About Us

Mission

The Seattle Human Rights Commission was established in 1963 to advocate for justice and equal opportunity, to advise the City of Seattle on human rights issues and to collaborate with public and private sectors in order to educate them on methods to prevent and eliminate discrimination city-wide.

Purpose

The Seattle Human Rights Commission consults with and makes recommendations concerning the development of programs which promote equality and justice. It works with the Director of the Office for Civil Rights to end discrimination based upon race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, political ideology, ancestry, age, marital and parental status, disability, Section 8, and retaliation.

It conducts appeals and holds hearings to identify and deal with acts of discrimination and assist in resolving racial tensions in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.

The Commission is divided into five sub-committees each focused on safeguarding human rights in five areas:

Public Safety Committee

1. To be aware of issues that affect the public safety of the community relative to human rights concerns and to review and respond to such issues as may be appropriate.
2. To work collaboratively with the Seattle Police Department (SPD), other City of Seattle Departments and citizens of Seattle in order to improve community/police relations and to address human rights issues.
3. To reach out to the citizens of the City of Seattle including its many diverse communities in order to educate them about the purpose of the Public Safety Committee and the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Economic Justice Committee

The Economic Justice Committee works "to encourage understanding between all protected classes and the larger community" and assists the SHRC in advocating for protected groups and other economically disadvantaged through. . . .

1. Support of Affirmative Action programs, policies and goals.
2. Increase of employer awareness, understanding and compliance with the City of Seattle anti-discrimination laws pertaining to protected groups.
3. Monitoring of WMBE (Women and Minority Business Enterprise) programs affecting the City of Seattle.

The Youth and Schools Committee works to:

1. Promote awareness and respect for human rights among Seattle youth and in Seattle schools.
2. Respond to concerns regarding disparities in Seattle schools in disciplinary actions and testing.
3. Work with our educators to assure that our educational system is competitive and that it provides our youth with the best education possible.

Human Rights Day Planning Committee

The purpose of the Human Rights Day Planning Committee is to:

1. Plan a celebration of Human Rights Day, which is celebrated internationally on December 10th each year, in commemoration of the 1948 United Nations adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2. Recognize an individual and an organization that have contributed to the advancement of human rights in the City of Seattle.
3. Establish and present a youth human rights day award.

Discrimination Appeals Committee

The Seattle Human Rights Commission hears appeals after the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) has received and investigated charges of discrimination that have been filed and the office has issued a Finding and Determination. The Charging Party can file an appeal of SOCR's Findings with SHRC within 30 days of the issuance of the decision. If the Appeal meets the legal standards for an appeal, SHRC will schedule a hearing of the appeal to determine whether SOCR's decision should be affirmed or returned to the SOCR office for further investigation. The SHRC hears employment, housing and public accommodation cases. At least one member of the Appeals Committee is an attorney.

1. there is a Finding of " No Reasonable Cause;"
2. there is a Finding of "Reasonable Cause" and a City department is a respondent;
3. there is a disputed " Administrative Closure;" and or
4. there is a disputed "Dismissal."

History

The Human Rights Commission consists of 15 representative citizens of Seattle appointed by the Mayor and City Council to serve in an advisory capacity to the Mayor, City Council, Seattle Office for Civil Rights, and other Seattle City departments in matters affecting human rights. Seven commissioners are appointed by the Mayor, and seven appointments are made by the City Council. The Commission appoints the 15th member. Commissioners are appointed to a two year term of office and serve without pay. It is a goal of the Commission to recruit people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The current Commission has representation from the African American, Asian, Caucasian, Gay & Lesbian, Hispanic, Native American, and Disability communities. Commissioners are required to live within the Seattle city limits.

Achievements

Position Statement on Homelessness

The Public Safety Committee of the Seattle Human Rights Commission took the bold step of framing homelessness as a denial of human rights in 2004. This statement served as the basic tenet for a forum on Homelessness, which was held at St. Marks Cathedral in September 2004. The Seattle Human Rights Commission strongly believes that the City of Seattle and other governmental jurisdictions must incorporate the right of access to affordable adequate housing as a basic human right. For more information on the Homelessness Forum or further work on homelessness, contact Marta Idowu at 206-684-4540.

The Seattle Human Rights Commission participated in the Human Rights Day Celebration at Cascadia Community College where they shared information on the role of the Commission and human rights in the City of Seattle.

The Seattle Human Rights Commission in partnership with the Office of Civil Rights held a very successful Human Rights Day Celebration 2004 on December 9 and 10, 2004. Attendance at both events was approximately 400.

As part of their outreach to the community, members of the Seattle Human Rights Commission attended many community meetings, met with local leadership of community organizations and presented information on the role of the Commission to a group of community leaders.