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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESJ Grant November 2023Informational Session NOVEMBER 2023 Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant FY24 CITY OF IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Agenda •Welcome •Native American Land Acknowledgement •Background & History of the Human Rights Commission •Overview of the Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant •Advice & Tips on Filling out the Application •Q&A 01 "We meet today in the community of Iowa City, which now occupies the homelands of Native American Nations to whom we owe our commitment and dedication. The area of Iowa City was within the homelands of the Iowa, Meskwaki, and Sauk, and because history is complex and time goes far back beyond memory, we also acknowledge the ancient connections of many other Indigenous Peoples here. The history of broken treaties and forced removal that dispossessed Indigenous Peoples of their homelands was and is an act of colonization and genocide that we can not erase. We implore the Iowa City community to commit to understanding and addressing these injustices as we work toward equity, restoration, and reparations." Land Acknowledgement 02 The duties of the Commission were to provide for the general welfare of the residents of Iowa City by studying the relationships of people of various races, colors, creeds, religions, nationalities, sexes, and ancestries living within the community; To provide procedures to eliminate prejudice, intolerance, bigotry, and discrimination in the City of Iowa City. Human Rights Commission Background & History 03 The Commission Now 04 Nine residents of Iowa City appointed by the City Council to serve 3-year terms. Commissioners, all committed to civil rights, reflect a broad cross-section of the community, thus ensuring diversity of ideas and interests. Duties of the commission include: •Disseminating information to educate the public on illegal discrimination and civil rights, such as organizing and facilitating educational public forums that address one or more of the broad range of topics included within the rubric of human rights. The Commission Now 05 Duties Continued: •Making recommendations to the City Council for further legislation concerning discrimination as it may deem necessary and desirable. •Cooperating within the limits of any appropriations made for its operation with other agencies or organizations both public and private whose purposes are not inconsistent with those of Title 2 of the City Code (Human Rights Ordinance) •Planning programs and activities designed to eliminate racial, religious, cultural, and other intergroup tensions including but not limited to sex, color, creed, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, age, and national origin. •Roger Lusala, Chair •Sylvia Jons, Vice Chair •Ahmed Ismail •Doug Kollasch •Bijou Maliabo •Jahnavi Pandya •Mark Pries •Viana Qadoura •Kelsey Paul Shantz The Commissioners 06 08Human Rights Awards Spring 2023 Human Rights Awards 07 Implicit Bias Challenge 09 Fall 2022 Till Film 10 Presented in partnership with the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission will present a special preshow introduction for the screening on Friday and Saturday. Community Events 11 “We are part of a society where the lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color continue to be affected by structural racism, lack of opportunity, health disparities, and direct violence by the police and others. American cities, including Iowa City, have for too long been complacent or complicit. The Iowa City Human Rights Commission hereby reaffirms its longstanding commitment and pledges to fully act in solidarity with all who are targets of this violence and inequity. The Commission recognizes the ongoing oppression occurring not just in police departments, but also in eviction courts, legislatures, banks, academia, and hospitals. Additionally, this includes any space where Iowa City has been complacent about and complicit in the eradication of intellectual and cultural contributions by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, as well as women, and ignores the racism present in the contributions of white people and the sexism present in the works of males. We pledge the following actions to embody our affirmation that Black Lives Matter. We will continue to uplift the contributions of nonwhite, non -male, and non- Eurocentric people in our recommendations to the Iowa City City Council and support events dedicated to their recognition. (See full statement on website). Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement, June 22, 2020 12 The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade brings an end to many individuals' freedom to make private, informed reproductive healthcare choices with their doctors about their own bodies. It also marks the reversal of nearly 50 years of progress towards reproductive justice and the return to an era when a pregnant person's rights to bodily autonomy cease to exist as soon as an egg is fertilized. As a result, the United States now returns to a time where, depending upon the state in which they live, pregnant people may be forced to seek out illegal and life -threatening procedures and may even face criminal charges for accidental miscarriages or stillbirths. Among its many duties, the Human Rights Commission of Iowa City is tasked with educating the public on human rights and illegal discrimination. We are concerned for young people whose future education and other opportunities will be limited by state legislatures who claim control over their reproductive decisions. We are concerned for physicians forced to weigh the benefits of helping pregnant individuals against the consequences of assisting in or facilitating procedures that terminate unwanted or even dangerous pregnancies. (See full statement on website). Statement on Roe v. Wade, July 13, 2022 13 On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, the Iowa City Public Library (ICPL) hosted a Drag Storytime and Costume Ball. Drag Storytime is a voluntary program that provides educational opportunities and fun, enriching experiences to families with children of all ages. The City of