Community Relations Commission

A leader of a new county group formed to promote racial equality and understanding plans to sponsor a "racial justice weekend," and asked Carroll's commissioners and mayors Thursday to publicly support the organization's mission."

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has ordered the city to rehire a man who failed a fire department physical examination shortly after he entered the fire academy in May 1985.As a result of the decision, Charles E. Johnson, now 36, is eligible to re-enter the fire academy with back wages. "I had wanted to be a firefighter since I was a kid," Johnson said today. "When they fired me, I was heartbroken."That hurt was translated into determination, he said, when he chose to battle to "get back what was rightfully mine."

In a continuing battle for the group's survival, a new director has taken over the reins of a volunteer panel created to fight discrimination in Carroll.Shelley Sarsfield, 41, of Westminster was electedchairwoman by other members of the commission July 1, replacing Richard D. Bucher, who resigned that day.The new chairwoman said she hopes that at least one of the commission's battles is over and that, temporarily at least, the organization has found a new home."We spent six months, from January to June 1991, fighting for our survival.

The Arita family, who lives in Saki City, Osaka, says many Japanese have little sensitivity when it comes to racial issues.So the Aritas formed a group to combat racism. Yesterday, the family visited Baltimore at the invitation of black-owned companies promoting business ties between black American and Japanese firms.The family operates the Association to Stop Racism Against Blacks in Japan. Founded in 1988, the organization has fought to remove from Japanese society products demeaning to blacks -- such as black dolls with exaggerated facial features and Little Black Sambo toys.

Despite the resignation of two members and the recent death of another, the remaining members of the Carroll County Community Relations Commission have vowed to keep fighting for the panel's existence, saidVice Chairwoman Virginia Harrison of Sykesville.The panel formedin late 1989 and began mediating local complaints of discrimination,particularly around race and access to the handicapped.But since January, the panel has had to struggle with a withdrawal of support from the Carroll Commisioners.

A panel created to fight discrimination continues to battle for its own survival, but has found a temporary home with a private agency.Meanwhile, the County Commissioners remain undecided on whether they should formally support such a panel.Richard D. Bucher, chairman of Carroll County's Community Relations Commission, said he and the other six volunteer members believe the commissioners' seeming lack of support for their group sends a message that discrimination isn't a problem.Bucher said in addition to philosophical support, his panel needs a consistent address to which people can send or phone in complaints, and minimal money for postage, phone calls and fliers.

Yoko Akashi says a small group of people in her native Japan are beginning to make some progress in getting Japanese publishers to stop distributing materials with negative images of blacks.Akashi, a junior at Indiana University in Pennsylvania, also said yesterday that the 80-member Association to Stop Racism Against Blacks also has had some small success in pressuring Japanese firms to stop using racial stereotypes in their advertising."Little by little, we're making a difference," Akashi, 21, said during a visit to the Baltimore Community Relations Commission.

Baltimore has a serious race relations problem -- including widespread racial and ethnic discrimination, according to the overwhelming majority of people who responded to a questionnaire at the city's racial summit in November.The results of the poll were to be released today at the annual breakfast meeting of the Baltimore Community Relations Commission.Ninety-three percent of the respondents indicated that the city either has a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" race relations problem.

The Baltimore County Human Relations Commission, which was to recommend to the County Council whether homosexuals should be protected from discrimination under the county code, failed to come to a consensus yesterday and will leave the decision to the council."

The county commissioners last week severed all ties with the all-volunteer Community Relations Commission, the independent agency set up last year to help mitigate discrimination complaints.Citing too much exposure to potential lawsuits, the commissioners ordered the commission to stop using county stationery, to give up the county officespace and to discontinue using a county phone number.County attorney Charles W. "Chuck" Thompson Jr. said that the commission was not appointed by the commissioners but by the Human Services Council, also an independent organization.