Advocates for Blacks Want to "Ban the Box"
A bill to make it easier for convicted criminals to re-enter the workforce after they’ve served their time was under discussion at the statehouse. So-called “Ban the Box” legislation is a top priority...
View ArticleIowa NAACP Wants Significant Criminal Justice Reforms
Iowa’s NAACP chapter is asking state lawmakers to pass a number of significant criminal justice reforms this year. The organization says these reforms will improve the lives of African-Americans in...
View ArticleSenators Weigh Costs and Benefits of Collecting Racial Profiling Data
A bill aimed at preventing racial profiling by Iowa law enforcement passed a State Senate subcommittee on Wednesday. Key components of the NAACP-penned legislation include training, a...
View ArticleFort Des Moines's Role in Training Black Officers and Future Civil Rights...
In May of 1917, the first class of African-American officers in U.S. military history were trained at Fort Des Moines. Chad Williams, associate professor of African and African-American Studies at...
View ArticleNAACP Priority Signed into Law
African-American activists cheered as Governor Branstad today signed into law one of the legislative priorities of the NAACP. The bill will keep court records confidential in most juvenile cases. The...
View ArticleShowdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed...
Thurgood Marshall is a familiar name to most, and his work as a Supreme Court Justice is known to many. But his enormous success as an attorney fighting for civil rights is not as prominent in our...
View ArticleEarly Fort Des Moines Photos Tell The Story Of Its Legacy
Nearly 100 years after the Army's first black officers' training program debuted in Iowa, dozens of old photographs have been discovered showing what life was like when Fort Des Moines was gearing up...
View ArticleSentencing Reform Bill "Step in the Right Direction"
Supporters of a sentencing reform bill approved by the Iowa legislature this session call it a "step in the right direction," despite the fact that there is bipartisan agreement that more steps are...
View ArticleSentencing Reform Aims to Make Iowa's Justice System More Equitable
New reforms to Iowa sentencing code in the areas of child endangerment, non-violent drug offense, and robbery were signed into law on Thursday. Gov. Terry Branstad calls the legislation "a balanced...
View ArticleObama Strikes 'Negro' and 'Oriental' from Federal Documents
A bill eliminating the terms 'Oriental' and 'Negro' from federal documents sailed through Congress with bipartisan support and was signed by President Obama last week. Now, official documents will use...
View ArticleAngela Davis Talks Race Relations
Even before her involvement with the Black Panther Party in the 1970s, Angela Davis has been advocating for change. She grew up in segregated Birmingham, Alabama where family friends were victims of...
View ArticleInvisible Hawkeyes; African Americans at the University of Iowa During the...
Between the 1930s and the 1960s, northern universities became a destination for black students from the south looking for the kinds of opportunities they didn't have access to back home. The process of...
View ArticleRacial Profiling Bill Stalls; Interim Study Likely
Racial profiling by Iowa law enforcement officers was the subject of a hearing at the statehouse this week though time ran out for a bill to address the issue. Instead, senators will request an interim...
View ArticleI'm Not Racist... Am I?
The new documentary I'm Not Racist... Am I? shows the journey of 12 teenagers from New York City who meet over the course of a school year to talk about race and privilege in a series of workshops and...
View ArticleIowa Couples Share Experiences, 50 Years After Supreme Court Ruling on...
50 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court declared state laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional. Until this ruling, intermarriage was forbidden in many states. Iowa became the second state to...
View ArticleIowa Honors 2016 African-American Hall of Fame Inductees
This program originally aired on November 8, 2016. The Iowa African-American Hall of Fame recognizes the outstanding achievements of African-Americans who have enhanced the quality of life for all...
View ArticleFormer Neo-Nazi Offers Perspective on White Supremacy Movement
It was ten days ago that violence broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, when white nationalists protesting against the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee clashed with anti-racism...
View ArticleResisting Hate
The racial violence that occurred in Charlottesville last week has ignited an intense, nationwide discourse about race in America. Many people are unsure how to broach the subject of race, as well as...
View ArticleIowa's Origin Story: Banks, Boundaries, and Race
During the writing his forthcoming book, Todd Pettys says he came across many interesting aspects of the process Iowans went through to make the state constitution. Pettys is a Professor at the...
View ArticleEmployment Support For Ex-Convicts Again On NAACP Agenda
Officials with NAACP of Iowa are planning to try again next year to win protections for African-Americans who face barriers to employment after serving time in prison. The initiative known as Ban the...
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