Stocks to keynote Human Rights Banquet

COEUR d’ALENE — John Stocks, executive director of the National Education Association, will be the featured speaker at this year’s Human Rights Banquet in Coeur d’Alene.

In its 19th year, the event is presented by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations and will take place Friday, April 22 at the Best Western Plus Coeur d’Alene Inn, 506 W. Appleway Ave.

Stocks, a native of New Orleans, is the former executive director of the Idaho Fair Share nonprofit as well as a former Idaho state senator.

Stocks directs the daily operations of the NEA with 3.2 million members, more than 500 employees and an annual budget of $370 million.

In this position since 2011, Stocks has championed social justice often referring to supporters of human rights as “Social Justice Patriots." He will address the topic “Institutional Racism and Human Rights."

The evening will also include the presentation of several annual awards from a variety of categories by the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.

“We are grateful to the banquet benefactors who have made it possible to award 75 minority scholarships to NIC students since 1998,” said KCTFHR president Christie Wood. “Each year’s large banquet gathering provides us the opportunity to promote and celebrate human rights in our region.”

The board members of the Idaho Hall of Fame will be present to induct business entrepreneurs Steve and Judy Meyers, former Coeur d’Alene mayor Sandi Bloem, civil rights attorney Norm Gissel and former executive director of the Idaho Human Rights Commission Marilyn Shuler into the Idaho Hall of Fame.

The founders and board members of the recently formed Spokane County Human Rights Task Force will be introduced and welcomed as the newest human rights group in the Inland Northwest.

The banquet will begin with a reception at 5 p.m. and dinner starting at 6 p.m.

Individual tickets are $40 and can be purchased by calling 765-3932 with Wednesday, April 20, as the deadline for purchase of tickets.

The banquet proceeds go to the Human Rights Education Institute with a portion of those funds used to provide minority student scholarships to NIC students.