Published: November 23, 2008 06:04 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Working toward equality

Steps being taken to address racial concerns

Bill Bradberry knows there’s a lot of “lemons” when it comes to race issues in Niagara Falls.

But as the optimistic saying goes, he’s hoping to turn lemons into lemonade.

“What we’re facing is not unique to Niagara Falls,” he said. “I’m sure other communities are dealing with these types of issues. The question is, what are we as a community going to do to address them?”

As the new head of the city’s Human Rights Commission, Bradberry is among those in charge of finding the answer. But after decades of racial tension fueled by a low percentage of minorities in city management positions and a recent posting of a discriminative sign, even he has doubts change is possible.

“When you have a city with 550 employees, but only 100 are minority and mostly working in lower level positions and when you have a police department with 150 officers, but maybe three are African American, how do you get it done?” Bradberry said. “We have some serious challenges, but we also have some awesome opportunities to make a difference.”

Among those challenges is repairing the city’s image after being cast into the national media spotlight back in August when longtime Department of Works employee James R. Curtis posted a handwritten “whites only” sign above a work water fountain. Curtis, who has since admitted the sign was meant to be a joke, was initially charged with a hate crime, but has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated harassment. He is currently suspended from his job and could be terminated.

A group of six black workers suing the city for racial discrimination amended their lawsuit to include the sign incident, claiming it’s further evidence of bias toward minority workers within the Department of Public Works. The group, known as the Niagara Falls Six, first filed the lawsuit in 2003 claming they had been subjected to a pattern of discrimination because of their race. It has since been amended twice to include more alleged examples of discrimination and mistreatment.

City officials and attorneys will not comment on any pending litigation or Curtis’ personnel matter, but Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster insists steps are being taken to avoid similar issues in the future. Regarding the low percentage of minority workers among the city’s workforce, the mayor said efforts are being made to recruit a more diverse pool of job applicants through job fairs, outreach to community organizations and offering prep classes prior to civil service exams.

“It’s not going to change overnight, but we are making a strong effort,” Dyster said.

He added seasonal employee positions allow the city to get a diverse group of workers into the system so department heads and supervisors can access their credentials and determine who’s worthy of filling full-time jobs.

However, members of the Niagara Falls Six believe stronger recruitment efforts are needed if the city is ever going to establish a balanced workforce and ease racial tensions.

“If you want people to come out, put more advertisements out there letting minorities know that the city is hiring,” said Emmett Cox, a member of the Falls Six and a DPW employee of 23 years. “There’s seniors ready to graduate from high school and college that the city should reach out to now. We need a big change in this city or there’s going to be the same problems. We don’t have enough minority workers out there to make a difference.”

The lack of diversity on the city’s payroll is only one example of racial problems in Niagara Falls, according to members of the Human Rights Commission. Rick Williams, who is stepping down as chairman after five years, invited representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI to the commission’s meeting last week. He’s hoping the contacts will be instrumental in helping the city combat discrimination.

Attending the hour-long informal session were Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. and FBI Special Agents Robert J. Gross and Jennifer Amo, both of whom work out of the Niagara Falls office.

“We’re here to hear your concerns,” Kennedy told the commission. “If you guys see something wrong, we’ll look into it.”

Among the issues discussed at the meeting were examples of possible discrimination in housing matters, hired contractors for city projects and unfair treatment of minorities by police officers.

“There’s a segment in this community who feel they’re harassed by the Niagara Falls Police Department,” Williams said.

Kennedy pointed out discrimination cases against public safety departments are intensive and require documented proof against specific individuals from a variety of victims in the community. However, it can be done, he added.

“That’s one we can definitely have future discussions on,” Kennedy said.

Bradberry questioned how much impact the FBI and Department of Justice can have on the city’s racial problems, since he believes most of the issues originate out ignorance and not criminal intent.

“We’re finding the city is failing to comply with the rules and regulations of minority hiring but maybe that’s because there’s just some cultural indifference that doesn’t have evil intentions,” he said.

In his 2009 budget, Dyster is proposing a new part-time equal employment opportunity compliance officer. Bradberry said that’s a good start but more money, between $250,000 and $500,000, needs to be allocated for a comprehensive study in hopes of identifying all of the city’s diversity issues.

“Once we understand what the barriers are, we need to mow them down,” said Bradberry, who served as the city’s first equal employment opportunity coordinator back in the 1970s.

During his tenure as commission chairman, Williams has lobbied for the creation of an entire human rights division that would be better equipped to address issues. Bradberry cautioned such a system would need to remain independent from the city so politics don’t come into play. However, he agreed the commission needs to have more power to investigate cases of possible discrimination, including the ability to subpoena witnesses for interviews.

Bradberry also said the commission needs to continue working closely with similar agencies such as the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

“It’s time to get to work and get busy,” Bradberry said.