The Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights hosts and coordinates events throughout the year.
Breaking Bread, Building Bridges Fosters Connections
The Commission on Human Rights, in collaboration with local faith communities and the Jewish Federation of Dutchess County, held two Breaking Bread, Building Bridges events this spring. The purpose of the events was for participants to get to know each other over light conversations and refreshments. The laughter, enjoyment and connection was reflected in what participants said about their experience:
“It’s a small world.”
“I connected more deeply in the conversations I had.”
“We live in five different communities yet have so much in common.”
“I’m excited to see what’s next.”
“The structure of the program is wonderful you could feel the energy in the room.”
“I think we should continue the open dialogue & determine what else we could be doing to help our community!”
“That we are so much alike.”
For more information about Breaking Bread, Building Bridges, contact the Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights at 845-486-2836 or dchumanrights@dutchessny.gov
December 2024
In the fall, 2023, the Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights became aware that hateful signs had been hung throughout the Village of Millerton. Because the Commission’s purpose is to address discrimination, hate and bias by working with communities, the Commission reached out to the community to see how they may want to address the impact of the signs.
Several people said that the signs had been upsetting and that they wanted to focus on Millerton’s strengths as a community. A banner with a strengths-based message was an important first step. In August, they created their message of community strength: Community + Kindness. The enthusiasm for the banner’s message led to the Millerton Community Project’s creation, where members of the community will be able get involved by creating art on the message Community + Kindness.
The Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights thanks the Millerton Community Project partners for their leadership and commitment including Townscape, North East Community Center, NorthEast-Millerton Library, Village of Millerton, Town of North East, and Svend Linbaek. We are excited to see the many ways that Community + Kindness is expressed in Millerton!
100 Cups of Coffee Dialogue Project
December 2024
“I liked talking to people from other schools.”
“…I learned that people’s experiences at other schools are similar to mine.”
“It was cool to see other people’s perspectives.”
“It was a great way to think outside the box.”
More than 120 students from 7 high schools participated in the Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights 100 Cups of Coffee Dialogue Project, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): What Does it Mean Today? at the 3rd Annual Conference Pathways to Civic Engagement: Small Places Close to Home at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum.
Students discussed articles of the UDHR as they apply to current human rights issues where they learned about themselves and each other and heard similar and differing perspectives from students in other schools.
Some said the conversation helped them to overcome fear or anxiety when speaking in groups as well as enjoying the opportunity to talk about topics they don’t talk about often.
Screening and Director Talk
November 20th, Weis Cinema, Bard College
The final film and panel discussion in the Commission’s A Wider View series, We Ride for Her, in honor of Native American Heritage Month was powerful. We thank Bard Center for Indigenous Studies, Red Sand Project, filmmakers Katrina Sorrentino and Prairie Rose Seminole, and Medicine Wheel Riders founder Lorna Cuny, for a deeply moving program about their work to raise awareness and address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIW/R) crisis.
The Commission on Human Rights, in collaboration with The Brain & Body Coalition, holds Mental Wealth in BIPOC Communities: Addressing Disparities & Achieving Wellness panel discussions in Poughkeepsie and Beacon
Thank you to Heather Lee-Pitcher, Founder, The Brain and Body Coalition and panelists for the important discussion about mental wealth in the BIPOC community in honor of Bebe Moore Campbell's BIPOC Mental Health Month. We are grateful to the panelists who shared their stories of strength and resilience.
Join us to discuss Fair Housing topics, including:
• Protections, trends and more
• What is it and what is its purpose?
• What impact has it made and what are the challenges?
• What resources are available to help?
Panelists:
John Herrion, Acting General Counsel, NYS Division of Human Rights
Justin Haines, Assistant Attorney General, NYS Office of the Attorney General
Alexandra Sweitzer, Supervising Attorney, Legal Services of the Hudson Valley
Ben Surface, Supervising Attorney, Hudson Valley Justice Center
Moderated by:
Jody Miller, Executive Director, Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights
View our latest Panel Discussion:
Part 1: May 12, 12:00pm-1:30pm How does Covid-related anti-Asian rhetoric and actions fit into a long pattern of stereotyping and racism? What narratives are told and not told? Who are Asians? Presenters: Yu Zhou, Kk Naimool To watch this presentation click here (YouTube)
Part 2: May 26, 12:00pm-1:30pm What does it mean to respond to anti-Asian violence including both overt attacks (verbal or physical) and micro-aggressions? What does it mean to create a caring community that responds in ways that build trust, increase safety and foster strength and resilience? Presenters: Christine Wang, Paloma Wake, and others To watch this presentation click here (YouTube)
Wednesday, March 10, 12pm-1:30pm
Speakers:
Speakers
The Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights hosts and coordinates events throughout the year.
Check our events calendar often or sign up for Dutchess Delivery to get calendar notifications
November 10, 2 - 3:30PM
Renan Salgado biography:
Renan Salgado was born in Ecuador and migrated to the United States in 1984. He is the Human Trafficking Director at the Worker Justice Center and has been investigating cases of migrant farmworker exploitation since January of 2000. Renan has been dedicating his career to the fight against labor trafficking in agriculture as well as other industries historically dependent on cheap labor. Since 2001, Renan has been working in tandem with agents from the FBI, Homeland Security, State Police, and local law enforcement units throughout the state of NY. Renan has also been training local, state, and federal law enforcement agents since 2007, and has been a keynote speaker and panelist at various National and International Human Trafficking conferences. Most recently, Renan has trained human trafficking task forces in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Long Beach, as well as the Mexican Government's Attorney General's Office, Mexican INTERPOL, prosecutors and Judges from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, and organizers from the United Farm Workers Union in California. His trainings range from effective labor trafficking investigations to the future of labor trafficking.
Doing More Than Nothing About Hate: We are All in This Together:
Deborah Lauter, Executive Director, NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes
Deborah Lauter Biography:
Deborah Lauter is the Executive Director of the NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, a seven staff member unit in the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice. Ms. Lauter was hired to create and lead the office in September, 2019, after a three-decade career of combatting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, prejudice and hate.
Ms. Lauter served in a number of senior roles at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), including as National Civil Rights Director and Senior Vice President for Policy & Programs, where she worked with tech companies on the growing problem of hate on the internet. She also supervised the Education division and its development of anti-bias education programs for students.
Under her tenure at ADL, the organization led the national coalition that secured passage of the Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr. Federal Hate Crimes Act. She also oversaw the organization’s Center on Extremism, which included research and analysis on domestic and international extremism, and trained law enforcement on hate crime detection and response.
Ms. Lauter received a B.A. from UC Berkeley and J.D. from Cardozo School of Law. She is a member of the Board of Directors of The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Education and Human Rights (TOLI), which provides Holocaust education training for teachers in the U.S. and Europe.
