Coalition of Iowa Civil and Human Rights Agencies

As a result of the cross-burnings which occurred in Iowa in the latter part of 1988, Inga Bumbary-Langston, Executive Director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, and Dianne Dillon-Ridgely, President of the Association of Iowa Human Rights Agencies invited representatives from Iowa civil and human rights organizations to attend a meeting at the Iowa State Capitol on December 8, 1988. Interested parties were invited to offer prepared remarks and to participate in a press conference which was held to share the findings and responses with the media and the public.

Forty-seven individuals representing 20 Iowa human and civil rights organizations attended meeting, with the purpose of addressing the increase of malicious acts of harassment in the state. Information was provided on incidents by the Department of Justice - Community Relations Service; Office of the Attorney General; the Iowa/Nebraska NAACP; the Gay and Lesbian Resource Center; Prairie Fire; and Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.

Based on the information presented, the groups formed a Coalition, with a steering committee of 11 people to define goals for the Coalition and set a timetable for the development of proposals. Four committees were also formed to deal with specific topics: legislation, law enforcement/community relations, education, and long-range planning.

As a result of the December 1988 meeting, the committee meetings, and additional bias-motivated crimes that occurred in 1989, the Coalition found that there has been an increase of bias-motivated crimes in Iowa; that many Iowans are unaware of the existing law which punishes this activity; and that there is no formal record-keeping requirement to document these incidents in the state.

The Coalition will be recommending further action to deter these bias-motivated crimes and incidents in Iowa.