Celebrations for First Amendment Day began April 14 with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission discussing Iowa’s advancements of civil rights at Iowa State.

Brooke Miller of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission covered Iowa’s history, from territory to modern statehood and the struggles of African Americans.

“Iowa has a great history of civil rights,” Miller said. “But the start was a bit rocky.”

Miller spoke about the “Organic Act,” where “only free, white, male citizens were entitled to vote or hold office within the territory.”

Other topics covered on how Iowa’s civil rights improved included the “Act to Regulate Blacks and Mulattoes,” Clark v. Board of Directors, Arabella Mansfield, Coger v. North West Union Packet Co., and the 1875 Federal Civil Rights Act.

Miller also focused on Edna Griffin being heralded as the “Rosa Parks of Iowa” due to her actions in Des Moines regarding Katz Drug Store’s discrimination in 1948, seven years before Rosa Parks’ famous actions.

“I think Iowa was more progressive than other states,” Miller said in a later interview. “But after today, I think education [of these events] would be awesome. The people of Iowa should be proud and should be telling these stories. It’s a little bit shocking that people don’t know this state’s history.”

The second speaker, Liz Johnson, also a civil rights specialist of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, spoke about the topic of gender identification and the legal repercussions in education and employment.

In her presentation, “Let’s Talk about More than Sex – Gender Identity and Civil Rights in Iowa,” Johnson discussed the issues facing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community in Iowa and the United States.

“What is education discrimination?” Johnson asked the crowd as she displayed the legal definitions and those protected under the statutory laws.

A national school climate survey in 2011 displayed disturbing statistics for LGBTQ harassment within the states and in Iowa. Comparatively, Iowa was higher than the national average in all manners of harassment, including physical assault, verbal abuse and a lack of faculty intervention.

Johnson also explained the legal steps that parties affected by employment discrimination must go through to receive compensation.

In a later interview, Johnson explained that the Iowa Civil Rights Commission exists to enforce the laws and educate people on their rights, not to advocate for any one particular group of people.

“We’re getting the word out that the ICRC processes these complaints,” Johnson explained. “We’re working to make sure that everybody knows about the laws we have.”

The third presentation, “Fair Housing for Everyone,” was given by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission Housing Investigations Supervisor, Don Grove. In his presentation, Grove explained the rights that every group of people has under state and federal statute, and how the ICRC protects those rights and investigates such claims.

When asked what students can do to get involved in civil rights claims, Grove mentioned the Ames Human Relations Commission that utilizes volunteers to help with casework.

Grove also encouraged students to take civil rights and law courses to better understand the work of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and their mission.