July 16, 2019

A group created by Mecklenburg County Commissioners on women’s issues has not had an easy time of it.

Zhivi Williams, who currently leads the Women’s Advisory Board, said the group had no budget of its own, could not solicit funds for its work, had no minutes of its earlier meetings at one point, and had had to ask commissioners to set aside a history of being all white, then all black, tofashion a body that crossed racial divides so it could better represent and advocate for the needs of all women in Mecklenburg.

Turnover has been high, the members are not paid, and of course no one time for meetings is convenient for all.

Williams and Yolanda Holmes presented an upbeat vision for the group, but those in the audience who had previously served and others who were quite willing to point out unmet needs of women in the community seemed intent on prodding the group to do more.

A note to viewers: Some may find offensive the comments of some male audience members when the presenters offered comments on how the group attempts to help women understand that, while women are overwhelmingly the targets of sexual harassment, that women’s comments can be sometimes be perceived as sexual harassment by men.

Livestream difficulties prompted YouTube to archive the event in two pieces. Some minutes are missing between the two.

In the videos below, the presentations begin in the first video at minute 8:15. The Q&A  begins in the first video at minute 28:50.