City of Aurora African American Heritage Advisory Board met July 28.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
I. Call to Order - Meeting called to order at 5:40 pm by Liaison Muhammad
II. Roll Call - Present: Glenda Blakemore, Deborah Goss-Johnson, Sandra Harrison, Pairlee Hunter, Secretary Cynthia Latimer, William Whitfield, and Keith Wise
Absent: Marc Dale, Marquell Oliver, Vice Chair Sharonda Roberson, Dr. Yolanda Stovall
7 present 4 absent
III. Public Comments – None - Guest: Yolanda Dunn - Leave Me Be Pest Control & It’s Fit Time
IV. Approval of Minutes – Moved by Whitfield, seconded by Harrison to approve the June 9th meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously.
V. City Liaison Update: Standing item Financial Report & Additional Topics – Oral report by Liaison Muhammad
Financial Report – Balance: $9,200
Name tags would not have arrived in time for Juneteenth event so they were not ordered. Commissioners would still like to have them ordered and would also like to explore digital business cards.
VI. New Business
a. Acceptance of Resignations – Need to formally act on two resignations, Derek Drew and Dr. Peggy Hicks. Moved by Blakemore and seconded by Whitfield to accept the resignations. Motion passed unanimously.
b. Nominations for Open Office – Nominations for the position of chair will take place at our next meeting August 11th.
c. Decision on Open Funding Request (s)
i. “On the Wall” Urban Arts Festival – Blakemore moved to fund at $1500. Goss Johnson seconded. Discussion. With approval, Motion Withdrawn.
More information needed. Liaison Muhammad to request Nicole Mullins to present at our August meeting.
ii. Roots Aurora - Harrison will contact Family Focus to find out if we can get a seat on the planning council.
.. Latimer moved to fund at $1500. Wise seconded. Discussion
.. Whitfield amended motion of $1500 to $500 for postage. Blakemore second
.. Harrison amended motion of $500 to $750 for postage & awards. Hunter seconded. Motion passed, unanimously.
VII. Old Business: Tabled Agenda Items
a. AAAHAB Scholarship – Discussion about possibility of Community Foundation administering scholarship with AAAHAB maintaining control of the process of selecting and awarding to the scholarship recipients. Discussion about moving the date to June and tie with Juneteenth. Students would be notified in May but awarded in June.
Discussion re: process to be determined. We will need two to three to act as a scholarship committee.
Whitfield moved to contact the Community Foundation of Fox River Valley for the purpose of discussing transferring AAAHAB scholarship dollars to them to manage with the caveat that AAAHAB maintains control of the process of selecting the students and awarding the scholarship. Motion passed, unanimously.
Commissioners requested Liaison Muhammad to set up the presentation.
Additionally, Commissioners requested Liaison Muhammad bring documentation re: the following:
.. Heritage Dinner
.. African American of the Year
.. NIA (Purpose) Award
.. Mayor Lifetime Achievement Award
b. Pillar Objectives to obtain the overarching AAAHAB goal of Advocacy
i. Awareness Pillar
ii. Communication Pillar
iii. Fundraising Pillar
Commissioners reaffirmed their commitment to the pillar objectives to drive our work.
c. Sub-committee Next Steps and Chairs
d. Future Activities and Calendar
i. Community Bulletin Board Discussion
ii. AAAHAB Calendar
VIII. For the Good of the Board
IX. Announcements
.. Congratulations to Commissioner Whitfield for his impactful Christmas in July project where he collected more than $6,000 for Mutual Ground.
.. Commissioner Harrison shared information about Pigmentation International – Additional information needed. Requested presentation at the August meeting.
.. Commissioners provided details of upcoming events.
X. Next Meeting - Thursday, August 11, 2022 - 5:30 pm – City Hall – Conference Room 5A
XI. Adjournment – 7:06 pm Moved by Latimer, Seconded Whitfield. Motion passed unanimously
https://www.aurora-il.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_07282022-2962
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