Language Line Services Available (Over-the-phone Interpretation Service for more than 170 languages)
تتوفر خدمات خطوط اللغة (خدمة الترجمة الفورية عبر الهاتف لأكثر من 170 لغة)
提供语言专线服务（超过 170 种语言的电话口译服务）
Servicios de línea de idiomas disponibles (Servicio de interpretación por teléfono para más de 170 idiomas)
Services linguistiques disponibles (service d'interprétation par téléphone pour plus de 170 langues)
Huduma za Laini ya Lugha Zinapatikana (Huduma ya Ukalimani kwa njia ya simu kwa zaidi ya lugha 170)
Request a Speaker or Training
Speakers, Trainings & More
We offer a variety of informational presentations and trainings that can be tailored to the audience (adults, youth, employees, etc.) or location (schools, other nonprofits, corporations, etc.). We are able to offer our presentations in person and/or virtually via webinars. You will be emailed a confirmation and a copy of the information you submit.
*As a service to the community, presentations and trainings requested by nonprofits are offered free of charge.
Important Update: Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant Application Launch
The application, submission, and review process for the Racial Equity and Social Justice grant is currently undergoing revisions. As a result, submissions will not be solicited in 2024. The grant will launch in 2025. To keep up to date on the grant and other events, subscribe to the Office of Equity and Human Rights listserv. visit this link, enter your email address, hit submit, scroll to news and events, and select “Equity and Human Rights and follow us on Instagram @ichumanrights.
Human Rights Ordinance
Human Rights Ordinance
It is unlawful in Iowa City to discriminate in credit, education, employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, *familial status, gender identity, marital status, national origin, *presence or absence of dependents,* public assistance source of income, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
*Denotes only in housing
It is also unlawful to retaliate against a person because such person has lawfully opposed any discriminatory practice.
Following the filing of a complaint, office staff conducts a thorough and impartial investigation of the allegations in the complaint. To view the Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance, see Title 2 - Human Rights in the City Code.
Report a Concern of Discrimination
Report a Concern of Discrimination
If you believe that what you have experienced or witnessed is wrong, but you do not want to pursue legal remedies, you may report your concern here. We encourage you to report whatever discriminatory or disrespectful behavior you have experienced or witnessed because patterns in these reports can help us determine where we should focus our prevention efforts in the community. If you prefer to speak with someone, please call the Investigator at 319-356-5015 to discuss your concerns over the phone or to schedule a time to meet in person.
In Iowa City it is unlawful to discriminate in credit, education, employment, housing, and public accommodation on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, *familial status, gender identity, marital status, national origin, *presence or absence of dependents,* public assistance source of income, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. It is also unlawful to retaliate against a person because such person has lawfully opposed any discriminatory practice.
*Denotes only in housing
Complaints of discrimination must be filed within 300 days after the most recent discriminatory event.
To request a hard copy complaint form to be sent by standard mail, please call 319-356-5022 or email humanrights@iowa-city.org.
Fair Housing
Fair Housing
The City of Iowa City is committed to making our city a place where diversity and inclusion thrive, and all live free from any form of discrimination.
What is Fair Housing?
Fair Housing means the right for a person to live where they choose to, free from discrimination. Iowa City’s Human Rights Ordinance prohibits discrimination based on age, color, creed, disability, familial status, gender identity, marital status, national origin, presence or absence of dependents, public assistance source of income, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation.
Even with one of the strongest fair housing ordinances in the state, discrimination and segregation continue to limit housing opportunities for many residents.
Don't Stand for Housing Discrimination
Fair Housing Procedures
The Office of Equity and Human Rights procedures are governed by the Human Rights Ordinance. The office investigates complaints of discrimination by interviewing witnesses and reviewing documentary evidence. It uses its subpoena power, if necessary, to compel testimony and the production of documents. Some cases settle or are withdrawn during the investigative stage.
