The Captivate Conference sponsored by Ed Collaborators at the Kirkwood Regional Center in Coralville in July was a two-day conference on professional development training. It provided solutions to enhance engagement and improve student success by addressing barriers that prevent positive culture.

Sessions included topics on race relations, equity, and inclusion. Those in attendance included state leaders, school and district leaders, administrators, educators, community-based organizations, researchers, and families.

Staff of the Office of Equity and Human Rights participated in a panel discussion on Microaggressions A-Z at the conference.

Microaggression is a term used for brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group, particularly culturally marginalized groups.

Attendees were trained on identifying strategies to engage with students in a culturally proficient manner, identifying ways in which mental health may interrupt a student’s leaning experiences, and how to create strategies to best support stakeholders. You can learn more about the sponsors online.

One Iowa held its annual Midwest LGBTQ Older Adults Conference in Johnston on August 7.

Formerly known as the LGBTQ Senior Summit, this event provides workshops and networking opportunities to address the needs of older LGBTQ people in Iowa.

The City of Iowa City was an Advocate Sponsor of this year’s event that was themed Legacy and Empowerment. Staff from both the Office of Equity and Human Rights and Senior Center attended the day-long program.

“Seventy-six percent of LGBTQ adults are anxious about having ‘adequate family and/or social supports to rely on as they age,' according to 2018 AARP data,” One Iowa Interim Executive Director Courtney Reyes said. “That number is far too high, and that’s why we’ve worked with our LGBTQ Older Adult Advisory Council to develop a conference specifically targeting areas of highest concern for this community."

Jacqueline Boyd, founder and owner of The Care Plan -the country’s first LGBTQ-centered care management company-  presented opening and closing keynote addresses. As part of The Care Plan’s leadership, Boyd has consulted with national and local organizations like SAGE, Howard Brown Health Centers, AIDS Foundation Chicago, and Affinity Community Services to enhance services offered to LGBTQ older adults.

The University of Iowa’s Staff Language & Culture Services recently hosted a two-part panel discussion on Cultural Awareness in the Workplace and Managing Cultural Diversity for Success.

Countries represented on the panels included North and South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Myanmar.

The event took place at MERGE on August 1. Iowa City Council Member Mazahir Salih gave the welcoming introduction to attendees.

Iowa Works and the Iowa City Area Development Group co-sponsored the event. Staff Language and Culture Services, a unit of Organizational Effectiveness (OE) at the University, provides language instruction, cultural training, and communications support to employees including:

• University of Iowa employees who are still learning English.
• University of Iowa employees who frequently work with people who are still learning English.
• University of Iowa employees who seek to acquire Spanish as a second language for work purposes.

Corinne Stanley is the facilitator of Staff Language and Culture Services.

Next job? First job? Everyone is welcome at the City-sponsored Job & Career Fair from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2019 at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center, 220 S. Gilbert St.

There will be businesses representing the following sectors: food service, administration, customer service, social service, healthcare, and technology all seeking to hire for full and part-time positions.

It’s free to attend and the first 200 to arrive receive a tote bag! Over 40 employers are registered to attend so find your opportunity. 

The event is hosted by the City of Iowa City and Iowa Works. For information call 319-356-5022. Visit our website for a full list of employers. 

Iowa City’s Human Rights Ordinance prohibits discrimination by any business or individual that owns, leases, rents, operates, manages or in any manner controls a public accommodation.

A public accommodation is any service, product, or facility which is made available to the general public. Examples include bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and retail stores.

It is a violation of the law to withhold, deny, curtail, limit, or discriminate concerning the full use of a public accommodation based on age, color, creed, disability, gender identity, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. 

Discriminatory conduct includes denying admittance, using different terms of admittance, harassment, or differential treatment and advertising.

If you have faced discrimination at any Iowa City retailer or place of public accommodation, please do report the discrimination to the Office of Equity and Human Rights at 319-356-5022. Please feel free to also fill out an online complaint form to report the discrimination online.

