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March 2020| Visit us online at www.icgov.org/SJREinitiatives
The Lens, a newsletter that spotlights Social Justice & Racial Equity Initiatives in Iowa City.
Recent highlights:
Spotlight on Discrimination
Coronavirus racism is anti-Chinese
and anti-Asian scapegoating and
xenophobic reactions, including fear,
exclusion, microaggressions, and
other racist behaviors related to this
public health epidemic.
It also includes inappropriate "jokes,"
innuendos, suggestions that any/all
Chinese and members of other Asian
communities are responsible for or
suspected of having this illness and
should be avoided.
Whether "intended" to be hurtful or
not, the reality is that the impact of these sorts of "jokes" is very hurtful and helps spread
misinformation. Click here, to view resources for learning the facts about Coronavirus and for
interrupting related racisms, microaggressions, and xenophobia.
City Staff Book Club Pick
April’s book club selection is “Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love,
Loss, and The Fight for Trans Equality” by Sarah McBride.
McBride became the first transgender person to speak at a
national political convention in 2016 at the age of 26, she struggled
with the decision to come out—not just to her family, but to the
students of American University, where she was serving as student
body president.
She’d known she was a girl from her earliest memories, but it
wasn’t until the Facebook post announcing her truth went viral that she realized just how much impact
her story would have on the country.
“Tomorrow Will Be Different” is McBride’s story of love and loss and a powerful entry point into the
LGBTQ community’s battle for equal rights and what it means to be openly transgender.
The City established a staff led book club in March of 2018. To date, the group has read: “The Hate U
Give” by Angie Thomas, “The Boys in the Bunkhouse” by Dan Barry, “Dear America” by Jose Antonio
Vargas, and “Heartland: A memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth”
by Sarah Smarsh.
Human Rights Youth Awards cancelled
The Youth Awards Ceremony scheduled for May 13, 2020 has been
cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who have been
nominated will be recognized in an alternative celebration, with
details still pending.
National Fair Housing Month
National Fair Housing Month in April increases efforts to end housing discrimination and to raise
awareness of fair housing rights.
The month also remembers the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968 in
Memphis, Tennessee and his contributions and leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. The Fair
Housing Act was passed April 11, 1968 just days after King’s death.
The Fair Housing Act was enacted to protect persons from discrimination in the sale, rental and
financing of housing based on color, race, national origin, religion, sex, disability and family status. It is
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The campaign
includes efforts to end housing discrimination and raise awareness fair housing rights in communities
across the country.
Support an end to housing discrimination because everyone deserves to live in a
safe, affordable home. Learn more by visiting www.icgov.org/humanrights and use
#NationalFairHousingMonth to promote on social media.
LGBTQ Career Expo
Sydney Stodola, Aquatic Swim Assistant, and Stefanie Bowers, Equity Director, represented the City
at the LGBTQ Career Expo on February 27, 2020 at Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids
Campus.
The Career Expo is a safe space for students (high school and college) to meet with local employers
and colleges/universities who have shown a commitment to creating supportive environments for
LGBTQ people.
Students across the state frequently express apprehension over job searching due to fear of
mistreatment based on gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation. The Expo seeks to
alleviate those anxieties by featuring employers and degree programs dedicated to fostering LGBTQ-
inclusive environments. The event was sponsored by Iowa Safe Schools.
Racial Equity Toolkits
City of Iowa City Departments have been utilizing
Equity Toolkits for several years to proactively
evaluate programs, services, and policies to
operationalize and prioritize equity and inclusion.
The toolkit consists of three stages that provides a
systematic way of gathering information to inform
planning and decision making. The Departments use
a three-step process to gather information to inform
planning and decision making about public policies
and programs. Each step is enumerated below.
Step 1: What is the impact of the proposal on
determinants of equity? The aim of the first step is to
determine whether the proposal will have an impact
on equity or not.
Step 2: Who is affected by the proposal? This step
identifies who is likely affected by the proposal.
Step 3: Opportunities for action? The third step involves identifying the impacts of the proposal from an
equity perspective.
The goal is to develop a list of likely impacts and actions to ensure that negative impacts are mitigated,
and positive impacts are enhanced. The results have been quite informative and have led to changes
in both policy and practice here at the City.
Some of the changes that occurred due to use of toolkits are: elimination of fines charged on children
and teen library collections, a requirement for a racial minority impact statements as a part of the grant
management policy, the creation of a donation program for the Utility Discount Program, a Police
online feedback form, and an online submission option to report civil rights violations.
Departments that will receive the training this spring include: Public Works, Transit, The Center,
Communications, and the City Clerk. To learn more on what City Departments have evaluated using
toolkits, click this link.
Upcoming Training
Join the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development for a Fair Housing
Accessibility First Design & Construction Training being held from 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. June 2, 2020 at the Downtown Cedar Rapids
Public Library. Information sessions include requirements of design and construction under the Fair
Housing Act, accessible public and common-use area, and common violations regarding design and
construction. To learn more and register click here.
Services available from the Equity and Human Rights Office
during COVID-19 outbreak
Iowa City residents can still contact the Office of Equity and Human Rights online, via phone, or by
email during the temporary closure of its office to the public.
For information or assistance, contact the office from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Monday through Friday via telephone at , 319-356-5015, 319-
356-5022, or via email at humanrights@iowa-city.org. The Equity
and Human Rights website can be accessed
24/7 at www.icgov.org/humanrights and provides information and
resources on unlawful discrimination, including Know Your Rights
and Fair Housing brochures available in English, Spanish, Arabic,
French, Swahili, and Chinese.
If you need to file a complaint of discrimination, visit our website to
submit it online, or contact the office for a hard-copy complaint.
Staff can email residents a copy, or send one through standard mail along with a self-addressed
stamped envelope to send it back in.
Unlawful discrimination involves treating a person less favorably than another person, because of a
protected characteristic. For example: age, sex, race, or marital status. Discrimination can happen
when a person is individually treated less favorably than another because of one or more protected
characteristics, or when a policy or practice puts a group of people at a disadvantage because of a
protected characteristic.
A person has 300 days from the last discriminatory incident to file a complaint of discrimination under
the Iowa City Code.
Stay Connected to Equity and Human Rights news
For detailed information on current trainings, initiatives, or programs,
visit icgov.org/SJREinitiatives, and scroll to Social Justice and Racial
Equity Quarterly Updates.
Follow us on Instagram @ichumanrights.
Subscribe to this newsletter and other City news and information at
icgov.org/subscribe. Thanks, and welcome!
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