EXCLUSIVE: Extremists Hijack Taxpayer Funded Human Rights Commissions in Virginia Cities

Human Rights Commissions (HRCs) are active in several cities across Virginia. They're intended to be advisory agencies to elected city government leaders. Instead, they're extremist bastions of far-left activists furthering their progressive agendas. It's not just their views that are appalling, but also their behavior.

The Virginia Beach HRC leads the way as one of the most radical, but most people remain unaware because they don’t stream their meetings to the public. Restoration News made a Freedom of Information Act request for the meeting videos. What we found was shocking. Commissioners, appointed by city council, use their positions to promote their own personal extreme leftist objectives. The lack of professionalism—and in some cases, criminal actions—of some commissioners put the city in a difficult position.

For example, a past chair of the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission (HRC) was forced to step down after charges of domestic assault and attempted malicious wounding. Additionally, during a meeting in 2024, the then-chair of the Virginia Beach HRC and current commission member, Sylvia Nery-Strickland, threatened the vice-chair, Jamal Gunn, during a recorded meeting saying, "Don't make me bitch slap you."  

Shocking behavior for an organization tasked with human rights advisement—but it gets worse.

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Democrat Operatives Take Over

It's evident a vast majority of the HRC members are far-left Democrats who aren't afraid to make their political views known. At the March 13, 2025 meeting, Chair Ginger Jenkot asserted that she wanted to focus on legislation impacting human rights and asked her fellow commissioners to support those efforts—seeming to dictate her own viewpoints. Jenkot expressed her disapproval of President Trump’s decision to prohibit transgender military members and the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Another commissioner expressed her displeasure about Robert Kennedy's investigation into possible connections between autism and vaccines. Vice-chair Gunn expressed his disapproval that men who identify as women wouldn't be able to participate in women's sports, calling the new rules "a solution looking for a problem."

Not to be outdone, the School Board member liaison to the HRC, Kim Melnyk, spent time complaining about school librarians being required to comb through books to weed out harmful sexually explicit materials. Melnyk also claimed to be involved with the Children's Health Investment Program (CHIP) and expressed concerns for illegal aliens in the city who may be deported saying, “we do have many families in hiding right now, they are not sending their children to school. They are underground. They are undocumented people and they are afraid to send their kids to school.”

The CHIP website lists Melnyk as a representative of the Virginia Beach School Board. Restoration News reached out to the school board for comment. Board member Rose Dwyer referred to it as inappropriate for Melnyk to make personal representations in her role as a school board liaison to the HRC. The School Board Chair, Kathleen Brown, said the school district "does not have a partnership with CHIP" and Melnyk's "opinions referenced [in the HRC meeting] do not appear to reflect the body corporate" of the school board. This could constitute grounds for the school board to remove Ms. Melnyk as a liaison to HRC for representing her personal opinions in her official position on the board.

At an October 2024 HRC meeting, the ACLU gave a presentation advocating to restore voting rights to felons—something not under the control of the HRC or the city council. January 2025 meeting minutes reveal the HRC promoted “Lobby Day” for Equality Virginia, a far-left group that promotes LGBT policies and legislation. Does the Virginia Beach City Council support its appointed commissioners using their position to lobby for highly partisan causes?

Meltdown After Trump Won

Just days after the November 2024 presidential election, the Virginia Beach HRC held a meeting. They were in complete meltdown mode over the outcome. Chair Jenkot said:

I'm really afraid right now, I'm afraid for human rights, I'm afraid for my brothers and sisters of color who continue to be discriminated against, both overtly and covertly. . . I'm afraid for my community, for the LGBTQ community, the hatred, my community is sharing crisis and suicide hotlines. We risk to lose marriage equality. It's frightening." Then she rambles on about the need to create "safe spaces" parroting Hillary Clinton: "we are stronger together."

Another HRC commissioner, Carla Hessletine, is a former Chair of the Democrat Party of Virginia Beach. She was embroiled in her own controversy when she was removed from her party chair position for violating the by-laws. Hessletine praised Jenkot's statements and claimed, "I'm trying to provide a safe space for people." Other commissioners gave their opinions during this taxpayer funded meeting, including one of the Hispanic leaders. She used her position to promote far-left organizations such as the ACLU and Legal Aid Justice Center.

Human Rights Commission City Code

Virginia law permits city governments to establish advisory boards and commissions. The Virginia Beach City Council established the HRC and created a governing code which directs the powers and duties of the commission: "To institute, conduct, and engage in educational and informational programs for the promotion of mutual understanding and respect among citizens, and the fulfillment of human rights" and other related duties. Nowhere in the code does it permit lobbying or promoting political agendas.

Virginia Beach City Council should act to either eliminate or thoroughly overhaul the HRC. It is not an organization required by law and few cities across the state have adopted them. It's clear they are just being used to further far-left extremist views.

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