005 40 6. Senior Residents' Thanks ivin Luncheon The Bi Barn November 17, 2005 58 7. Food Distribution: Northern Human Services Center November 18, 2005 36 8. Universi Mall in Cha el Hill November 19, 2005 43 9. Food Distribution: Gomains Street in Cha el Hill November 28, 2005 g 10. Carrboro United Methodist Church December 02, 2005 13 11. Food Distribution: Pritchard Avenue in Cha el Hill December 14, 2005 11 12. Human Relations Commission Meetin Janua 09, 2006 21 13. Senior Center in Cha el Hill Janua 19, 2006 4 14. Oran e Coun Libra Hillsborou h Branch Janua 24, 2006 39 15. Oran e Coun Librat Cedar Grove Branch Janua 26, 2006 6 16. Human Relations Month Kick-Off Event Februar O5, 2006 54 17. Listenin :Northern Human Services Center March 08 2006 0 18. Listenin :Oran e Coun Courthouse March 22, 2006 1 19. Listenin :Southern Human Services Center A ri105 2006 0 20. Oran e Coun Housin Fair Universi Mall Aril 22, 2006 28 21. Ho Da Celebration June 17 2006 g4 22. Board of Health Meetin Au ust 25, 2006 13 23. Ain Adviso Board 6 24. Economic Develo went Commission 7 -- -_ - -_. OnflrvC~ CdUNTI'SoCIAL ,lUS77~~' COAL Appendix B N ORANGE COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION FORUM September 14, 2005 @ United Church of Chapel Hill 42 Residents Participated Access to Health Care $4 Reproductive Justice $5 / Contraceptive equity / Public funding for family planning SVC for low income women & fan Education $2 Transportation $2 Universal Health Care $1 Universal Free Daycare & Preschool $ I Fee after-school programs & Enrichment $1 Unanticipated issues $2 Oversight of all 5 categories $1 TOTAL -,l y ~ $179.00 PHA tiic~.~~t.L~ & ME:~~~r;~LLV S ~r e L- V i1ll I i;ti ITIE,ti $104.00 $129.00 E.v~~1RO~n~~;~rr,tL J~~sT~CL $55.00 When questioned about what is social justice, the response was: "Social justice is the ideology that all human beings should have the right and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded them by society and the environment." 13 ORANGE COI~NTYSOCIAl TUSTICE GOAL - O\ F.FLAND GOSPEL FESTIVAL September 24, 2005 13 Residents'Participated ECONOMIC SELF SIJFFICIE!V $14.00 r - - l)THER 1 No Indication $4 PHYSiC.Ai.LV & I!'IEN'TAi COMMUNITIES $55.00 COMMENTS: / One resident cited illegal drug activity and wild dogs on Faucette Mill Road as an issue. / Broadly favorable comments regarding the interactive "Pennies" tool. / Broadly favorable comments regarding the fact that social justice is being considered. 14 ~LI1~~IINATiON OF OPPRESSION $32.00 Eti~ IRONMENTAL.)(USTII'h: $22.00 ORS'GECOU.'VTYSOCIAL.lUS3TCEGOAL ORANGE COUNTY HALLOWEEN HOOPLA October 28, 2005 @ Northern Human Services Center 32 Residents Participated PARTICIPATION.:: I ECONt~MIC $ELF S $126.00 $69.00 OTAER Prr~~straLi,~~ & M~~v1'Ar.r.v S.ar~F CaTNrT>Es Ol~ 0 E?v~'rlt~~v;~~~T~ii. JC;~~'i~'F Fair & Equitable Water Bills $79.00 $35.00 $11 Transportation $4 Unanticipated issues $6 (to limit tax increases ~OTAL ~ X21 When questioned about what is social justice, the response was: "Social justice is the ideology that all human beings should have the right and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded them by society and the environment." 15 OR.4A'GE Coriwrr' SOCL9L .(CISTLCE GOAL ESTES PARK HEALTH FAII2 November O5, 2005 18 Residents Participated --- ~'iT7C P~i2T1C1PAT10.~' -- ECONQh'IIC SELF SU'F~'ICLEN~] ----- ELIl1'uiyAT"ION flF OPPRESSION $23.00 $120.00 $28.00 / Create time & place for / Government economic safety net / Wage fairness residents to talk to elected $2 $I officials $1 / Free 24/7 public transportation $2 / Eliminate profiling / Create a process so residents / General $1 can petition/vote to have their $115 / Eliminate discrimination properiytaxesreduced $2 $I / Equal access to education / Equal access to voting$1 $2 / Fair representation for all / Condemn laws that promote residents $1 discrimination / General $2 $19 / Free public transportation $2 / Affordable housing $2 / Comprehensive lob Training $2 / General $14 07'NER P171'ti~(';~l_1_t ScMENTAL]l SAhF; - Co~1~n ~~rriFs - F'KVIRONhIENTa1LJ[3STItF, $3.00 $36.00 $26.00 / Cable broadcasting / Eliminate practice of harmful industries in / Supporting organic 1 landfills $1 $1 / Mental Health / Community police / Prevent development $1 $2 $ I / Preserve open space / VIC $1 $3 / Strengthen & enforce hate crimes laws $1 / Air & water quality programs / Promote drug rehabilitation programs $1 $3 / End gang activity / Recycling $2 $4 / Safe communities / General $4 $14 / General $ZS 16 OR4NG6 COIJNTYSOCIAI; JUSTICE GOAL. HILLSBOROUGH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST November 12, 2005 40 Residents Participated ---CI~'ICPAR7TCII'?iTIflN ECONO&IICSELFSUFFICIENt_'] - ELIAIIIVATIONOFOPFRESSION $67.00 $110.00 $154.00 / Develop ways to increase public / Affordable Housing / More attention paid to support and input. $26 disabled students with $11 / Equal access to education and employment learning disabilities in the opportunities school system $38 $13 -- OTHER - FH]SIC'9Ld_1' & 191;ti'T;1LL]' S:]FE C01L~1Uti fT1ES E\]"1K01MEtiT,~T_ 3LSTICE $5.00 $90.00 $94.00 / Mental Health / Eliminate gang activity / Protect wildlife $3 $19 $13 / Countywide internship & / Increase money for mental illness / Preserve open space apprentice-ship programs $13 $16 $2 / Create safe havens / Air & water quality programs $3 $23 / Strengthen & enforce hate crimes laws $25 COMMENTS: 1. I think the County is over-reaching and should adopt less ambitious goals that can be achieved and funded. 