The Iowa Civil Rights Commission is in the midst of several hearings across the state. Commission executive director Ralph Rosenberg says the hearings are a way to get, and give out information. He says the commission is celebrating its 40th anniversary and they want to explain how they investigate and enforce discrimination laws. He says they also want to find out what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong, and how they can strengthen what they’re doing. He says the hearings let them educate people on a lot of things.
Rosenberg says it gives a chance to explain discrimination laws to try and help prevent discrimination. He says a lot of people think they only react to what happens, but they also try to prevent discrimination.
Rosenberg says Iowa isn’t yet a perfect state. He says, “We still have discrimination in the State of Iowa. We’re getting better, we’ve made strides. We just need to figure, explore how we can better prevent it (discrimination) and resolve it.”
Rosenberg says the hearings may answer some of the questions people have, but haven’t asked the commission about. He says they’ll probably put the feedback they receive on their website, so you can get a sense of what has been talked about. The next hearing is November 10th in Fort Dodge. Rosenberg says if you can’t make a hearing, you can write the commission a letter, or go on-line and e-mail him.