Iowa City to host fair housing events in honor of landmark law

IOWA CITY — The city of Iowa City’s Office of Equity and Human Rights is hosting two virtual events focused on fair housing as part of the office’s recognition of the 54th anniversary of the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Both events, which will take place this month, aim to educate community members on the rights these laws provide to the public, said Equity Director Stefanie Bowers.

On Thursday, April 14, city officials will host a virtual screening of a 2018 documentary called “Owned: A Tale of Two Americas” that explores discrimination in the housing market in the United States. The screening is free to the public.

It’s scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the film’s director, Giorgio Angelini, at 7:30 p.m.

Those interested can learn more and register to attend through the office’s website here: icgov.org/news/office-equity-and-human-rights-host-screening-documentary-owned-tale-two-americas.

The Office of Equity and Human Rights also is hosting two free fair housing training sessions that are aimed at landlords, property managers and others involved in the housing industry locally, Bowers said.

The training sessions will be available via Zoom.

The first course offered by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission will take place on Wednesday, April 13, from 9 to 11 a.m. This course is an introductory lesson on the Fair Housing Act and will include information about protected classes and prohibited practices under state laws.

The second course will take place online on Wednesday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to noon. This is an intermediate training session that will be conducted by an official with the Fair Housing Institute.

Those interested in signing up for these two training sessions can do so on the office’s website, icgov.org/news/office-equity-and-human-rights-host-free-fair-housing-training-sessions-april.

The events are part of an annual effort each April from the city office to mark the anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, a landmark law that outlawed housing discrimination based on race, religion, nationality or sex.

But these events come as the Office of Equity and Human Rights has seen an increase in the number of discrimination complaints related to housing, Bowers said.

The office typically sees the most complaints in employment discrimination, but those complaints leveled off in 2020, Bowers said. Instead, officials saw the number of housing-related complaints increase — most likely because the public spent more time at home that year, she said.

On average, the Office of Equity and Human Rights receives 45 to 50 total complaints each year. The office received five more complaints around housing discrimination in fiscal year 2021 than it did in fiscal year 2020.

Complaints about employment-based discrimination decreased by 11 total complaints from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021, Bowers said.

“Instead of being in the workplace and experiencing harassment, they’re finding it in the places they call home,” she said.

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