Dig into roots of disparity

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Despite efforts to eliminate discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity, two recent reports show the problem of disparate treatment seems to persist in Iowa, even right here in Eastern Iowa.

These two reports indicate there's room for improvement here when it comes to treating all residents fairly under civil rights laws that spell out protections.

The first, released by the American Civil Liberties Union, shows that of all states, Iowa has the highest racial disparity in arrests for marijuana possession.

The ACLU reports that even though marijuana use is roughly equal among Caucasians and African American residents, black Iowans are eight times more likely to be arrested for the crime than are whites.

That's significantly higher than the national average that showed African-Americans were 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana.

The group listed both Linn and Johnson counties as among the worst of the worst - showing greater arrest disparities than most Iowa counties.

It's not clear what, exactly, is causing the unequal enforcement of this law. The study also didn't analyze whether the arrests were accompanied by other charges.

But in a state that long has struggled with overrepresentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system, the ACLU's study is a noteworthy finding.

And it adds credence to recently published results from a Diversity Focus survey, which shows that residents believe that substantial discrimination persists in The Corridor, especially in employment, retail stores and restaurants, government - including law enforcement - public schools and other areas involving children.

More than half of the African-American respondents to the 2013 Diversity Climate Assessment reported feeling discriminated against in all six of those areas.

Diversity Focus Spokeswoman Becky Lutgen Gardner told a reporter the next step is to reach out to employers to discuss the findings. That discussion also should include public policy makers and law enforcement.

It's clear that Iowans have work to do to identify the root causes of lingering discrimination in The Corridor and figure out how to best address them.

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