2. Well, this is a good way to spend money. 3. This is hard. 4. All of them need some attention don't they? 5. It's hard to calculate since every bill is meaningful. I'm finding it hard to do. 6. I'm glad that they (BOCC) are asking for input from the people. 17 OR:~iNGE CO UI~rTF SOCL4L JUSTICE GOAL SENIOR CITIZENS' THANKSGIVIlVG LUNCHEON: BIG BARN November 17, 2005 58 Residents Participated CIVIC PARTIC7PATTON I ECONOMIC SELF SITFFICIENC'r EI.IlIIINATION OF OPPRESSION $108.00 $93.00 $333.00 / Free public transportation / Wage fairness $10 $31 / Funding for disability / Condemn laws that promote $23 discrimination / Affordable housing $112 $39 / Affordable healthcare $13 C)'THER~~~ I PHItilC:11 LS ~~'1'IEN'LALLl' SAFF. ~~ E~~IRONMEV"I'ALJI?S7"ICE C~f1114MI1NiTiFS ~ $8.00 $112.00 $100.00 / Job opportunities without / Create safe havens / Protect open space & parks discrimination and experience $14 $11 / Eliminate gang activity / Promote air & water programs $21 / Community Police programs $15 $33 / Promote solid waste & toxic waste programs $12 / Protect wildlife $9 18 OR~1IvGECOU?VTPSOCIALTUSTfCEGOAL 19 FOOD DISTRIBUTION: NORTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER November 18, 20Q5 36 Residents Participated CIVIC PA.RTICIPATICI~ ~ ECONOMICSELF SUFFICIENCY }~i:IMINATION OF OPPRESSIO!~ ~ $7g.oo $l lo.oo $192.ao / Fair and equitable / Free public transportation / Wage fairness representation of all residents $11 $41 $23 / Affordable housing / Condemn laws that promote $39 discrimination / Affordable healthcare $17 $115 / Comprehensive job training / Eliminate physical barriers in $25 buildings $23 --- - --- - OTEIT~:K ~ - NIiYS1C.~I,LY & iV1F,!vT.'~LL1 SAFE COhtMIJ V 1"1"I ES F,'~'VTR(1N~17ENTAI, I[rS'T1('E $00 $67.00 $21.00 / Promote drug rehab programs $15 / Protect open space & parks / Eliminate gang activity $9 $18 / Promote solid waste & toxic / Community Police programs $21 waste programs $2 OR47>'GE COUNTYSOCI.~IL.TUSTICFGOAL UNIVERSITY MALL November 19, 2005 43 Residents'Parficipated "CI~~iO PARTICIPATION'`--- - ECO.~'Oi14IC SELF SIJFFICIEIvC1'- ~- ELIl1IINt~TIO~ti Of ~PPRESSILI $57.00 $130.00 $136.00 OTAER PH1'SrGA~ I t' S VIENTAI.L1 S,a~~I_ ~ ENV~t©N1~,:ti~ r.~LJ~s'r~c1r~, ~o~I~~i~ tilr~s $26.00 $117.00 $93.00 / Equitable access to education $26 20 OR4NGE Ca[lNTYSOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL FOOD DISTRIBUTION: GOMAINS STREET November 28, 2005 8 Residents Participated OF ~_ $20.00 ~ ........$20.00 ~ao.nn Eliminate profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, etc. $12 ~"l~FfH,R Pfl~~sic.~~LS~ & ~1~.wr:~i.i,~~ S~~rr C.UiYI~'YIUi~ t'Ii 1~S -- Ent°uu~w;~~~,n~r,~r~ J~~sr~Cr: $oo $16.00 $s.ao 21 OR,4A~GECOUNTYSOC/AL.TUSTICEGDAL CARRBORO UNTTED METHODIST CHURCH December 02, 2005 13 Residents Participated CIVICP.4RTICIYaTION -- ~ ECONOMIC~ELF$UFFICIENC] - ELLhffiVATIONt)FOPPRESSION $00 $20.00 $59.00 'O~WER PlI]'SI(,]ELX&MENTAI.LS'S~1FE F~~'IRO:A,]1F~ATAL..TP.S7`TC'E CONIl4IIINI7TES $13.00 $41.00 $36.00 / Animal Protection Rights / Police & Fire Protection / Protect wildlife reserve land $9 $39 $10 22 DRANGE COCdNTY SOCLAL .TUSTICE GOAL FOOD DISTRIBUTION: PIITTCI~ARD AVENUE December 14, 2005 11 Residents Participated --CIVIC PARTICIPATION --- ECONOA'IICSELFSIIFFICIENC'l: - ~ N.LiM1NA'~l0\{IFOPYIZESSIU~' $14.00 $22.00 $53.00 O"1'HER ~ Pm~s~c:~~ u~ ~f MENTALI,1' SAFE ~ F.~~'IRO.'~AlEyTAL Jusricl: CO1f b1bIlVITTRR`~ L $1.00 ~ $47.00 ~ $6.00 ~ COMMENTS: / "Police need to be trained how to deal with Black folk." / Need better paying jobs. / Town meetings don't welcome Black folk. / Race relations are bad, need some type training to deal with different people. / Need cheaper housing. 23 OR.4h~GE CflUNTYSOCIAL JUSTICE G0,4L 24 HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING January 09, 2006 2l Residents Participated - ---- -~ CIVIC P~iItTICIPAT'I()'~ 1 ECONOMIC SELF SEIFFICIENC'r E1.IMINA'TION OF OPPRESSlO~ ~ ~ _ i- --- - - $2~ ---- - --$39- - -~- $49 --- _ - - ~-0113[•,12 PHlti1CALl.I'.X 1111.;~i 11.L1 SAFE E1\'IRO\11EM1I':~LJUS'rICE C[)A7~'111~ ll'IJ ES $34 $27 Specific Issues & Amounts / $1 Countywide internship/apprenticeship programs / $1 Fair and equitable representation of all residents / $3 Time and place for residents -particularly communities of color, disabled, lower income -to discuss concerns with elected officials / $2 Preserve and conserve open. space and park space / $3 Promote recycling programs / $3 Promote solid waste and toxic waste management programs / $3 Promote air quality and water quality programs / $16 Place new development in targeted areas / $3 Includelincrease violence prevention programs in the school curriculum / $5 Create safe havens (shelters) for individuals in abusive (sexual physical) relationships / $8 Strengthen minimal housing standards like requiring indoor plumbing and air conditioning / $8 Promote drug/rehabilitation programs / $12 Eliminate gang activity / $22 Strengthen and enforce hate crime laws / $2 Free