Iowa City Human Rights Commission believes this programming strongly aligns with ICPL’s values of access, belonging, collaboration, and community. Though many drag storytime events have been hosted by ICPL since 2018, the Oct. 15 storytime was the first to be attended by a group of protesters. According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, the group: •Carried signs accusing the library of “grooming” children •Verbally insulted the event, the performers, and the attendees •Stood in the room during the event holding signs and not participating in the activity Members of this Commission believe in the right to protest and to express opposing viewpoints. While this protest was a lawful one, the group’s purpose seems to have gone beyond the protest of a program with an opposing viewpoint. Tactics were deployed with the intent to insult, intimidate, and disrupt a children’s story hour. (See full statement on website). Statement in Support of Iowa City Public Library’s Drag Storytime, October 25, 2022 14 Muslim Americans remain overrepresented among victims of hate crimes. In a recent survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 69% of American Muslims said they had personally experienced anti-Muslim bigotry or discrimination since 9/11, and 83 percent said they witnessed someone else experience this. We are currently witnessing a torrential amount of misinformation and polarizing commentary that fuels Islamophobia and antisemitism. We must reject forces that would seek to divide our community and turn instead to compassion, shared humanity, and a continued belief that we can create a just and peaceful Iowa City. Therefore, as community members, we reject all forms of identity-based hate speech, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia. We stand with our neighbors and community members of all religions, cultures, and backgrounds. We know that our communities are made better by diverse inclusion of all identities.….(See full statement on website). 14Human Rights Commission releases statement rejecting antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of identity-based hate Racial Equity & Social Justice Grant In 2017, the City Council created the Racial Equity and Social Justice (RESJ) Grant to assist community -based organizations in building capacity to address racial equity and social justice needs. One hundred thousand dollars has been allocated for the RESJ Grant for 2024. 15 16 •Access to Justice •Al-Iman Center of Iowa •Antelope Lending Library •Center for Worker Justice •CommUnity Crisis Services •Great Plains Action Society •Houses into Homes •Iowa City Bike Library •Iowa City Compassion •Inside Out Reentry •Iowa Harm Reduction •Iowa Legal Aid •Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition •Labor Center •Little Creations Academy Past Recipients of the RESJ Grant •Mood Disorder Clinic •Multicultural Development Center of Iowa •Natural Talent Music •Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County •Refugee & Immigrant Association •Open Heartland •Sankofa Outreach Connection •Shelter House •South District Neighborhood Association •Successful Living •Sudanese Community Center •University Food Pantry •World of Bikes •Wright House of Fashion 17 Past Recipients of the RESJ Grant 18 Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems, and structures by prioritizing measurable change in the lives of people of color. Social justice refers to a fair and equitable division of resources, opportunities, and privileges in society. Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Racial Equity, Social Justice, and Human Rights 19 Areas of Focus 20 The project should address one or more of these areas: •Building Communities •Criminal Justice •Education •Employment •Health •Housing RESJ Grant Requirements 21 •The organization must be physically located in Iowa City. •The project must take place in Iowa City. •The project should seek to eliminate inequity in the community (individual, institutional, or structural). •The project must be a new project. Exception, organizations previously funded in the last grant cycle may reapply for the same project to be funded for one additional grant cycle. •Applicants cannot be governments, public schools, and colleges/universities. •Applicants can request no more than $25,000. •Projects cannot be for fundraising purposes. Things to Consider in Deciding on a Project 22 •What are the priorities of the organization? Are there indicators that there are gaps or needs in services or programs that the organization can address? •Is there data or community trends that demonstrate the gap or need? •If yes, develop an action plan that answers the following: -What is the identified gap or need? -How can the organization mitigate the gap or need? -What supports are needed? -How can success be ensured? Application Tips 23 •When filling out the application, make sure that you're clearly communicating the background and goals of the project. •Once you have filled out the application save it and have someone unfamiliar with the project proofread it for you to make sure it’s grammatically clear and that you have met all the guidelines. •Be clear and specific about the outcomes. •Don’t ask for more than you need. •Partial funding may be recommended if from the budget it appears that the project can be completed with less funding. •The Commission will factor into its decision-making whether an organization has or will receive funding from the City for any projects. Final Tip 24 •Cut and paste the application form into a Word file or similar document. Type out the responses to each question and then cut and paste each response back into the online form always make sure you have a saved copy of all your responses just in case the session times out. Review of Applications 25 Review of Applications 26 RESJ Grant Timeline 27 •Start early. Late applications are not reviewed. •The grant link to apply will be active from Friday, December 1 through Friday, January 5. •The Human Rights Commission will send a recommendation to the City Council for review and approval no later than March 31, 2024. •Funding allocated by June 1, 2024. QUESTIONS? EMAIL: HUMANRIGHTS@IOWA -CITY.ORG CALL: 319-356-5022 Keep in Touch & Connect with Us!