If, after an investigation, the Human Rights Coordinator finds no substantial evidence of a violation, the case is dismissed. If they find that there is substantial evidence of a violation, they may refer the case to conciliation where an independent mediator hired by the office will attempt to help the parties reach a resolution of the dispute. If the parties do not reach an agreement, the case proceeds to a public hearing. At the hearing, both parties present their case to an administrative law judge. After a review of the transcript, the evidence, and the briefs, the administrative law judge sets forth, in writing, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a proposed decision and order. The proposed decision becomes the final decision of the commission without further proceedings unless there is an appeal, or review on motion of, the commission within thirty (30) days.
Fair Housing Available Remedies
If, after a public hearing, a respondent is found to have violated the Human Rights Ordinance they may be ordered to: cease the illegal conduct complained of; pay actual damages for injury or loss; pay the complainant the cost, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred in pursuing the complaint; pay punitive damages (when the violation was willful, wanton or in reckless disregard of the complainant's rights); and take such other action as may be necessary to make the complainant whole.
The Lens Webinar series is a complimentary conversation on equity, inclusion, belonging, and access.
Upcoming Webinars
The last Lens Webinar for the year will be a co-sponsorship with the Iowa City Public Library and will feature author Deirdre Mask and her book, The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power. Mask reveals the numbers on a house, a building, an apartment — if we don't need to know them, we hardly notice. But they do matter in ways far more complex than letter delivery and geolocation. Addresses tell stories of identity, caste, race, wealth, and power shifts throughout human time. The Address Book is thoughtful and whimsical, startling and absorbing, a completely original historical tour, and wholly entertaining.
Mask is a writer, lawyer, and academic. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Economist, Lit Hub, The Harvard Law Review, The New Hibernia Review, The Dublin Review, and Irish Pages. Originally from North Carolina, Mask currently lives in London with her husband and daughters.
The Iowa City Public Library has copies available, and you can check out availability at this link.
How to register
The event will take place over Zoom on Thursday, December 5, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. To register to get the link to participate click here.
Human Rights Commission
Commemorative Video
Learn more about the history and the first members of the City's Human Rights Commission here.
Human Rights Commission
410 E. Washington Street
Iowa City, Iowa 52240
319-356-5022
To contact the entire Commission, email HumanRightsCommission@iowa-city.org. (All correspondence addressed to the Human Rights Commission becomes a permanent public record).
Duties
Duties of the Commission include:
Disseminating information to educate the public on illegal discrimination and civil rights, such as organizing and facilitating educational public forums that address one or more of the broad range of topics included within the rubric of human rights
Making recommendations to the City Council for such further legislation concerning discrimination as it may deem necessary and desirable
Cooperating within the limits of any appropriations made for its operation with other agencies or organizations both public and private whose purposes are not inconsistent with those of Title 2 of the City Code (Human Rights Ordinance)
Planning programs and activities designed to eliminate racial, religious, cultural and other intergroup tensions including but not limited to sex, color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age and national origin.
Learn more about the Human Rights Commission here.
Human Rights Awards
The City's Human Rights Awards have been honoring individuals, businesses, or organizations whose ongoing work, service, or contributions have positively impacted human rights either locally or abroad since 1984. Learn more here.
Watch the 2024 Awards Ceremony
Human Rights Youth Awards
Iowa City Human Rights Youth Awards
The Iowa City Human Rights Commission’s primary purpose is to promote a community of mutual respect and to honor the diversity of our community. To encourage these values in Iowa City, they have initiated the Human Rights Youth Awards, an annual celebration of Iowa City area youth. It is the Commission’s intent to identify and celebrate youth who have shown a special gift from the heart or an ability to love and care for one another. We are looking for youth who have demonstrated acts of kindness, usefulness, social courage, and/or community service. For more information, contact Human Rights Coordinator Stefanie Bowers at 319-356-5022 or email sbowers@iowa-city.org.
Watch 2024 Ceremony
Request for Sponsorship
Sponsorship Request
The Iowa City Human Rights Commission is allocated $2000 annually to provide financial assistance to community events designed to eliminate racial, religious, cultural, or other intergroup tensions, including but not limited to, sex, color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or national origin. To apply for sponsorship from the Commission click on this link.