public transportation / $3 Affordable housing / $4 Equal access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities (regardless of gender, race, physical disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, etc.) / $3 Include/increase world foundation programs that promote creationist viewpoints and give historically and scientifically accurate evidence discovered in the past 20 years that clearly refutes evolutionist theory in the school cumculum One resident wrote (paraphrased): I support the practices listed under Elimination of Oppression but would not want my tax dollars spent in these two areas: the elimination of barriers to adoption due to sexual orientation of potential parents and marriage equality for all. I would strongly oppose these two areas. OR.INGE COIe7VTY SOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL SENIOR CENTER (CHAPEL HILL) January 19, 2006 4 Residents Participated - CIVIC PARTICIPATION ~- I:LONOMIC SELF SiTl'`I'~ICIEiV(] ~ ELIMINATION (>F OPPI2ESSIOIV, $5 $11 $9 I OTHER PIiS'61CALL3' & MENT41 1,l' S,1FF; COMI~IIJNITIES ----E?~T!-'Ti2~~!'MF!~T_AL.T['STi('F.'---, $13** $12 $2 OTHER: **$13 for Physically & Mentally Safe Communities. "When money is divided too much, no one benefits enough to make a difference. If you can't live safely, nothing else matters much 25 On,ahcECor~~rySocr.9L JusrlcE Go,~1- ORANGE COUNTY LIBRARY (HILLSBOROUGH January 24, 2006 39 Residents Participated CIY1C PARTICIPATION: ECONOMIC SELF SLrFFiCIENt l ~ ~L1MInATION OF OPPRESSION ' $48 $83 $199 O'I'ftER= PN~slcnLl 1' S tiL~ti~~Lir S:a~~~ 0011 ni CTNTCIE5 F~~-~uo~n~r:~T.~i,Jr~s~ri~ cif: ~~ $4 Increase minimum wa es $83 $90 26 ORANGE COUNTYSOCfAL .TCSTICE GOAL ORANGE COUNTY LIBRARY (CEDAR GROVE) January 26, 2006 6 Residents Participated CIVIC PARTIC~; ~.~..w~ $10 OTHER ~~ ~ECONOIVIIG ~~Lr7 St:~EFICIENC~~ $11 Ptirs~cai:~v ~ MEtiT:~Lt~ S,arE ConI~~1.~ ~~ rrlFs )N OF ~~ $12 19 27 OR4NGECO£INTYSOCl9L.IUSTLCEGOAL. HL3MAN RELATIONS MONTH KICK-OFF February 05,2006 54 Residents Participated CIY7C PARTICIPATIOIti -T l~:CONOrIIC SELF SUFFICIEN[ ~ ~ F LIl1IIN~TION OF OPPI2ESSI()~ ,'' $42 $67 $66 Y & MEN'TAI I l' S OFF F~~°Ijttl~v~~~v-r.ai J[Ts~'ICE ~ ~ $ ~ $52 ~ $42 ~ SPF,CTFTC $17 Eliminate barriers to ado tion due to sexual orientation of otential arents $21 Marri e e uali for all $11 Coun ide internshi /a renticeshi ro ams $31 Condemn an laws/ licies that infrin a and/or lessen residents' civil ri hts/liberties $51 Maintain a er trail of votes cast $19 Preserve and conserve o ens ace/ arks ace $17 Protect wildlife reserves $51 Eliminate an activi $44 Promote dru rehabilitation ro rams $24 Include/increase violence revention ro rams in the curriculum at schools $89 Provide affordable healthcare and reventative healthcare ro rams $57 Promote, ass, and enforce laws rotectin immi rant residents from labor ex loitation $1 Su ort the Dream Act allowin raduates of NC hi h schools to attend state schools at in-state rates. 28 OR.AIVGE COL'NTYSOCIAL TL~STICE GOAL NORTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER March 08, 2006 0 Residents Participated ~-CIVIC PARTICn' ~ 1 [ON ~- ECO:~OA'lIC SELF SLiFFICIENCI ---~ ~,I.IA1L[VATION OF OPPRESSI~ ~ i -- i~TNZ/R` PHti:S~r'_aLt~ &MEN2~LU SaFE E`~~rkotititf~tit_ti.Jt~rlCt: i CU VINIJNITIE5 COMMENTS*: / Broadly favorable comments regarding the "user friendly" Pennies tool. / Broadly favorable comments regarding the fact that the issue of social justice is being considered. * The custodial staff made these comments, but chose not to participate in the process. 29 z OK4NGE COU?VTPSDCIAL .TUSPICE GOAL O~TIIER $4: Renovate the old Wal-Mart for youth & adult usage $5: Renovate empty dwelling units for Katrina survivors ORANGE COUNTY COURTHOUSE March 22, 2006 1 Resident Participated ECONOMIC SELF SCtFFICTENt ] $1 Pii1;S1CALLY S '.~IEtiT:~LLI S.~FI. ~,O1lfitillstilT] $2 FN\'IR(>\~fEtiI:AL IUST]CE $i 30 OR4N6E COUNTYSOCLfL TLTSTICE GDAL SOUTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER Apri105, 2006 O Residents Participated CIVICPAIiTICIPATiON ECONOMICSEI.FSUFFICIENI'1 ~ ELL~4INATIONOFOPPRESSION OT~R ~ PIi~~SJCr\LLY ~~ 1~1f~1T;~LLFS,~FF, ~',A~'IRONA4ES4~ALJUti77CE (,017141' WTlES 31 OR9NGE COUNTYSOCL9L JUSTICE GOAL Appendix. B HOUSING FAIR @ UNIVERSITY MALL Apri122, 2006 28 Residents Participated - CiT7C-PARTICIPATION. EtONOMICSELFSIJF'FiC1ENC] ELI11!fINNATIONOF©PPRESSIO~- $54.00 $80.00 $89.00 / Equal access to voting process / Affordable housing $12 / Affordable housing $2 $11 / Equal access to education $11 / Wage fairness $1 / Eliminate Orange / Equal access to health care $2 / Free public transit $1 County/Chapel Hill vehicle ' / Free public transit $2 / Non-discriminatory hiring owner s taxes $6 *** / Protect immigrant residents from labor practices $12 exploitation $1 / Non-discriminatory employment practices $18 ~~ CITI~~~R PIiYS1C_]LL]' &11'1 H;AI~ALL1' SAFE C0~111~ \I"f1ES EN~'1ROS1~7F.'~'fAL.)L..S"I']CE $13.00 $44.00 $84.00 / Education about civil rights and / Promote drug rehabilitation programs $6 / Preserve & Conserve open responsibilities $7 space $18 / Take money from the rich and / Promote recycling programs give to the poor $6 $31 / Promote water management $21 ***Why? =Planning & infrastructure of county and city make it nearly impossible not to own a vehicle. Vehicle ownership also tied to employment allowing people to contribute to society and pay other taxes. 