New Yorkers Need To Know, They DO Have The Right
For more information on your rights and the NYC Commission on Human Rights, visit nyc.gov/youhaverights
When I learn about alleged bias incidents from news reports, social media or tips from our community stakeholders, I’m reminded of two things: on one hand, the enduring line “you’ve got to be taught to fear,” and on the other, how important it is to love, care, protect and work together as New Yorkers. I believe it is our job at the Commission — and our job as New Yorkers — to carefully but aggressively make certain we pursue the latter and advocate for what brings us together and not for what drives us apart. We must put forth the efforts necessary to ensure that every person who resides in or visits our city is celebrated for who they are and for every unique cultural, religious, and ethnic trait they bring with them. Everyone is welcome.
For the next 6 weeks, New Yorkers will see multilingual ads and posters with the tagline “You Do Have Rights NYC,” highlighting common scenarios of harassment and discrimination based on race and color, religion, sexual orientation, immigration status, and country of origin. The ads and posters will be displayed across subway stations, bus shelters, the Staten Island Ferry, online, in ethnic newspapers and radio programming, and in neighborhood establishments and houses of worship across the city. It is critical that New Yorkers, particularly from some of our most vulnerable communities, learn from these ads and understand that they DO have rights in New York City, and they are protected from discrimination and harassment by the NYC Commission on Human Rights, which enforces the NYC Human Rights Law, one of the most extensive anti-discrimination laws in the nation.
The campaign advertisements, which will be accompanied by PSA videos and community engagement events around the city, follow a 60 percent increase in reports of discrimination and bias across the city last year, a trend that continues into 2017. They urge New Yorkers to contact the Commission if they witness or experience discrimination or harassment in the workplace, in housing, at the doctor’s office, in the subway, or in any other public space.
We are reaching out to let you know that the Commission is here to help you and that this message is our promise. For centuries, New York City has been an icon of freedom and opportunity. With its emblematic symbols that are synonymous with immigration and diversity, this city has a rich history of opening its arms to those seeking a chance for new beginnings. It is a city that is awash in 200 languages and enriched by ethnic and cultural diversity. Forty percent of the New York City population was born outside of the United States. But this powerful mosaic we call New York City has increasingly been threatened by a troubling climate of intolerance, discrimination, and hate.
This current political climate we are experiencing has been defined by fearing others simply because they are or are perceived to look different, speak a different language, celebrate a different culture, or be from a different country. This has manifested in rejection, marginalization, and discrimination aimed at excluding and alienating any one regarded as “different” from being part of the community and unjustly targeting them as threats.
In a city like New York City that has always embraced newcomers, this is not only troubling — it is a violation of the law and has prompted the NYC Commission on Human Rights to rise to the challenge and work even harder to combat discrimination and harassment. Through listening sessions and surveys with New Yorkers from all walks of life, we heard the uncertainty and fear that this new reality presents for so many communities, and in response launched the “You Do Have The Right” campaign. With this unequivocal message, we aim to show New Yorkers that New York City will protect their rights and has the back of every single person who sets foot in the five boroughs. Nobody should fear discrimination because nobody here is an “other”- each of us is simply a “New Yorker.”
We launched this effort as an ally to vulnerable New Yorkers, to meet people where they are, and to spread the message that everyone has rights and protections under our law, and as the city agency tasked with combating discrimination citywide, we will fight for them. Everyone who has experienced discrimination or harassment can report it, and the Commission can help them get justice and hold violators accountable, at times with heavy fines and penalties.
As the City’s Commissioner of Human Rights, I want to hear from you. No one in this city should get away with discrimination or harassment.
Everybody has the right to speak to their families and friends in their native language without fear of being harassed and told to speak English.
Everybody has the right to rent an available apartment without being turned away because suddenly the apartment is not available to them once the landlord realizes their race or the color of their skin.
Everybody has the right to do what their faith calls for without being considered a threat.
Everybody has the right to be who they are and not be worried for their safety because of their religion or sexual orientation.
Everybody has the right to take pride in their cultural heritage however they like without being taunted and verbally assaulted with phrases like “go back to your country.”
Everybody has the right to a job based on their qualifications and not the color of their skin, their accent or their name.
Every New Yorker does have the right.
-Carmelyn P. Malalis, Chair/Commissioner, NYC Commission on Human Rights
For more information on your rights and the NYC Commission on Human Rights, visit nyc.gov/youhaverights
