Salt Lake City leaders host dialogue on discrimination

Salt Lake City leaders are taking a stand on discrimination, and they're hoping residents will join them.

Tonight, Mayor Ralph Becker and City Council Chairwoman Jill Remington Love will kick off "Dialogue on Discrimination" — a five-part series of public discussions intended to gather public input on discrimination issues in Salt Lake City.

The event begins at 6 p.m. in Room 315 of the Salt Lake City-County Building, 451 S. State. The elected leaders will be joined by a panel of local experts to answer questions about the effects of discrimination.

The results of a recently completed citywide discrimination survey done by the Mayor's Office of Diversity and Human Rights also will be announced during the event.

Earlier this year, Becker charged the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission with conducting the survey. Now, the mayor and City Council want to broaden the effort by creating a forum for residents to share their stories and concerns about discrimination.

"Discrimination is not an easy topic to discuss, but it is a discussion that needs to happen," said Yolanda Francisco-Nez, coordinator for the Mayor's Office of Diversity and Human Rights. "The information we gather from the dialogues will make a powerful statement about the effects of discrimination."

The series is part of the first-year mayor's ongoing effort to build a framework for his human rights initiatives, developed during his campaign. The goal is to protect the human rights of residents and determine the effects of discrimination in Salt Lake City.

"We're interested in how constituents perceive discrimination in our city," Francisco-Nez said. "Our primary concern is that anyone who feels affected by discrimination has a forum to be heard."