Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Robeson County Commissioners, during an upcoming budget workshop, may discuss abolishing the Robeson County Human Relations Commission. The office, funded entirely by the county at $81,981 for 1997-1998, has a full-time director, a part-time program coordinator, and a 24-member board (one White, one Indian, and one Black member from each of the county's election districts). There are perceptions that the commission accomplishes little, that board members often miss meetings, and that it is difficult to determine what the commission can do to improve human relations in the county. The Commission was formed in 1988, the year of the Robesonian hostage-taking and the murder of Lumbee Superior Court judgeship candidate Julian Pierce. It was disbanded in 1991 but reactivated the following year.