32 OR4JVGE CDUNTYSOCIAZ TUSTICE GO.9i Appendix B ORANGE COUNTY HOG DAY CELEBRATION June 17, 2006 84 Residents Participated CI1'IC,PARTiCIPATION ECON0~11IC SELF SFFICiENC1' 1!:LIMINATiON`OFOPPRESSlON $191 $255 $210 $4 Broader access and education $9 Education and public school system $13 Eliminate barriers to adoption for Latino and other immigrant $7 Free Public Transportation due to sexual orientation voters $7 Childcare subsidies $9 Marriage equality for all $3 District representation for the $6 Equal access to affordable health care $4 Affordable housing BOCC $6 Affordable housing $2 24-hr public transportation $3 Paper trail of votes $4 Job Training (reasonably price, not $4 Laws protecting immigrants from labor necessarily free) exploitation $2 Eliminate physical barriers $2 Economic safe net OTHER PHYSICALL3' & !11 I NTALLX SAi 1, COAI47[~nl"1'LliS ENVIRONMENTAL JI JSTI("E $43 $198 $195 $9 Gay & Lesbian inclusion $12 Promote drug rehabilitation $3 Promote recycling programs $7 Tax relief $7 Promote community policing $3 Promote organic & local $5 Emergency preparedness for $5 Eliminate gang activity agriculture all residents regardless of $4 Fund domestic violence shelter/safe $3 Eliminate industry socio-economic status or havens $2 Protect green space ethnicity $1 Violence in the school system $2 Air & water quality programs $1 Fix Otis & Sanford streets $2 Protect wildlife reserves $1 Promotion of Volunteer Based Community Programs $1 Promote walkable communities $1 Promote recreation COMMENTS: "This is a wonderful way to get input from citizens." "This is really difficult. I don't envy the Commissioners when they have to make decisions on how to spend tax dollazs." "I'm really not going to put any money in this one." [Resident was refemng to the jar labeled "Elimination of Oppression."] "I hope that our input is used by the Commissioners and not just an exercise in futility." "This interactive exercise makes me appreciate the budget process the Commissioners go through each year." 33 OnfwcE COCINTYSOCIAL TCISTICE GOAL Appendrx B; 34 BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING August 25, 2006 13 Residents Participated CIl'7C PARTICIPATION' ECONOMIC-SELF SC'FFICIENCI' ELIA'1INATION OF OPPRESSION $11 $61 $34 / $2 Equal access to voting / $24 Access to affordablelpreventative $2 Affordable housing / $1 Paper trail of votes healthcare $2 Condemn laws that promote / $6 Affordable housing discrimination / $2 Access to dental care $2 Wage fairness / $2 Access to healthy food $1 Equal and equitable access to / $1 Equal Access to education schools, health and resources $1 Equal access to healthcare $1 E ual access to education ------ OT1iER' ----- - - - P~~~~s~c?,I~rS~&17Ftir:~I,LYS.tiFr~ ~ Co~Inlt;Nr~ Ir, - E?vVIaR(~w!~w~r,~v.Tusxicr $4 $31 $28 / $3 Laws protecting all / $3 Northern Orange parks, walking trails / $4 Use local and organic immigrants documented or that are safe and secure agriculture undocumented from / $1 Safety on walking trails in and around / $4 Create Asthma friendly exploitation and exclusion Carrboro in the early mornings public housing / $2 Preserve open space / $1 Green building practices / $1 Promote recycling / $1 Improve water quality / $1 Condemn/prevent hazardous companies from locatin in nei hborhoods OR41vGE COUNTY SOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL APPen~ $ AGING ADVISORY BOARD 6 Residents Participated CiViC PARTICIPATI(l,'~ FCU~1U~~tiC ~SEIsF SC~FFICIEIvCI' ELIMINATION OF OPPRESSi()N $16 $22.00 $14.00 / Provide a time and place for / Provide affordable healthcare and / Wage fairness/equality (regardless residents, particularly preventative healthcare programs $9 of gender, race, physical disability, communities of color, lower / Ensure equal access to education, religion, sexual orientation, income etc., to discuss concerns healthcare, employment opportunities nationality, etc.) $2 with elected officials $5 $3 / Affordable housing $1 / Maintain paper trail of votes / Ensure adequate wages to afford / Eliminate barriers to adoption due to cast $1 shelter, food $2 sexual orientation of potential I parents $1 ! / Condemn any laws/policies that promote discriminatory practices $1 / Mania e E uali for all $1 OTItER ~ PFl1'C7('1LLY cC ~7F11.~LL~' SAFF. I E!vv71LO~~tIaT:1L.11;ST1CE $13.00 $13.00 / Strengthen minimal housing standards / Promote recycling programs $2 $3 / Preserve open space/park space $1 / Eliminate the practice of locating potentially harmful industries in or in close proximity to minority neighborhoods $1 / Include/increase violence prevention programs in the curriculum at school $2 / Eliminate gang activity $1 / Create safe havens for individuals in abusive relationshi s $1 35 Oxalvcl; Couwri~Socr.9zJus~rcE Goat 36 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 7 Residents .Participated __~_- CiViCPARi'1L:lYA"!'iUN FiL.UNOI-3ICSEIFSU~'FICiENCY -- ELII~IINATIONOFOPPRESSION $9 $28 $30 / Equal access to voting process / Provide affordable healthcare and / Eliminate physical barriers to public $3 preventative healthcare programs $9 buildings