Voice your support for Whatcom County Council passing an ordinance establishing a Racial Equity Commission / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the image of the event information graphic for the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission Bring All the Bright Celebration to access information on the Facebook information page for the event

October 10, 2022 Dena Jensen

I sent in my email of support for the Racial Equity Commission this last weekend. I’m including that email, a response from Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu, plus my email reply to him below. 

Meanwhile, there are addresses at the bottom of this post where you can send your own. There is a Public Hearing for the ordinance establishing the REC at the October 11, 2022 Whatcom County Council meeting that starts at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, there is a celebration starting at 4:00 p.m. the same day on the Bellingham Public Library lawn in honor of all the work that has been done to create this community-driven public/private advisory commission.  (Pizza and cupcakes will be shared!)

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Overseeing the fight for civilian oversight to protect immigrants and people of color in Bellingham / Noisy Waters Northwest

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you don't have my vote postcard front cropped

postcards to mayor redacted aqua

Graphics show one postcard front side (top), and multiple reverse/message sides of postcards sent to Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville by community members in June of 2017

May 23, 2018  Dena Jensen

The following report offers information gained through a public records request I made of the City of Bellingham on January 18, 2018.

Protecting vulnerable members of our community is a shared responsibility that none of us should take lightly. As much as government agencies may strive for and purport transparency, it is generally human nature to not be able to recognize our own flaws and, if others point them out, to do our best to excuse them or deny that this flaw, which another person sees, is really there.

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One Year Anniversary for Dignity Vigils in Bellingham / Letter to Bellingham City and Whatcom County Councils, Dena Jensen

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https://www.facebook.com/events/144972296180055/
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/01/17/oakland-bans-cooperation-federal-immigration-agents-braces-for-ice-raids/

February 13, 2018  Dena Jensen

Dear Bellingham City Council and Whatcom County Council:

I am writing early this week to let you know that next week there will be a special Dignity Vigil honoring the one year anniversary of these vigils in downtown Bellingham held in solidarity with immigrant and undocumented people, and to stand against law enforcement and federal immigration collaboration which leads to deportation. I hope you will all plan on attending during any portion, or all of the 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. time period. I will send you more details about next Monday’s vigil when they are available!:

https://www.facebook.com/events/144972296180055/ Continue reading →

2016 Racial discrimination charges received no apology from Taylor Shellfish; Lawsuit is now settled / Noisy Waters Northwest

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eeoc taylor 0717
August 5, 2016  Dena Jensen

It’s time we get the apology that Taylor Shellfish failed to offer when charges were originally brought against their company in September of 2016 for racial discrimination.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found that former Taylor Shellfish employee Jeremy Daniels was called various racial slurs (noted in the EEOC press release linked to in the post) by his supervisor at Taylor Shellfish (based in Shelton and one of the largest producers of shellfish in the country) and was directed by management to ignore this discrimination. Continue reading →

Elfo asks, why citizen oversight for community safety? Answers become apparent / Noisy Waters Northwest

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August 2, 2017  Dena Jensen

On Saturday July 22, 2017 Community to Community Development posted a live-feed of their Family Forum for Community Safety that was held that evening at the Bellingham Public Library.

Near the end of the event, the facilitator, Rosalinda Guillen of Community to Community Devolopment, explained why she was being direct and public with this discussion.  She said that people are concerned about the federal government finding ways to impose immigration regulations and to make the county sheriff comply with immigration enforcement. Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo responded, indicating that federal officials had already tried to exert pressure and impose regulations, but that his sheriff’s office had said no and that they would continue to say no to federal mandates. Continue reading →

Lawsuit Served on Bellingham, Mayor, and Police in Racial Profiling Case / Press Release, Latino Advocacy

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Lelo serves lawsuit

Click on image to view video in the Bellingham Racial Justice Facebook Group

May 16, 2016  Latino Advocacy
For Immediate Release                                                      

Lawsuit Served on Bellingham, Mayor, and Police in Racial Profiling Case
The community joins to highlight BPD’s racial profiling against Latinos, collaboration with immigration officials Continue reading →

Citizens: BPD dismissive of people of color / NorthwestCitizen, Ralph Schwartz

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Junga Subedar of the Whatcom Civil Rights Project, left, hands crime reports to Detective Caryn Queen, center, and Detective Sgt. Claudia Murphy, right, Tuesday, April 26, inside the Bellingham Police Department lobby.

 

Tue, Apr 26, 2016, 7:04 pm  Ralph Schwartz

Saying the police failed to investigate assaults against protesters who marched in downtown Bellingham two months earlier, a group of citizens turned in their own crime reports on Tuesday, April 26, to the Bellingham Police Department.

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Peaceful Protesters Were Met With Hostility, Violence on State Wide Day of Action for Police Accountability #RiseUpWA / Racial Justice Coalition

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assault on protesters rjc

Tuesday March 8, 2016

For Immediate Release  Racial Justice Coalition

Bellingham, WA- In solidarity with other communities throughout Washington, individuals in Bellingham came out for a peaceful procession on Friday, February 26, 2016 at 3:00pm to call for police accountability, to bring an end to the dangerous practice of racial profiling, and to recognize people who fell victim to police brutality, causing injury or death. Continue reading →