Civil Rights in Iowa

The Iowa Civil Rights Commission began its long and arduous struggle in the fight for equality when the Sixty-first General Assembly enacted the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 1965. At the time of its inception, the law covered the jurisdictional areas of race, creed, color, national origin, and religion in employment and public accommodations.

Added amendments in 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1974 increased the jurisdictions greatly so that at the close of the 1975 legislature the jurisdictions include: race, religion, color, national origin, creed, sex, physical/mental disability, age in employment, housing (except age), public accommodations (except age) and credit (including marital status).

Commensurate with the provisions of the Iowa Civil Rights Act to prevent and eliminate discrimination in the State of Iowa, the Iowa Commission has established three distinct programs to attain that goal.

The Affirmative Action program and the Educational program are established preventive programs and the Compliance program is an established regulatory program. These three programs serve as the key to alleviating the many injustices and unfair practices that exist in today's society.

Discrimination has taken many forms throughout the past years up to the present. The overt discrimination has slowly passed on to a more complicated and subtle form of discrimination which is sometimes more difficult to identify and eliminate. However, while the individual citizen still continues to receive unfair treatment in these areas, the overwhelming systemic discrimination persists at the roots of all discrimination. Until the law becomes effective and the many inequities are eradicated, citizens of Iowa will need the services of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

This report has been compiled in an effort to show how the Iowa Civil Rights Commission has carried out its mandate to prevent and eliminate discrimination in Iowa during the period from July 1, 1974 to June 30, 1975.