Letter of Transmittal
 

To the Honorable Katheryn Shields, Jackson County Executive, and to Residents of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area:

Following September 11, 2001, Kathryn Shields learned of fresh reports of bias seemingly related to the terrorist events of that day, in Jackson County, the larger metropolitan area, and elsewhere. Because these reports continued, a hoc responses seemed inadequate, and additional measures were considered. On February 14, 2002, after preliminary discussions, in response to requests from Arab-Americans, Muslims, and others, Shields appointed us to a Diversity Task Force.

In announcing the effort, she stated that she wanted to remind the citizenry that diversity is America's strength, not a weakness. She said that “in this time of national unity, we must truly come together as Americans. We must resolve to respect each others' differences. Above all, we must take positive action to ensure that no one has to live in fear.”

We were asked to volunteer time to fulfill three assignments:
 1. to promote understanding of our differences,
 2. to encourage respect for our diversity, and
 3. to combat hate crime in our community.

Our report was requested by September 10, 2002. In setting this date, Shields said, “There are times when America must wage war against the enemies of freedom, but we must take great care not to wage war against ourselves, against our friends and neighbors. As Americans, we must fight discrimination, we must fight hate, and we must respect diversity. We owe this to ourselves, to our children, and to the men and women serving in our armed forces even now, to keep America not only the home of the brave, but always and utmost: the land of the free.”

We want the public to know that our work has been conducted with the support we requested from Shields and her office. We worked independently and at no time did anyone seek to interfere with how we best thought to respond to the charge we had received. We appreciate the concern, the vision, and the commitment Shields has shown to the residents of Jackson County and the entire region.

We take full responsibility for our work and offer it to her, to governments, to businesses, to non-profit organizations (and particularly religious groups), and to the residents of the region. We hope our study and recommendations will be worthy of serious consideration and early implementation.

While our work is directed to the Kansas City region, we are pleased that one of our sessions was filmed by network CBS-TV from New York and may be part of a broadcast in October. He hope that what we have done will serve as a model for other communities.
The Task Force is grateful for the extraordinary assistance it received from the Reverend Rodger Kube, who provided us with liaison with the Mayor's Task Force on Bias Intimidation and Harassment appointed by Mayor Kay Barnes, and other community consultation. He assisted us in our research into both the situation in our community and in the historical and global context for understanding our situation. Under our direction, he drafted materials for this report. His skills, sensitivity, and passion for understanding and justice in our community were perfectly aligned with the project.

All of our meetings were public, with three meetings especially devoted to hearing from the public, April 18 (at the University of Missouri, Kansas City), Aug 15 (at the Islamic Center of Greater Kansas City), and Aug 22 (at the Antioch branch of the Johnson County Library). On July 22, we met with Michael Tabman, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also met February 14, March 7, March 21, April 4, May 2, May 23, June 6, June 20, July 18, August 27, August 29, and September 3. In addition, in April, we established a web site to further enable public comment. Although we have devoted a great deal of time as volunteers to this project, we recognize that we have still only a basic understanding of the situation, and that many areas of bias affected by 9/11, such as within the black, Hispanic, and gay communities, deserve further exploration.

Respectfully submitted,

The Reverend Vern Barnet, DMn, chair (CRES/ the Kansas City Interfaith Council)
Lama Chuck Stanford, secretary (Rime Buddhist Center and Monastery)
The Reverend Wallace Hartsfield (Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church), representing the African-American community
Professor Syed E Hasan (University of Missouri, Kansas City), representing the Islamic community
Diane Hershberger (Kansas City Harmony)
Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, representing the Sikh community
Dick Kurtenbach (Executive Director, Western Kansas and Eastern Missouri Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union)
George M Noonan, (chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph)
Professor Thomas Poe, representing the Gay and Lesbian community
Rabbi Joshua Taub (now on sabbatical from B'nai Jehudah), representing the Jewish community
Rita Valenciano representing the Hispanic community
Saad Wakas, representing the Islamic community

STAFF:
The Reverend Rodger Kube, research associate for the Task Force
Randy Collins, counsel to the Task Force

Executive Summary

1. The Jackson County Diversity Task Force was created by County Executive Katheryn Shields to examine the extent of tolerance in Jackson County and the metropolitan region following unending reports of incidents of bias, especially directed against Muslims, following the September 11 attacks. The composition and procedures of the Task Force are outlined in the Letter of Transmittal.

