CAHRO is partnering this spring with CSU Channel Islands’ Center for Community Engagement and CSUCI Sociology Professor Reha Kadakal and his students to survey select California human relations commissions in depth on their current work. At CSUCI, undergrad students in their last semester work on a “capstone” project, writing a paper under the supervision of one of their professors. Professor Kadakal, working with CAHRO, is helping his students with their capstone project: to interview select California human relations commissions, asking HRCs to give us a snapshot of what these HRCs are doing: for example, what kind of resources the HRC receives, what are the HRCs projects for the year, what are the HRC’s successes, what hasn’t worked out, what are the HRC’s biggest challenges, and what would the HRC like to do in the next year or two. The students will also ask if the HRC allies with other nearby HRCs or civil rights organizations to do their work.

CAHRO Board members will vet the students’ questions and then, students will contact HRC staff and Commissioners to ask the questions. CSUCI students will write papers of their findings, which CAHRO will edit and post on this website.

We hope to publicize the good work of various HRCs throughout the state and to benefit other HRCs who can learn about that work. We have selected initially two larger and two smaller human relations commissions in Southern California and in Northern California.

We hope that this will be an ongoing collaboration with CSU Channel Islands and, if we are not highlighting your HRC’s work this spring, that we can do so in the future.