increasing access by / Fair and equitable / Ensure equal access to education, physically challenged residents $10 representation of residents $1 healthcare, employment opportunities / Wage fairness/equality (regardless / $g of gender, race, physical disability, / Provide a time and place for / Ensure adequate wages to afford religion, sexual orientation, residents, particularly shelter, food $2 nationality, etc.) $5 communities of color, lower / Provide affordable healthcare and / Affordable housing $3 income etc., to discuss preventative healthcare programs $2 / Eliminate barriers to adoption due to concerns with elected officials / Comprehensive job training $1 sexual orientation of potential $5 parents $3 / Maintain paper trail of votes / Condemn any laws/policies that cast $1 promote discriminatory practices $5 / Marriage Equality for all $2 - -- - I~THER - - ~ Pir~~s~cnLL~ ~~'~IENZ,~i_L1~S:~He ~titm~~vrrrES, E,w~'iizonnr~n'ra.L.los~rtct $15 $9 / .Eliminate the practice of locating / Promote use of local and organic potentially harmful industries in or in agriculture $2 close proximity to minority / Preserve open space/park space $2 neighborhoods $3 / Promote green building practices $1 / Eliminate gang activity $2 / Strengthen minimal housing standards $1 OR4NGE COL~VTYSOCI,AL JUSTICE GOAL 37 Appendix C Social Justice Background John O. Calmore, UNC School of Law February 16, 2005 SOCIAL JUSTICE AS A REFLECTION OF OUR COMMUNITY CHARACTER: THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS In the autumn of 2003, a Durham newspaper reported that Democratic Party presidential candidates John Edwards and Howard Dean each had promised that, if elected, he would hold a summit on social justice within 90 days of taking office. ~ The two men said they would invite groups to discuss how grassroots organizing can play an expanded role in solving society's problems; according to Edwards, "We have to make real, bold, dramatic moves that we can really achieve." Social justice is usually directed by NGOs, from Oxfam America to the Green Party, from academic and training institutions to local grassroots groups. It is not an explicit goal of local governments. Orange County is thus poised to make the real, bold, dramatic, and achievable moves mentioned by Edwards. Of course, here is the challenge and the opportunity. Is it within the capacity and heart of the Board to advance a social justice agenda in terms of real, bold, dramatic, and, most importantly, achievable goals? If the Board shies away from this format, will it underachieve, perhaps doing no more than paying lip service to social justice? Few local governments take this on because it is very hard to do. Against this backdrop, I have been asked to address three questions: 1) what is social justice in a legal, social, and historic framework? 2) How is social justice manifested? 3) How could it be manifested? As questions 2 and 3 suggest, I am exploring both aprogram/policy of social justice and the aspirations embodied by social justice. I. What is Social Justice? Judith Shklaz has suggested that only by understanding the face of injustice can one understand justice. A socia] justice goal cannot be developed at the home office and then imposed top-down on the people. We should keep this in mind as we proceed. Because there are many views of social justice, it is important for the Board to define the concept for itself, to tailor it in a way that fits with its character and mission. Social justice is a concept largely based on various social contract theories. Most variations on the concept hold that as governments are instituted among populations for the benefit of members of those populations, those governments which fail to see to the welfare of their citizens are failing to uphold their part in the social contract and are, therefore, unjust. The concept usually includes, but is not limited to, upholding human rights; many variants also contain some statements concerning more equitable distributions of wealth, power, and resources. The concept of a social contract presents a good framework for striking a bargain with the community. Those concerned with social justice may believe that historical inequities that cause injustice should be corrected until the actual inequities no longer exist. A second belief held by some social justice proponents is that wealth, power and status should be redistributed for the individual, community and societal good. Such advocates may further hold that it is government's (or those who hold significant power) responsibility to ensure a basic quality of life for all citizens. While it is beyond my scope here to address the critique of social justice, the Board should become aware of such criticism, the most prominent stemming from Friedrich Hayek.Z The Social Justice Training Institute defines social justice as both a process and a goal: "The goal of social justice education is full and equal participation of groups in society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of society that is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure."3 It is important to recognize that the vision of social justice be developed synergistically asboth aprocess and goal. Goals are not self-regulating