Human Rights Commission Working Session - April 2, 2026

A Working Session Meeting of the Human Rights Commission of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the Meadowlark Room at City Hall at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, April 2, 2026.

Commissioners present or absent were as follows:

Present: Sekou Sirleaf, Cody Severson, Carolyn Becraft (virtual).

Absent: Nancy Boyle, Xavier Welty, Tambah Saah, Aaron Kawreh, Kristin Nelson, Ritchell Aboah.

Other attendees: Brenda Derrig, Assistant City Administrator, Alyssa Farrell Czapinski, Assistant City Attorney, John Strand, City Commissioner, Dalton Erickson, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition (virtual).

Item 1. Welcome and introductions.

Item 2. Community Based Board Structure Discussion:
o The group is currently in a 60-day extension period that is nearly exhausted. There is a strong sense that the end is near and that the HRC must either present a viable restructuring proposal or face dissolution.
o Alyssa clarified that dissolving the HRC via Ordinance change is a multi-week process involving multiple readings. Some members noted that if the process began immediately, it might be finalized before the new City administration takes office in July.
o A restructuring draft was distributed in February, but the Chair noted that no one has provided concrete feedback or adjustments.
o As an alternative to restructuring, there is support for a resolution asking the City Commission to rescind or dissolve the HRC, essentially putting the responsibility back on the City leaders who created it.
o One member suggested keeping the HRC alive with a minimal proposal now, hoping to work with a more receptive Commission after the upcoming elections.
o A significant portion of the discussion centered on whether human rights advocacy should remain a formal City structure, subject to open records and transparency laws, or move to a community-led model under an organization such as the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.
o The meeting highlighted a fundamental rock and a hard place scenario: The City must maintain a formal structure to take responsibility for civil rights and ensure transparency, the current HRC is spinning its wheels and failing to meet quorums or make progress, suggesting that a community-based model might be more effective and less burdened.

Item 3. Next Steps:
o The group is leaning toward a resolution to have the City Commission decide the HRC's fate, while some members continue to advocate for a community-based restructuring that removes the HRC from direct City control.