We as Kansas City area residents have many values in common, even as we can find strength in our diversity. Understanding the role of religion in American life is a critical to many problems attributed to diversity.

3. Our research shows that we do have a problem with intolerance in the area, and that sometimes this problem is dangerous. We also learned of many cases where the residents of the area have reached out to those they considered under threat with offers of protection and assistance. Nonetheless, intolerance is a daily reality for thousands of Kansas City area residents and must be vigorously addressed.
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4. We also found that to understand this problem, because of family and economic ties between us here and those elsewhere, it is necessary to place Kansas City area issues in the context of national and international history and current circumstances.

5. We discovered that the instruments of government established to protect us and our freedoms are themselves on occasion threats to those very freedoms. In these times of uncertainty and fear, Kansas City area residents must be assured that their civil and religious liberties are being guarded and guaranteed.

6. We have identified resources which can be accessed by religious institutions, governments, media, businesses, non-profit organizations, and the residents, to further understanding among various populations in the area.

7. Our study has led us to make three recommendations, which are detailed on pages 5-7, immediately preceding the Report proper. In brief, those recommendations are:
 A. A Crisis Response Plan is proposed to protect the physical safety, and the civil and religious liberties of vulnerable ethnic and religious minority communities in the event of further terrorist activities at the local or national level.
 B. A Public Education Plan to continually promote a stronger “community consciousness” about the importance of pluralism and tolerance though a fuller understanding of and greater appreciation for the diverse ethnic and religious communities in the metro area.
 C. A Tolerance Monitoring Plan to build the capacity to monitor the state of tolerance in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

8. The report contains appendices to supplement and support the main text.

These recommendations are presented to Jackson County Executive, Katheryn Shields, who authorized the formation of this Task Force, and to the citizens of the metropolitan Kansas City area.  The recommended plan is based on the findings and research of the Task Force into the state of diversity and tolerance in the metropolitan Kansas City area following the events of September 11, 2001.

The Diversity Task Force perceives this moment in our history as an opportune time to both affirm the diversity of our metropolitan population, and to bolster the consideration of the complex set of social, religious and political issues that face our wider community.

The recommended plan consists of three major elements:

A. A Crisis Response Plan is proposed to protect the physical safety, and the civil and religious liberties of vulnerable ethnic and religious minority communities in the event of further terrorist activities at the local or national level.  While the identity of any possible terrorist cannot be known, and future terrorist activities cannot be foreseen, there is predictability about the ‘backlash’ that targets innocent people.

 
1. The Task Force recommends the following action steps for governmental crisis management planners and law enforcement agencies be completed within 90 days:

Ø creation of a catalogue of the religious institutions (mosques, gurdwaras, temples, synagogues, churches, etc.) where harassment and violence are most likely to occur.
Ø creation of a directory of contact persons within those religious institutions to insure definitive communication between them and governmental and law enforcement bodies.
Ø affording the opportunity to vulnerable religious institutions for security advice, audits, and safety checks.
Ø development of a set of emergency procedures for the protecting the physical security of those institutions, including evacuation plans.
Ø creation of a directory of specific contact persons within governmental and law enforcement agencies to be distributed to religious institutions and their contact persons.

2.  The Task Force recommends that the Mid America Regional Council, within its purpose of regional governmental cooperation, be requested and empowered to coordinate the elements of the crisis plan listed above.

3.  The Task Force recommends that faith communities and religious institutions, in conjunction with civil liberties organizations, develop a network to provide immediate support for vulnerable ethnic and religious communities in the event of further terrorist activities.  A ‘buddy system’ among congregations and institutions needs to be created.

