JAMES CLYBURN, U.S. CONGRESSIONAL LEADER, HONORED AT NATIONAL IAOHRA CONFERENCE, JOINED BY OTHER FORMER IAOHRA PRESIDENTS, INCLUDING ROBIN TOMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LA COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
From Left, Robin Toma, Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations; Dr. Alisa Warren, Current IAOHRA President and Director of the Missouri Human Rights Commission; James E. Clyburn, U.S. Congressional Leader; Jean Kelleher, Director of the Alexandra Office of Human Rights in Virginia; Leon Russell, National Chair of the NAACP; and James L. Stowe, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Human Relations in Maryland. Toma, Clyburn, Kelleher, Russell, and Stowe are past IAOHRA Presidents.
BETHESDA, MD – August 14, 2023 – The International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies (IAOHRA) kicked off its 74th Annual Conference “Embracing Truth and Healing: Securing Equity and Justice for All” last month in Maryland. For seventy-four years, IAOHRA has developed and enforced anti-discrimination laws and policies. From urging courts and schools to implement anti-racism and bigotry training programs to supporting civil rights protections for transgender residents, IAOHRA has continued to be a strong voice safeguarding all people's civil and human rights.
But for the first time, the IAOHRA President’s Award went to the Honorable James E. Clyburn, who has served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina’s 6th congressional district since 1993. Before his political life blossomed in Washington D.C., Mr. Clyburn served as the president of IAOHRA from 1985 until 1987. Clyburn urged all to action in facing the rise of racism and bigotry, stating “Time is neutral. But the people of ill will are making much better use of the time than the people of goodwill.”
First elected to Congress in 1992, part of the same group of newly elected members of Congress as LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Clyburn played a decisive role in the election of President Biden when he influenced South Carolina’s voters in a powerful way in the 2020 primaries. Clyburn joins LA County CEO Fesia Davenport as a recipient of the IAOHRA President’s Award by Robin Toma when the IAOHRA conference was held in Los Angeles in 2022. Among the other IAOHRA Presidents on stage that day were National Chair of the NAACP Leon Russell, Montgomery County (Maryland) Human Relations Commission Executive Director James L. Stowe, and current IAOHRA President and the Executive Director of Missouri State Human Rights Commission, Dr. Alisa Warren.
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LA County Human Relations Commission Executive Director Robin Toma at the August 2023 IAOHRA Conference, an Annual National Gathering of Governmental Human and Civil Rights Agencies Near Washington, D.C. Sharing the Stage with Another Former IAOHRA President, Well-Known U.S. Congressional Leader James E. Clyburn.
Sitting on the dais with James Clyburn was former IAOHRA president Robin Toma, who now serves as Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations, which is the lead agency for the innovative LA County anti-hate program and system, LA vs. Hate. Toma and Clyburn shook hands and reflected on their time as president of the organization and about the common connection with current LA County supervisor, former congresswoman, and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. “Robin Toma was the longest-serving IAOHRA president,” said Dr. Alisa Warren, the current IAOHRA president, and Executive Director of the Missouri Human Rights Commission. Mr. Toma was elected twice to serve as IAOHRA president, providing a steady hand before and during the pandemic before completing his second term totaling five years in August 2022. Also in attendance was James L. Stowe another former IAOHRA president who served from 2003 until 2007. Mr. Stowe is now the Director of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Office of Human Rights, IAOHRA’s Atlantic Region Representative, and Co-Chair of IAOHRA’s Conference Planning Committee. The fourth former IAOHRA president at the conference was Leon Russell who served as IAOHRA President from 2007 to 2011 and has been serving as the Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors for many years.
The theme of this year’s IAOHRA conference was “Embracing Truth and Healing: Securing Equity and Justice for All,” ran from August 13-17 and was filled with subject matter experts, inspirational speakers, regional meetings, and a myriad of breakout sessions covering such topics as LGBTQ+ and Transgender Rights, Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue, Cultivating Organizational Culture to Advance Equity led by LA County Commission on Human Relations Assistant Executive Director Robert Sowell, and New Strategies to Fight Hate Crimes in which Robin Toma presented on the LA vs Hate system, which was the model for the state of California’s new anti-hate program, CA vs Hate. “I was proud to share LA vs. Hate’s impact, and also humbled to be among such outstanding leaders from around the country such as those who have served as IAOHRA Presidents,” said Robin Toma.
For more information about the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies visit www.iaohra.org For more information about the Commission, LA vs. Hate, and its Summer of Solidarity murals and events, visit https://hrc.lacounty.gov/, lavshate.org/community-events-calendar, www.lavshate.org. #LAvsHate
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