Representatives from the Oregon Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division visited the Central Oregon Social Justice Center in downtown Bend on Friday afternoon to allow community members to talk about local civil rights issues.

Several people from a variety of agencies attended the public discussion to learn from the state’s Civil Rights Director, Erious Johnson, about what they can do in the community when it comes to civil rights.

Johnson’s job is to take on civil rights cases for the state, but also to do outreach and education work for the public.

Put simply, Johnson said, he goes after wrongdoers on behalf of the state.

Johnson explained that though his cases vary widely, generally he takes on issues that have the potential to affect many people in the state, not just one person. For example, in one recent case, there was a man working on irrigation systems who was targeting elderly consumers. The man would have the elderly customers sign and initial an agreement before he completed the work, and then he would charge them $3,000 to $4,000. Although it was a matter of fraud, it also involved civil rights because the man was singling out the elderly. Johnson said consumer protection and civil rights often go hand in hand.

In another case, a woman with cognitive disabilities approached his office after a for-profit college would not make an accommodation for her, failed her in her classes and would not refund her money.

Johnson opened up the conversation to see what kinds of civil rights issues might be on the minds of locals in Bend.

Therese Poncy came Friday as president of local 3997 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Poncy is a social worker for Deschutes County. She said in Central Oregon, racism is a widespread issue.

Poncy said she sees blatant racism, but also casual racism, what she called “diet racism” on a daily basis.

“There’s a lot of defensiveness anytime we want to talk about racism,” said Poncy, wondering where people can go after they’ve faced an incident. Recently her friend was walking alone in Bend when a racial slur was shouted at her.

Johnson said he believes many of the daily civil rights issues people face can, and should, be handled on a local, community basis, whether that means speaking out as an individual or asking for help from local law enforcement. Sometimes, he said, issues like being called a name should be ignored.

But another man at the meeting disagreed. He said civil rights violations should be approached with the broken window theory — which encourages fixing small problems to show that community members will not stand for any acts of crime. As the theory goes, broken windows should be fixed quickly to show that neighbors are paying attention to crimes. If broken windows start adding up, criminals may think they can get away with larger acts.

Bend Police Chief Jim Porter, also at the meeting, agreed with the man’s statement. He wants his department to address civil rights issues like the slur the woman experienced to prevent worse incidents from happening. But it’s important, both Johnson and Porter said, to gather details like a license plate number if you’re going to report something.

Whitney Swander, assistant director of the Latino Community Association, said when clients there are speaking up about issues, it’s not just annoyances. They bring up issues when they become fearful. The association provides services that involve both language interpretation and advocacy. She often sees cases in which immigrant workers aren’t being paid accurately for the time they work or aren’t being paid overtime.

Johnson explained with a problem like that, he may refer the case to the state Bureau of Labor and Industries, an agency with which he works closely. But potentially, if it was affecting a large group of people, Johnson could be the one to take on the case.

One of his goals as civil rights director, he said Friday, is to get people to understand their rights.

“I think all of us need to start teaching individuals how to defend themselves,” said Johnson, who commended Porter and Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel for being there. Johnson said he knows in a lot of communities, officials like them might not even attend a discussion on civil rights.

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, kfisicaro@bendbulletin.com