or self-implementing; attention to process is important to address legitimacy and to measure efficiencies and effectiveness. ORANGE COCINTYSOCIAL JI'STICE GOAL 38 While social justice seeks a more just society in general, it focuses most directly on a constituency of those who are marginalized, subordinated, excluded, and underrepresented. We must ask: "What is the injustice they experience? What is the justice they seek?" Without asking these questions, it will be hard to respond to their legitimate expectations. According to Indigenous Australia, "Social justice means being entitled to the same rights and services as all other citizens." Ask yourself, perhaps from a privileged position, what is social justice? Indigenous Australia answers: "Social justice is what faces you in the morning. It is awakening in a house with adequate water supply, cooking facilities and sanitation. It is the ability to nourish your children and send them to school where their education not only equips them for employment but also reinforces their knowledge and understanding of their cultural inheritance. It is the prospect of genuine employment and good health: a life of choices and opportunity, free from discrimination."4 As members of the Orange County community wake up, what do they see? What basic necessities, if any, are absent? What frustrates their hope? What opportunity-denying circumstances constrain them? What, in the name of social justice, can this local governmental body do to provide redress and close inequality gaps? I recently co-authored a law book of cases and materials on social justices After an extensive literature review, we concluded that there is no single vision of social justice among the theorists who use this term. Some use the phrase social justice interchangeably with the term justice. Some use the concept as a counterpoint to injustice, to convey idealistic humanitarian goals..Others view social justice as requiring a higher moral ground than self-interest. In Europe, for instance, many nations attempt to harmonize economic efficiency and social justice. And there are some who use the term to describe particular aspects of freedom, such as freedom of speech or freedom from arbitrary searches, seizures, and detention. In virtually all formulations of the concept, social justice is understood to capture something other than justice in general or claims about basic rights. Usually, social justice invokes substantive rather than formal equality. Some theorists define social justice as involving "the goals of equality of access, opportunity, and outcome." The focus on outcome distinguishes it from "equality of opportunity" or "equality under law," normative goals that may frustrate substantive equality. It is common to adopt an approach that "presupposes a conception of social justice that provides a standard for assessing the distributive aspects of the basic structure of society.s6 Thus, most social justice research deals with issues of allocation. Social justice issues often extend beyond issues of economic or distributive justice, however, by also embracing issues of human dignity and solidarity. According to David Smith, the term social justice may be "simultaneously distributional and relational," and it is in this regard that a local government can make a difference: "The term social justice is taken to embrace both fairness and equity in the distribution of a wide range of attributes, which need not be confined to material things. Although the primary focus is on attributes which have an immediate bearing on people's well-being or the quality of their lives, our conception of social justice goes beyond patterns of distribution, general and spatial, to incorporate attributes to how these came about. While fairness is sometimes applied to procedures and justice to outcomes, we are concerned with both. Preference for the term social justice rather than justice in general is explained not by preoccupation with the distribution of attributes which might be labeled as social, but by concern with something which happens socially, among people in a society."~ The moral philosopher Iris Marion Young also extends social justice beyond issues of distribution. For her, "social justice means the elimination of institutionalized domination and oppression."$ Traditional theories of justice tend to restrict the meaning of social justice to "the morally proper distribution of benefits and burdens among society's members." As Smith and Young admonish, the Board must recognize that distributive issues are crucial to a satisfactory conception of justice, but it would be a significant mistake to reduce social justice to distributional inequity. Following Young's lead, the Board's goal of social justice should focus as well, if not primarily, on the social structure and institutional contexts that often help determine distributive relationships, patterns, and outcomes. Intervene there. II. What is the place of rights within a social justice vision? The concept of social justice can be linked back to the nation's Declaration of Independence in 1776. The nation's founders voiced the now familiar vision of democracy in which `life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' are