Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations (FCHR)

Dining & Dialogue: LGBTQ+ 

Come join us as we create comfortable spaces for uncomfortable conversations.
Share a meal, get to know each other, and lets bridge a divide in our community.

Ivan Canada will facilitate a dialogue & making connections with residents in the LGBTQ+ community. This could be a life-changing experience that may provide a unique opportunity to meet neighbors in an informal setting. Let’s engage in meaningful dialogue! Let’s tear down barriers! Let’s put love before ideologies and promote positive human relations in our City and County!

If you have any issues, you can contact the Human Relations Department at (910) 433-1696.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations serves the greater Fayetteville and Cumberland County Community in many ways. One of those ways involves responding to requests for assistance. In listening to residents’ concerns, department personnel will determine whether the issue falls within the purview of the Department. If the issue is jurisdictional to the Department, appointments are made with staff who will investigate allegations of discrimination. Concerns that are outside of the Department’s jurisdiction are routed to the appropriate agencies at the local, state, or federal level.

With the support of the Fayetteville Fair Housing Board and the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission, the Department provides educational outreach to the public, private, and nonprofit sectors of the community. The outreach includes, the coordination and sponsoring of annual equal employment opportunity and fair housing workshops. Additionally, professional development training for management and employees in the areas of employment law, fair housing, and sexual harassment are conducted by the staff. The Board, Department and Commission sponsors public forums that address human relations issues as well as informing individuals of topics that impact quality of life involving health, education, and human services.

The Fayetteville Fair Housing Board and the Human Relations Commission provides the City Council and County Commissioners with advice on improving human relationships and encourages harmony among racial and ethnic groups.

Services and Programs

The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Department provides the following services and programs:

• Staff support for the Human Relations Commission and Fair Housing Board.
• Support of EEO Compliance for Transit (FTA/FAA mandates). Coordination and resolution of resident ADA complaints to the City government. 
• Investigates equal opportunity and unfair treatment complaints.
• Enforces the City’s fair housing ordinance.
• Manages the Limited English Proficiency plan in support of the City’s Language Access Policy.
• Provides “Partnering with Business” consulting services involving fair employment and employee relations.
• Development and facilitation of programs designed to improve human relations and harmonious community.
• Provides training on equal opportunity and human relations matters.
• Collaborates with City and County Community Development Departments on strategies to resolve housing issues that discriminate or adversely affect residents in a disparate way.
• Collaborates with organizations in the public, private, non-profit, higher education and military sectors on issues within the purview of the City’s Human Relations Ordinance.
• Provides administrative support to City management on human relations issues.

The Human Relations Commission's Mission Statement is: "To facilitate and advocate programs, projects, and actions to ensure a better quality of life and the civil and human rights of all citizens, without regard to race, sex, religion, creed, national origin, age, familial status, or disability."

The Human Relations Commission provides the City Council and County Commission members with advice on improving human relations and encourages harmony and community unity among racial, religious, and ethnic groups.

• FCHRC Minutes

Members

• William "Bill" Milton, Chair
• Demetria Murphy, Vice-Chair
• Crystal Edmonds, Secretary
• Milette Harris, At-Large
• Claudia Zamora
• Lynndora Thompson
• Peter B. Pappas
• Toshiba Narcisse
• Shirley S Francis
• Dakota Wright
• J. Vernon Peterson
• Dakiesha Upchurch
• Michael Sabb, LTC
• Denise Abrams, MSG

THE FCHRC WAS ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE IN 1968. Part II-Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2-Administration, Sec. 2.39, Human Relations Commission Code of Ordinance

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Historical Overview of the Human Relations Commission

In the early 1960’s, the first bi-racial committee was formed with the objective of identifying greater opportunities and further equality for persons considered the minority. Student demonstrations under the direction of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in May 1963. The committee had made progress during this time, but the student demonstrations accelerated the movement, and increased local attention to inequalities.

On June 30, 1963, Mayor A. Wilbur Clark formed the bi-racial committee in hopes of mediating an amicable resolution between the local council of the NAACP, and to establish strategies for a peaceful desegregation.

On July 19, 1963, the committee issued a report with progressive objectives for desegregation. The report, considered by the local council of the NAACP called for a halt to the demonstrations.

In 1963 Fayetteville moved ahead of other cities in eastern North Carolina by opening “public accommodations” and “tax supported facilities”.

During 1963-1964, the committee members observed other areas where major changes were taking place: Police, Fire, employment opportunities, hospitals, cafeteria facilities, and various institutions, such as, drive-in theaters, local bowling lanes, and professional organizations.

