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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965

Iowa Law Review, "State Civil Rights Statute: Some Proposals" Page 1072

1072   IOWA LAW REVIEW   [Vol. 49

less of their educational, economic, or professional accomplishment, one out of every six Americans is presently barred from living where he wishes because of racial or religious discrimination.18
   Consider also the frequent lack of equal opportunity for nonwhites in this country to use and enjoy hotels, restaurants, places of recreation and amusement, and other kinds of business facilities which are available to the public generally.19
     [F]or virtually every Negro citizen . . . the absence of this right is one of the most galling facts of life in the United States today.
       The simple fact is that for them equal access to public accommodation does not exist as a general and ordinary matter anywhere in the country. Even in the North, Midwest, and Far West, where the denial of equal treatment is less obvious than in the South all public accommodations are by no means fully available [to Negroes].20
   This kind of second-class treatment of nonwhites in places of business that are otherwise open to the community at large effectively precludes them from fully realizing or enjoying the fruits of our society.
   In almost every part of our nation some individuals are denied equal opportunity in employment, housing, or public accommodations because of the color of their skin. But such discrimination assumes different forms and degrees of acuteness according to its context. For example, civil rights problems of urban America are not always comparable to those found in rural areas. Furthermore, in the South, race restrictions have been strongly supported by law, tradition, and broadly-based popular attitudes. In other areas of the country, restrictions are not the result of law, official policy, or a widely acknowledged tradition. Nevertheless, discrimination persists, but in varying degrees and with different characteristics according to the area examined.
   On the whole, Iowa's record in race relations has been better than most other states. This is both a product of a more liberal attitude in this matter as well as demographic circumstances. Consider the latter factor first.
   Iowa has never had a large nonwhite population. Even today only about 29,000 of the state's two-and-three-quarter million inhabitants are nonwhite. Over two thirds of these 29,000 people live in the six largest cities in the state; and over three quarters live in the fourteen largest cities.21
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18 McGhee & Ginger, The House I Live In, 46 CORNELL L.Q. 194 (1960).
19 See, e.g, Hearings Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, 88th Cong., 1st Sess. ser. 27, at 722-38 (1963) [hereinafter cited as Public Accommodations Hearings].
20 Id. at 690 (testimony of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., Acting Secretary of Commerce).
21 U. S. Census of Population, 1960, General Population Characteristics, Iowa.

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1072 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 49 less of their educational, economic, or professional accomplishment, one out of every six Americans is presently barred from living where he wishes because of racial or religious discrimination.18 Consider also the frequent lack of equal opportunity for nonwhites in this country to use and enjoy hotels, restaurants, places of recreation and amusement, and other kinds of business facilities which are available to the public generally.19 [F]or virtually every Negro citizen . . . the absence of this right is one of the most galling facts of life in the United States today. The simple fact is that for them equal access to public accommodation does not exist as a general and ordinary matter anywhere in the country. Even in the North, Midwest, and Far West, where the denial of equal treatment is less obvious than in the South all public accommodations are by no means fully available [to Negroes].20 This kind of second-class treatment of nonwhites in places of business that are otherwise open to the community at large effectively precludes them from fully realizing or enjoying the fruits of our society. In almost every part of our nation some individuals are denied equal opportunity in employment, housing, or public accommodations because of the color of their skin. But such discrimination assumes different forms and degrees of acuteness according to its context. For example, civil rights problems of urban America are not always comparable to those found in rural areas. Furthermore, in the South, race restrictions have been strongly supported by law, tradition, and broadly-based popular attitudes. In other areas of the country, restrictions are not the result of law, official policy, or a widely acknowledged tradition. Nevertheless, discrimination persists, but in varying degrees and with different characteristics according to the area examined. On the whole, Iowa's record in race relations has been better than most other states. This is both a product of a more liberal attitude in this matter as well as demographic circumstances. Consider the latter factor first. Iowa has never had a large nonwhite population. Even today only about 29,000 of the state's two-and-three-quarter million inhabitants are nonwhite. Over two thirds of these 29,000 people live in the six largest cities in the state; and over three quarters live in the fourteen largest cities.21 _________________________ 18 McGhee & Ginger, The House I Live In, 46 CORNELL L.Q. 194 (1960). 19 See, e.g, Hearings Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, 88th Cong., 1st Sess. ser. 27, at 722-38 (1963) [hereinafter cited as Public Accommodations Hearings]. 20 Id. at 690 (testimony of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., Acting Secretary of Commerce). 21 U. S. Census of Population, 1960, General Population Characteristics, Iowa.