inalienable rights, `consent of the governed' legitimates the power of government, and all citizens are `created equal.' Today, across the land, the achievement of these ideals remains relevant to social justice advocacy. As OR411'GE COL~'T3'SOCLAL JUSTICE GOAL 39 Thurgood Marshall pointed out on the occasion of the Constitution's bicentennial, the negotiation of these ideals has involved constant struggle. He noted that the government devised in Philadelphia "was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold fundamental today."9 Social movements that were driven by a quest for effective rights have built social justice legal organizations that really took off in the 1960s. As they evolved, they changed the way that lawyers practiced and thought. As Oliver Houck observes, the lawyers had clients and the clients were injured, but also [there) was a larger sense of justice that is as difficult to define precisely as it would be to deny. Most importantly, they did not simply seek compensation for their clients; increasingly they sought to change the law." Thus, the phrase "law reform" described the efforts of lawyers such as those involved in the three large movements focused on ending poverty, promoting civil liberties, and achieving civil rights. Because rights are indeterminate, legal advocacy has continually reshaped the conception of rights to be more effective in advancing social justice. Beyond legal rules, social justice claims have viewed rights as expressions about how people should be treated - as nouns and values rather than fiats. According to Martha Minow, under this conception: "'Rights' can give rise to `rights consciousness' so that individuals and groups may imagine and act in light of rights that have not been formally recognized or enforced. Rights, in this sense, are neither limited to nor co-extensive with precisely those rules formally announced and enforced by public authorities. Instead, rights represent articulations -public or private, formal or informal - ofclaims that people use to persuade others (and themselves) about hnw they should be treated and about what they should be granted....[1] include within the ambit of rights discourse all efforts to claim new rights, to resist and alter official state action that fails to acknowledge such rights, and to construct communities apart from the state to nurture new conceptions of rights. Rights here encompass even those claims that lose, or have lost in the past, if they continue to represent claims that muster people's hopes and articulate their continuing efforts to persuade. "Consciousness, or cognizance, of rights, then, is not simply awareness of those rights that have been granted in the past, but whispered or unheard have become claims, and claims that once were unsuccessful, have persuaded others and transformed social life. The connections between past and future claims of rights are voiced through interpretations of inherited understandings of rights. Interpretation engages lawyers and non-lawyers in composing new meanings inside and- outside of legal institutions. Charges against new rights express opposition to this interpretive process." 10 Under this conception of social justice rights and claims, which is consistent with international human rights, rights potentially enhance our collective consciousness, change our cultural and institutional habits, mobilize people beyond the courtroom, organize political groups at the grassroots, and force those in power to account for their actions. Rights join with culture, power, conscience, and human dignity as expressions of social justice. Herein lies the transformative potential of rights claims. III. How is social justice manifested? How could it be manifested? These questions must be addressed in the context of a local government's capacities and overall functions and objectives. Where does social justice fit within the institutional behavior of county commissioners who are accountable to principles of right action and serving the people of the county in concrete ways? It is important to recognize the view of many who see the local government's ability to control its community character as the fundamental responsibility of self-government. As Gerald Frug points out, for these people, "local self-governance means the ability of citizens to create for themselves the kind of city [or county] they want to live in." As we think of Orange County, social justice should be part of that determination of community character. It must transcend local boundaries that mark the county's cities and act in a way that advances an inclusive regional notion of the public interest. What, then, is the county's vision of social justice and how can that vision translate into polices and programs that are within the power of local government to realize? This is the orienting question for discussion. OR4NGE COLI,'VTYSOCL~IL JUSTICE GOAL 40 Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research, National Association of Counties, indicated that no counties have explicitly adopted a social justice goal but she indicated that Santa Cruz, Mazin and Santa Bazbaza counties in California have focused on advancing social justice. They probably would provide the best