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Created in 2004 with the passage of ordinance 4201, the Goshen Community Relations Commission (CRC) is a group of 7 volunteer residents appointed by City Council and the Mayor to focus on the “people issues” of our town and to guide the work of a staff director.  We are mothers, fathers, business people, educators, immigrants and native born Americans who share the vision of a unified, thriving Goshen. 

Our mission is to foster a climate of non-discrimination in which all citizens enjoy equal opportunity for education, employment, access to public conveniences, accommodations, and real property. 

Our goals

• Secure a director with the legal authority to investigate local discrimination claims
• Educate area residents and businesses about discrimination
• Support and encourage local activities that bring a wide range of people together in a positive atmosphere
•  Get ideas and help from as many people as possible

  Meetings are open to the public and held at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd Tuesday of each month in Goshen City Hall at 202 S. 5th Street.

  CRC Events and Efforts

  Diversity Day:  The annual CRC event consistently draws over a thousand area residents.  Diversity Day is the tangible expression of our vision for a hometown where all residents are welcome and valued.  Check back here for the date and time of the next Diversity Day.  

  Bridge Building: We encourage the development and implementation of projects that bring people together. 

  Conversation Cafes: We host facilitated, issue-oriented gatherings in casual settings around town.
  
  

Literature: We’re developing literature for local distribution.

Funding: We’ve secured a grant for Diversity Day 2006 and for a variety of bilingual activities.  

Staff: The CRC was created to receive funds for, and guide the work of, a professional staff. 

Basic Rights:

The Goshen CRC will be authorized to investigate local claims of discrimination when a staff director is hired.  Until then, know your rights:  An employer may not make work-related decisions on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin, except where religion, sex, or national origin is a qualification which is reasonably necessary to the conduct of the employer's business. The same protections apply to housing. Questions? Problems?

Call the Indiana Civil Rights Commission @ (800) 628-2909.
Website: www.in.gov/icrc/ 

Commission Members:

• Chic Lantz: (574) 533-0160, chiclantz@chicint.com  (term: 1/1/08 - 12/31/10)
• Joe Leichty: (574) 534-8109, jliechty@eircom.net (term: 1/1/06 - 12/31/08)
• Sreekala Rajagopalan: (574) 533-0917, VRagago416@aol.com (term: 1/1/07 - 12/31/09)
• George Smucker: (574) 533-5445, smuckerga@juno.com (term: 1/1/07 - 12/31/09)
• Miguel Milan: (574) 534-4821, millangoshen@aol.com (term: 1/1/07 - 12/31/09)
• Laura Oyer: (574) 533-9283, mark.laura@verizon.net (term: 1/1/06 - 12/31/08)
• Dixie A. Robinson: (574) 533-4495 (term: 1/1/08 - 12/31/10)
  

Contact members directly, or through the Mayor’s office at 202 S. 5th Street Goshen, IN  46526 (telephone:  574-533-9322).   

Background

The CRC builds on the work of the previous Human Relations Commission that was created in 1997 after the Ku Klux Klan held a series of public anti-immigration demonstrations on Elkhart County Courthouse property.  Those KKK protests spawned Goshen’s first annual Diversity Day, as local volunteers gave their time, energy and resources to illustrate Goshen’s true values of neighborliness and cooperative respect.  The Human Relations Commission went on to host the event in subsequent years.  The HRC was dissolved and replaced with the CRC on April 13, 2004 (with the passage of ordinance 4201).  The CRC first convened on August 13, 2004.