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Burlington Commission on Human Rights, 1964-1965

Iowa Law Review, "State Civil Rights Statute: Some Proposals" Page 1076

1076     IOWA LAW REVIEW     [Vol. 49

In addition, "some employers pay Negroes less salary than white employees with comparable jobs,"37 and have required "higher standards for Negro applicants than for white ones."38 There is also evidence to the effect that many employment agencies have cooperated with discriminatory employers,39 and some craft unions have excluded Negroes from both membership and apprenticeships.40
   It is also clear that Negroes do not have an opportunity equal with whites to obtain suitable housing in Iowa. In 1961 witnesses before the Iowa Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission indicated that in the cities of this state the Negro minority had a housing problem.
     A number of colored persons appeared and from their testimony it was evident that their homes were confined to [a certain] ...area....Many had acquired the means with which to buy better homes, but were unable to do so....
. . . [R]eal estate agents are reluctant if not unwilling to sell or rent dwellings to nonwhite families, regardless of income. Even colored families with ample financial resources can usually buy homes only in fringe areas.41
   A three-year-old study by the Des Moines Commission on Human Rights also indicated that housing discrimination against that city's 12,000 Negroes was widespread. The report noted that:

     Negro citizens of Des Moines have been almost totally excluded from the purchase or rental of the 15,379 homes built by private enterprise since World War II . . . . At the writing of this report no builder will sell a Negro a house in any development now in progress.
. . . . 85.9% of all Negroes in [Des Moines] . . . . are located in the most run down sections of our city. There is hardly a structure in these areas that is on the residential tax rolls for more than $2,600--most are under this figure.42
The Des Moines Commission concluded that despite some encouraging signs of progress, "the bulk of housing in Des Moines remains discriminatory."43 It is probably fair to say that this picture is representative of many Iowa cities.44
________________________
37 see ibid.
38 Des Moines Register, Sept. 16, 1963, p.9, col. 1.
39 Des Moines Register, Sept. 11, 1963, p. 7, col. 2.
40 Des Moines Register, Sept. 14, 1963, p. 8 col. 2. Se THE 50 STATES REPORT 147 and text accompanying note 31 supra.
41 THE 50 STATE REPORT 149-51.
42 Des Moines Comm'n on Human Rights and Job Discrimination, A Documentary Study on Housing Discrimination 1-2, May 16, 1961.
43 Id. at 16.
44 Note for example that in a recent survey conducted for the Iowa City Human Relations Commission, 29% of landlords interviewed answered "no" when asked: (1) whether they would agree to have their rentals counted with others who would rent without regard to race, creed, or national origin and (2) whether they would be willing to have their rentals listed with others on the same basis.

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1076 IOWA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 49 In addition, "some employers pay Negroes less salary than white employees with comparable jobs,"37 and have required "higher standards for Negro applicants than for white ones."38 There is also evidence to the effect that many employment agencies have cooperated with discriminatory employers,39 and some craft unions have excluded Negroes from both membership and apprenticeships.40 It is also clear that Negroes do not have an opportunity equal with whites to obtain suitable housing in Iowa. In 1961 witnesses before the Iowa Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission indicated that in the cities of this state the Negro minority had a housing problem. A number of colored persons appeared and from their testimony it was evident that their homes were confined to [a certain] ...area....Many had acquired the means with which to buy better homes, but were unable to do so.... . . . [R]eal estate agents are reluctant if not unwilling to sell or rent dwellings to nonwhite families, regardless of income. Even colored families with ample financial resources can usually buy homes only in fringe areas.41 A three-year-old study by the Des Moines Commission on Human Rights also indicated that housing discrimination against that city's 12,000 Negroes was widespread. The report noted that: Negro citizens of Des Moines have been almost totally excluded from the purchase or rental of the 15,379 homes built by private enterprise since World War II . . . . At the writing of this report no builder will sell a Negro a house in any development now in progress. . . . . 85.9% of all Negroes in [Des Moines] . . . . are located in the most run down sections of our city. There is hardly a structure in these areas that is on the residential tax rolls for more than $2,600--most are under this figure.42 The Des Moines Commission concluded that despite some encouraging signs of progress, "the bulk of housing in Des Moines remains discriminatory."43 It is probably fair to say that this picture is representative of many Iowa cities.44 ________________________ 37 see ibid. 38 Des Moines Register, Sept. 16, 1963, p.9, col. 1. 39 Des Moines Register, Sept. 11, 1963, p. 7, col. 2. 40 Des Moines Register, Sept. 14, 1963, p. 8 col. 2. Se THE 50 STATES REPORT 147 and text accompanying note 31 supra. 41 THE 50 STATE REPORT 149-51. 42 Des Moines Comm'n on Human Rights and Job Discrimination, A Documentary Study on Housing Discrimination 1-2, May 16, 1961. 43 Id. at 16. 44 Note for example that in a recent survey conducted for the Iowa City Human Relations Commission, 29% of landlords interviewed answered "no" when asked: (1) whether they would agree to have their rentals counted with others who would rent without regard to race, creed, or national origin and (2) whether they would be willing to have their rentals listed with others on the same basis.