SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — A Sullivan County Human Rights Commission and full-time human rights director have finally been established by the legislature after the commission fell defunct twice in recent history, and the last commissioner resigned in 2023.

Each legislator nominated one member to be appointed to the commission. Eight residents (see full list at bottom right) and legislator Amanda Ward will form the nine-person body. 

Residents expressed strong scrutiny and opposition to the appointment of a legislator and Bill Liblick (see sidebar) to the commission. 

The commission will work closely with Ramone E. Wilson, newly hired as the county’s human rights director, to serve full-time. This is the first time the position is full-time—previously, directors only served in a part-time capacity.

Established by the Sullivan County Legislature in 2005, the human rights commission is charged with fostering mutual respect and understanding among all racial, religious and national groups within the county, and on a broader level, seeks to promote equality and prevent discrimination.

The role of the director and commissioners is to ensure individuals’ concerns are heard and guide people through the reporting process, while also supporting outreach, education and compliance with anti-discrimination and consumer rights laws. The commission has been re-established but will continue, as it always has, to leave the investigation of human rights complaints to the state.

Wilson introduced himself at the April 24 legislative session. He is a native of Newark, NJ, and developed a passion for music at the Baptist church his family attended.

He has a master’s degree in business administration and has worked as a community compliance officer with a Newark property management company, as director of diversity, equity and inclusion at New England Community Services, and most recently, he was the support coordinator supervisor for A Simple Leap in Cherry Hill, NJ. 

“As someone who was the victim of racial discrimination, human rights interest me greatly,” Wilson said in a release from the county.

He succeeds the former director, Adrienne Jensen, who resigned from the part-time post, citing a lack of support.

Resigning in front of the then legislative body, she said, “I think that something that the office needs is support. I think that’s really what it needs to be recognized as a genuine office within the county. I think that it needs that respect. I hope that whoever fills the position coming up, that it’s someone who understands what I was just speaking about: that human rights is an issue for all folks and that it’s not something that people look at to wag a finger at someone or create some sort of disruption, but rather to find a way to bring the county together.”

A full article on the history and controversy over the new appointees of the human rights commission will be posted on the riverreporter.com in the coming days. The article will be part of the series “No Roof, No Rights: Housing and Human Rights,” which examines the connection between housing and human rights in Sullivan County, with reporting on how both the county government and its residents are navigating these critical issues.  Read the first article in the series here.