The Davenport Civil Rights Commission is an agency created by city of Davenport with the purpose of enforcing the Davenport civil rights ordinance, according to their website. But even with that explanation there are a lot of questions Davenport residents have in regards to what type of cases this agency handles.
“A lot of people don’t understand,” what the agency does says Judy Morrell, Director of the Davenport Civil Rights Commission.
That’s why recently Judy gave a presentation for the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union at the Unitarian Church in Davenport; there she described the type of cases that the Davenport Civil Rights Commission handles.
The agency deals with discrimination cases against individuals or organization that happen their place of employment, in housing, public education, and credit. The mission of the agency is to secure that the residents of Davenport are free “from discrimination because of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, marital status and familial status (in housing only),”
But they don’t just wait to resolve past cases, they educate employers and companies to avoid conflict in the future. They have a diversity training which they provide for Davenport companies at no cost.
“Employers are recognizing that our workforce is changing,” Morrell said and added that older people are now working more which may result in generational issues.
Along with Judy Morrell – an attorney herself – the agency provides one attorney who specializes in housing cases and an investigative paralegal who investigates the cases and together they deal with the issue at hand. The Davenport Civil Right Commission has jurisdiction over incidents that happen only in Davenport and cases that are filed 180 days after the incident. Housing discrimination cases can be filed up to 1 year from the date of the incident. Also, they can’t handle cases against the city of Davenport because it would be a conflict of interest since they are a city agency. There is no charge to file a claim.
During the meeting Morrell shared a few examples to better illustrate the cases they have been dealing with. One involved a male landlord would do needed repairs for his women tenants or exchange rent for sex with them. He had to pay a conciliation amount to the women and was forced to sell his rental properties and is not allowed to buy properties to rent. In another case, two young African- American girls went into a convenience store to buy candy. After the clerk watched them suspiciously while they shopped without any real cause, he accused them of stealing and in front of other customers humiliated them as he made them empty their coat pockets. They were empty. The store relocated the man to a different location and had to pay a conciliation amount to each of the girls.
The majority of the cases filed in Davenport are made by African-Americans. Morrell says that Hispanic and Asians don’t complain much.
En 2007 there were 151 cases of which 88 dealt with discrimination in the workplace, 30 in housing, and 22 in public accommodations. According to Morrell in 2007, 90.7 percent of cases filed were resolved by mediation.
“Mediation is a big thing in our office,” Morrell said. During the mediation process both parties meet with the volunteer mediator – who are top notch attorneys – and take part in a confidential agreement, saving everyone a lot of time and avoiding hassles in the court system.
If you believe your civil rights have been violated in Davenport visit the Davenport Civil Rights Commission, 226 West 4th St., or call (563) 326-7888.
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