comparison sites to assess current manifestations of social justice at the local governmental level. ~ 1 Santa Cruz is the most instructive case, because it appears to be a leader in social justice goal-oriented activity. It claims, "Santa Cruz County has more programs concerned with Social Justice than many other areas in the US." As a local government, the county observes, "Social justice, including environmental justice, are necessary components of any plan for a healthy, sustainable future. Historically, low-income communities and communities of color suffer disproportionately. Recent coalition building strategies and campaigns are beginning to make a dent is this problem." Its primary focus is on developing a sustainable community through 12 principles of agreement. I refer you to them to reiterate that a social justice agenda must entail both a goal and process. Beyond local governments, a more ambitious social justice vision and program is illustrated by the Green Party platform of social justice and livable communities.12 It addresses 25 topics, including the social safety net that was the County Commissioners' initial focus. I think this is an excellent start for addressing what social justice goals could be. The challenge is to step back from the macro to the micro perspective that is more within the capacity of local government. Still, as aspirations go, the Green Party goals are instructive. IV. Conclusion In closing, let me offer a humble opinion. I have been engaged in social justice work for the last 35 years: as a legal services lawyer in Roxbury and Watts; as a program officer within the rights and social justice program of the Ford Foundation; as social justice professor and scholar; and as a board member of the New World Foundation and Oxfam America. I believe that at the end of the day, the ultimate goal of social justice is to engender hope - "audacious hope" as Barak Obama phrased it. . Three years ago, at a celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday, Cornel West came to Chapel Hill and spoke of how King was able to stay the course, maintaining his high aspirations. Given the difficulty of what King was doing, West said King was not consistently anoptimist -how could he be? Instead, King was characterized as a "prisoner of hope." No matter the predicament or the prospects, he was hopeful. He could no more escape hope that he could escape the Birmingham jail where he penned his famous letter. In his 1963 speech in Washington, one of his classic lines referred to "hewing a stone of hope from a mountain of despair." In Marion Wright Edelman's book, The Measure of Our Success: A Letter to My Children and Yours, she quotes President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic. While literally imprisoned, Havel. described ever-present hope in these terms, terms I relate to the hope of those who seek to advance a social justice agenda: "Either we have hope within us or we don't: it is a dimension of the sou1....Hope in this deep and powerful sense is....an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed....It is also this hope, above all, which gives us the strength to live and continually to try things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do here and now" I do not mean to suggest that the Board of Commissioners should engage in quixotic endeavor or join Sisyphus in his rock pushing. But King personified this hope - a practical hope that must be kept alive, must inspire us to do more than we aze, and to never, never give up. A social justice goal must say and do as much. ~ Holly Ramer. Edwards, Dean Vow Focus on Social Justice. The Herald Sun, October 20, 2003, page C9. s Michael Novak. Defming Social Justice. First Things. December 2000; http_//www firstthinss com/ftissues/ft0012/opinion/novak.heml. This article discusses the historical evolution of the concept (term). s Social Justice Training Instit8ute. htt~://www.sjti.ore/. a Mick Dodson. Annual Report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. 1993; http://www. dreamtime.net.aulindigenous/social.cfin. 5 Martha R. Mahoney, John O. Calmore and Stephanie M. Wildman. Social Justice: Professionals, Communities and Law, 2003,49-5 L e Marcia Bok. Civil Rights and the Social Programs of the 1960s: The Social Justice Functions of Social Policy, 1992, 15. On,vvGE CO(JNTY SOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL 41 ~ David Smith. Geography and Social. Justice, 1994, 26. s Iris Marion Young. Justice and the Politics of Difference, 1990, 15-16. 9 T'hurgood Marshall. Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. Harvard Law Review, 1987, 101/1, 1-2. 10 Martha Minow. Interpreting Rights: An Essay for Robert Cover. Yale Law Journal, 1987, 96, 860. " http//www elobalstewards.org/marin.htm -Mann County's focus is primarily on environmental and social justice resources that are apparently coordinated by the county); http•//www countvofsb ore/cao/hrc/worknlan.asp - discusses aspects of the Santa Barbara Human Relations Commission Strategic Plan for 2002-2003; and http•//www freedom2lsantacruz.net/A21SC/justice.html -discusses the Santa Cruz initiatives. iz Green Party; http://ca~reens.org/platform/soc ius.htm. OR.°INGE COLrNT~ SOCIAL JUSTICE GOAL