New York City Commission on Human Rights

The Commission's Newsletter 2004 Winter/Spring Edition Page 2		Contents \| <<Back \| Next>>
Moving Forward Message From the Commissioner Prominent journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first African American to gain admission and graduate from the University of Georgia, said it best: "If people are informed, they will do the right thing. It is when they are not informed that they become hostages to prejudice." While we are firmly committed to enforcing the law and fostering positive relations among the City's diverse communities, we also have a moral obligation to inform New Yorkers of the rigorous City Human Rights Law to truly address discrimination.		Commissioner Patricia L. Gatling
We have stepped up our education efforts to increase community awareness of the Commission's programs and the many protections the Law offers by restructuring and expanding our community service programs, increasing our outreach efforts, expanding our testing efforts to uncover everyday and systemic violations of the Law, and highlighting the many successful cases, programs and activities of the Commission through the media. In this school year alone, CCHR has reached over 7,000 students in 48 City schools through its School-Based Education Program and has trained over 100 students to be Peer Mediators. In 1839, essayist William Hazlitt wrote, "Prejudice is the child of ignorance." Only through education will individuals understand that with all New York's rich diversity, most people are very similar in seeking a better life, and striving for the same rights, protections and opportunities as the next person. I believe this administration has made considerable progress in addressing prejudice through education.