4.  The Task Force recommends that Kansas City media outlets, including newspapers, radio, and television:

Ø provide opportunities for public service announcements to promote understanding and tolerance.  The emphasis would be on the democratic and pluralistic values of America we are currently defending.
Ø cultivate relationships with authoritative spokespersons from within the ethnic and religious communities to deliver credible messages about the diversity of religion and the need for tolerance in Kansas City.

5.  The Task Force call upon the Kansas City Area Joint Terrorism Task Force to develop and disclose its crisis management plans designed to reassure citizens from at-risk communities that their safety is being protected, and to include the steps listed above in such a plan.

 
1.  The Task Force recommends the following actions be undertaken by governmental bodies and law enforcement agencies:

Ø declare their municipality or jurisdiction to be "Hate Free Zones" through formal legislative resolutions.
Ø provide continual leadership in forming public opinion through making religious understanding, civil liberties and tolerance a priority, including devoting website pages to those concerns, providing materials for citizens to reference, publicly denouncing bias harassment and hate crimes, and convening quarterly public meetings for citizen input about religious, diversity and tolerance issues.
Ø encourage public and private financial support for agencies working on these issues.
Ø assist law enforcement officials in developing the ability to understand religious differences, in making ongoing contact with minority religious and ethnic communities, and to respond to the victims of hate crimes with appropriate knowledge and sensitivity.
Ø provide law enforcement officials with a pocket-sized card developed by the Anti-Defamation League to help them determine if, in fact, a hate crime has occurred.
Ø address the issue of due process of law and jury bias in civil and criminal cases where one of the parties might be discriminated against because of national origin or religious background.

2.  The Task Force recommends the following actions to faith communities and religious institutions:

Ø support the establishment of a metropolitan wide religious umbrella organization or network to encourage consideration of increased understanding, religious liberties, and other issues of common interest.
Ø revitalize the Jewish, Muslim, Christian dialogue forum.
Ø respond to distorted statements about religious affairs made by nationally known religious leaders and personalities.
Ø inform new and emerging religious minority community members about their religious and civil liberties using materials developed by the American Civil Liberties Union and adapted to local usage.
Ø encourage involvement by their members, and through them their places of employment, in inter-religious programming and understanding through the "Passport" program developed by the Kansas City Interfaith Council.
Ø teach their members about tolerance, diversity and religious liberties.

3.  The Task Force recommends the following action to all media outlets:

Ø develop extended programming plans to promote a "community consciousness" of the importance of diversity, tolerance and religious and civil liberties as a strength of our metropolis.

4.  The Task Force recommends the following actions to not-for-profit agencies, specifically those who are engaged in diversity efforts, tolerance building, and advocating civil and religious liberties:

Ø create a widely inclusive interagency forum for dialogue, cooperation, collaboration, and keeping abreast of emerging and continuing issues and common interests.
Ø develop methods for regular communications with law enforcement and crisis management agencies to facilitate cooperation and collaboration.
 

C. A Tolerance Monitoring Plan is proposed to build the capacity to monitor the state of tolerance in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area.

 
1.  The Task Force recommends the following actions for consideration:

Ø facilitation of a conversation with existing not-for-profit organizations with the current mission of promoting diversity, tolerance and civil and religious liberties about adding a monitoring/clearinghouse role to their programs. (We recommend a non-governmental agency because of the distrust of government we have heard in our public meetings and interviews.  The multitude of jurisdictions in the metro area would logically point to the Department of Justice, but it is not fully trusted by minority religious communities.)
Ø provide financial resources, or assist in encouraging philanthropic organizations to invest resources, to make the addition of such a clearinghouse feasible for an organization.
Ø establish protocols for recording bias intimidation and harassment incidents that are not ‘illegal’ but should be part of the community’s awareness.
Ø create and disseminate an annual "report card" on the state of tolerance in the metropolitan area.
Ø develop a metro wide "hotline" mechanism for reporting bias and harassment incidents.
 

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