Bipartisan Group - Business, Political, Religious Leaders - Urge Legislators to Sustain Idaho Commission
Dick Hackborn isn't exactly a household name in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. Mention his name, however, in a room full of technology industry folks and most would quickly acknowledge that Hackborn has been one of the giants of the industry. He's the guy who built - invented even - Hewlett Packard's wildly successful printer business.
After nearly 50 years at H-P, while in his retirement, Hackborn served on the company's board, including a short stint as Chairman. According to the informed financial press, Hackborn played a key role in ending Carly Fiorina's less than spectacular tenure as H-P's CEO.
The obvious point: Hackborn knows his way around business and, while he typically maintains a low profile in Idaho, he has always been an unflinching advocate for diversity in the work place and for human rights. When Hackborn was approached last week to sign on to an "open letter" to the Idaho Legislature urging continued funding of the state's Human Rights Commission he immediately said yes.
The same can be said of Greg Carr, the Idaho Falls native, who made his fortune with Boston Technology and later served as chairman of Prodigy, an early global Internet provider. Carr has lived out his concern for human rights with the creation of the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard. His work in Africa has been featured on 60 Minutes. Carr supported creation of the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise and put up the bucks to purchase the former Aryan Nations compound near Hayden Lake, Idaho. That ground, once home to hate, the very antithesis of human rights, is now dedicated to human rights.
Carr's name is on the "open letter" along with Dick Hackborn.
Savvy business people don't need much prompting to make the connection between equality and diversity in the work place and business success in a global economy. Both Hackborn and Carr harbor deep commitments to human rights, but they also know that their support - Hewlett Packard has long been a leader in this area - puts out the welcome mat to a skilled, diverse work force.
Former Boise H-P executives Don Curtis and Rich Raimondi and their wives also signed the letter to the legislature.
For 40 years, the Idaho Human Rights Commission has been the focus - often thanks to the moral leadership of past directors Marilyn Shuler and Leslie Goddard and current director Pam Parks - for acting on the belief that human rights are a genuine priority in Idaho.
Unfortunately, Idaho isn't all that far removed from the awful public image that haunted the state when the Rev. Richard Butler and his self-proclaimed Aryna Nations white supremacists gained international attention, while preaching a gospel of hate and camping out in northern Idaho.
The Twin Falls Times-News editorialized on all this yesterday. The paper noted that the white supremacists are "mostly gone now, but their stigma endures. We can see the headlines across the country now: “Idaho joins Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi in nixing rights commission.”
Former Democratic Governors Cecil D. Andrus and John V. Evans remember those days battling the Aryan Nations, as does former GOP Lt. Governor David H. Leroy. They all signed the letter, as did more than 50 other religious, human rights, business and political leaders.
The Times-News editorial yesterday also made a point that Dick Hackborn or Greg Carr would likely embrace: "Why does [Idaho's image] matter? It matters because the standard in the private sector nowadays is zero tolerance of anything that hints of racism. Companies make decisions about whether to invest, expand or relocate expecting their employees will be treated equally under the law."
That, in a nutshell, is the massive job of the tiny Idaho Human Rights Commission.
The Commission's total state support is less than $600,000 - .00025 percent of the total state budget, less than 50 cents per Idahoan. A pretty good value to continue to have a daily, statewide moral and legal focus on issues that really matter to our culture and our economy.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Speaking Out For Human Rights
Bipartisan Group - Business, Political, Religious Leaders - Urge Legislators to Sustain Idaho Commission
Dick Hackborn isn't exactly a household name in his hometown of Boise, Idaho. Mention his name, however, in a room full of technology industry folks and most would quickly acknowledge that Hackborn has been one of the giants of the industry. He's the guy who built - invented even - Hewlett Packard's wildly successful printer business.
After nearly 50 years at H-P, while in his retirement, Hackborn served on the company's board, including a short stint as Chairman. According to the informed financial press, Hackborn played a key role in ending Carly Fiorina's less than spectacular tenure as H-P's CEO.
The obvious point: Hackborn knows his way around business and, while he typically maintains a low profile in Idaho, he has always been an unflinching advocate for diversity in the work place and for human rights. When Hackborn was approached last week to sign on to an "open letter" to the Idaho Legislature urging continued funding of the state's Human Rights Commission he immediately said yes.
The same can be said of Greg Carr, the Idaho Falls native, who made his fortune with Boston Technology and later served as chairman of Prodigy, an early global Internet provider. Carr has lived out his concern for human rights with the creation of the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard. His work in Africa has been featured on 60 Minutes. Carr supported creation of the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise and put up the bucks to purchase the former Aryan Nations compound near Hayden Lake, Idaho. That ground, once home to hate, the very antithesis of human rights, is now dedicated to human rights.
Carr's name is on the "open letter" along with Dick Hackborn.
Savvy business people don't need much prompting to make the connection between equality and diversity in the work place and business success in a global economy. Both Hackborn and Carr harbor deep commitments to human rights, but they also know that their support - Hewlett Packard has long been a leader in this area - puts out the welcome mat to a skilled, diverse work force.
Former Boise H-P executives Don Curtis and Rich Raimondi and their wives also signed the letter to the legislature.
For 40 years, the Idaho Human Rights Commission has been the focus - often thanks to the moral leadership of past directors Marilyn Shuler and Leslie Goddard and current director Pam Parks - for acting on the belief that human rights are a genuine priority in Idaho.
Unfortunately, Idaho isn't all that far removed from the awful public image that haunted the state when the Rev. Richard Butler and his self-proclaimed Aryna Nations white supremacists gained international attention, while preaching a gospel of hate and camping out in northern Idaho.
The Twin Falls Times-News editorialized on all this yesterday. The paper noted that the white supremacists are "mostly gone now, but their stigma endures. We can see the headlines across the country now: “Idaho joins Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi in nixing rights commission.”
Former Democratic Governors Cecil D. Andrus and John V. Evans remember those days battling the Aryan Nations, as does former GOP Lt. Governor David H. Leroy. They all signed the letter, as did more than 50 other religious, human rights, business and political leaders.
The Times-News editorial yesterday also made a point that Dick Hackborn or Greg Carr would likely embrace: "Why does [Idaho's image] matter? It matters because the standard in the private sector nowadays is zero tolerance of anything that hints of racism. Companies make decisions about whether to invest, expand or relocate expecting their employees will be treated equally under the law."
That, in a nutshell, is the massive job of the tiny Idaho Human Rights Commission.
The Commission's total state support is less than $600,000 - .00025 percent of the total state budget, less than 50 cents per Idahoan. A pretty good value to continue to have a daily, statewide moral and legal focus on issues that really matter to our culture and our economy.
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