In 1964 the Fayetteville Good Neighbor Council was appointed by the Mayor at the urging of the bi-racial committee to work on equal employment opportunities. In spite of good intentions by the Council, no meaningful work was accomplished. This may have been due to a lack of communication by the Council.

On April 28, 1965, the Mayor’s second bi-racial committee recommended that the incoming Mayor and City Council create, by ordinance, a Human Relations Committee. The Committee was to comprise of nine or more local citizens, and the membership to be drawn from both races. The Committee would advise a small paid staff of at least an Executive Director and a Secretary. The staff was to be set up as a City Department with a budget, and would report to the City Manager, and the Human Relations Committee. The Committee also recommended strong emphasis be placed on all facets of improving race relations, but with particular concentration in the fields of equal employment opportunities and job training. The recommendations were also shared with citizens, professional organizations, Fayetteville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Fayetteville Association, etcetera.

Three years later (1968), Council, by ordinance, created the Fayetteville Human Relations Advisory Commission, and the Human Relations Department to represent the City’s efforts to provide channels through which racial tensions may be anticipated, cooperation sought, and amicable resolutions achieved.

The Human Relations Advisory Commission was composed of eleven members who represented a racial, ethnic, and economic cross-section of the citizens of Fayetteville. Additionally, there were two (2) students and one (1) ex-officio member from Fort Bragg. As part of a governmental entity, the Commission was subject to the same supervision, personnel management, operations, and budget procedures that apply to all other City departments.

The Commission was tasked with studying problems of discrimination in various areas of human relations and to encourage fair treatment and mutual understanding among all racial and ethnic groups in Fayetteville. The members of the Commission work without compensation for two-year terms. Commission vacancies were appointed by City Council.

Presently, the Human Relations Commission, by inter-local governmental agreement, the Commission represents the City of Fayetteville and Cumberland County. Known today as the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission, the City appoints eleven members (11), the County appoints four (4), and ex-officio appointments to include one (1) military and one (1) Department of the Army Civilian from Fort Bragg, and one (1) representative from Pope Army Airbase.

• Volunteer Time Measuring Tool (VTMT)

"Encouraging Harmony Among Racial and Ethnic Groups

The Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Department has dual primary functions.

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Protecting Civil Rights

• Counseling - Parties are counseled about equal opportunity practices, civil rights regulations and options for resolving complaints at the lowest level.

• Referral - Referrals are provided for complaints not within the department’s jurisdiction to state and federal agencies.

• Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mediation - Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that is offered as an alternative to the traditional investigative process. Mediation is an informal process in which a third party helps the opposing parties reach a voluntary, negotiated resolution of a complaint.

• Investigation - Investigation assistance is provided when a complaint is not resolved through counseling or mediation. Steps may include collecting and analyzing evidence, interpreting civil rights regulations and making closure determinations. The investigator is a staff person who is trained to investigate allegations of unlawful civil violations.

• EQUAL OPPORTUNITY Complaints - Persons who believe that they have been discriminated against in housing

Promoting Equal Opportunity & Positive Community Relations

Equal Employment Opportunity Education - Training is provided to individuals, businesses and organizations to prevent unfair treatment and equal opportunity violations.

Civil & Human Rights Community Programs

• Annual Recognition Awards
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Awards

Cultural & Diversity Awareness Activities - An annual calendar of events includes Human Relations Month in February, Fair Housing Month in April, Barrier Awareness Week in May, National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, and International Human Rights week in December.

Fair Housing Education Initiative - The Department enforces the City of Fayetteville's Fair Housing Ordinance and works with renters, buyers, and housing providers to encourage a proactive approach for addressing fair housing issues and concerns

• Human Relations Scholarship Application 2024 (.pdf)

On behalf of Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations (FCHR), we would like to invite you to the 2024 Community Awards Luncheon. This event recognizes residents for their active engagement throughout the community in promoting positive human relations. We welcome you to this celebration and an opportunity to invest in our youth.

Yamile Nazar, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director

Yamile Nazar was appointed as the new director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Department on January 3, 2022.

Nazar is responsible for the department’s existing programs and services which includes support for the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Commission and Fair Housing Board. She is also broadening existing efforts, both internally and externally, through the implementation of innovative strategies supporting positive human relations and opportunities for all.

A resident of Fayetteville, Nazar has extensive experience in the public sector having held prior positions as an investigator and mediator in the State of New York. She has also served as a community engagement professional for the Durham County Library and a division manager for the City of Greensboro’s Human Relations Department.

Nazar is a recent graduate of Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program and a certified U.S. Army Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor. She previously earned a bachelor of arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Public Administration from Long Island University.