The Office of Equity and Human Rights has handled hundreds of complaints in the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation. Every complaint received gives the office insight into problems that people are experiencing in this community and helps them to identify and prioritize problems for action. 

The United States Supreme Court, in late June, granted certiorari in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, the administration’s appeal of the 9th Circuit’s decision affirming the district court’s  preliminary injunction against the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

With the Mayor’s concurrence and in furtherance of the Council’s strategic plan to promote social justice and racial equity, Iowa City joined the amicus brief in the lower courts filed by the City of Los Angeles on behalf of cities, counties, the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors resisting the termination of DACA, and will also join the amicus brief that is being prepared in the Supreme Court case.

Congratulations to Iowa City Parks and Recreation for being selected to attend the National Recreation and Park Association's Community Engagement training.

The training will include a case study of two projects recently completed by Iowa City Parks and Recreation as a part of its use of Racial Equity Toolkits.

Over the last year, Iowa City Parks & Recreation completed GIS mapping showing participation for several of its core programs and services including swimming lessons. Staff then compared this information with maps showing low income and historically underserved population.

Iowa City Parks and Recreation's Park Master Plan includes a vision statement that all children in Iowa City will learn how to swim. They have identified that children from many immigrant and minority groups do not take swimming lessons, even though the City has funding to offer free or low-costs lessons.

Staff are now implementing new outreach efforts to areas identified as low engagement.  At the training, that will be held in Baltimore, Maryland in September, Iowa City Parks and Recreation staff will learn how other communities across the country are successfully reaching out to residents who do not typically use their services. Go to our website learn more about Iowa City's use of toolkits.

Why should you volunteer for a City board, commission or committee?

As a member, you will focus upon community needs that require your understanding, dedication, vision, enthusiasm and experience.

Your appointment to a position signifies the City Council's desire to have the benefit of your input during the decision-making process. While Council has the ultimate political and legal responsibility for the conduct of local government and the welfare of the entire community, you have an important role in assisting them.

Participation on a board, commission, or committee provides an opportunity to develop firsthand knowledge of the operating policies and issues of a municipal government. It must be known that not all of the recommendations made by the boards, commissions or committees will be accepted. Elected officials must weigh all advice, information and considerations as they reach the decisions for which they are responsible.

Eligibility Requirements

To apply for a position, you must be 18 years of age and live within the city limits of Iowa City. The City of Iowa City encourages diversity in the appointment to boards and commission.

How to apply

To apply online or to print the application, visit our website.

To learn more about opportunities to serve on boards and commission, contact the Office of Equity and Human Rights to schedule a complimentary presentation by calling 319-356-5022 or sending an email to humanrights@iowa-city.org.

Individuals, businesses, or organizations whose ongoing work, service, or contributions have positively impacted Human Rights either locally or abroad may be nominated in the following categories:

Isabel Turner Award: For working for the rights of individuals to get fair and ethical treatment and/or volunteering time to an organization or business that works for these.

Rick Graf Award: For long-term commitment of an individual, business, or individual with a service organization, to a specific cause or for the benefit of a specific group of persons.

Linda Severson Award: For outstanding contributions to human rights by an individual in a service organization.

International Award: For significant contributions to human rights in the global community.

Bill Reagan Business/Community Award: For outstanding contributions to human rights by a business or organization. 

Kenneth Cmiel Award: For active contributions to the field of human rights by a college or graduate student. 

Nominations can be submitted online at www.icgov.org/HumanRightsNominationForm, and are open until September 27.

The awards will be presented at the annual awards breakfast to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at the Hilton Garden Inn Iowa City Downtown University. Melissa Shivers, Vice President for Student Life, will deliver the keynote address.

For more information contact the City's Equity Director at 319-356-5022 or email stefanie-bowers@iowa-city.org

For detailed information on current trainings, initiatives, or programs, visit icgov.org/SJREinitiatives, and scroll to Social Justice and Racial Equity Quarterly Updates.

Subscribe to this newsletter and other City news and information at icgov.org/subscribe. Thanks, and welcome!