Mike McGinn, Mayor
Julie Nelson, Director
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810 Third Avenue, Suite 750, Seattle WA 98104-1627
Director's WritesBy Germaine W. Covington, Director
Growing Problem: Predatory LendingThis letter appeared in "Letters to the Editor" section of the P-I on April 24, 2002, in response to an article about a protest at the office of a local mortgage lender. Coalition will address issue of predatory lending Your recent article about predatory lending was well timed, since April is Fair Housing Month. Unfortunately, unfair lending practices are not isolated occurrences in the Seattle area. The problem has grown so prevalent that the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and the Seattle Office of Housing have spearheaded a coalition to address the issue. The Seattle-King County Coalition for Responsible Lending consists of government agencies, non-profit organizations and representatives from the banking and mortgage loan industries. The coalition's mandate is to research the extent of the problem, educate the public and find remedies to prevent people from being victimized. Our efforts are based on the Freddie Mac Foundation's "Don't Borrow Trouble" campaign, and have received funding from the foundation. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights can investigate charges of unfair lending practices within the City under current anti-discrimination statutes. For more information about fair lending practices, contact SOCR's predatory lending specialist at 206-684-0300. [Return to Top of Page]More Thoughts On White PrivilegeThe following op-ed appeared in the Seattle Times on February 4, 2002. It was a response to an earlier piece by Times columnist Lance Dickie entitled, "Unconsciously racist? Me? My bleeding heart breaks." Dear Mr. Dickie, Thank you for your honest and personal piece on January 18 about Martin Luther King Jr. Day and White privilege. I appreciate your willingness to speak openly about these difficult issues. If I read you correctly, you acknowledge the reality of White privilege, but you deny its usefulness as a way of analyzing our American dilemma. You describe White privilege as, "Long on explanation and short on remedy . What I hear is something akin to the granting of a perfect excuse." I'm guessing you mean to say, "A perfect excuse for African Americans to avoid accountability, to ignore education, to play loud music in Seward Park" - to reject the "Bootstrap Theory." Mr. Dickie, White privilege is not an excuse for anyone's bad behavior - Black or White. It is no one's free ride. The phrase, "White Privilege" is simply a way to describe the bias that pervades all the institutions that shape our society, from the government to our schools and banks. "White Privilege" summarizes a lengthy list of institutional perks available to only some of us in America:
Above all, White privilege allows some of us the freedom not to think about race unless we choose to - not to think about how it benefits or impedes us. By writing your column, you have chosen to think about it - and for that I commend you. You also fear that for some people, your White skin, "disqualifies me from celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and commenting on racism." Please believe me, I welcome you to the discussion table! In the discussion of race in America, we all must have standing. It is critical that White people, who benefit most from the system historically and as it now stands, take the lead in examining the concept of White privilege with open eyes and hearts. I agree that each of us has to address race personally. An unemployed White mill worker on the Olympic Peninsula might be reading this right now and thinking, "Huh? White privilege? Where?" Yes it's true - race is not the only inequality in America. Race is not the only measure of human rights. And yet. Why else would the lowest-income White individuals still assert that at least they are "still White?" Even where 85% of Americans work in White-only businesses and have minimal contact with Blacks or other races, even where working White families struggle economically to keep their heads above water, I submit to you: we all swim in the powerful, yet barely visible current of race. Mill workers, mechanics, construction workers, etc. all find work in industries that traditionally excluded African Americans and other minorities. Families receive mortgages from banks that ask different questions of White and Black applicants. They shop in grocery stores where no one hesitates to receive coins directly from their fingers. Too often our discussions of race focus on Black perceptions of American society. Perhaps we can learn something if we switch the focus. We can start by asking an old question in a new way: What is it like to be White in America? In your essay you ask, "Is [White] privilege to be shared or taken away?" Surely the answer is to share the freedom enjoyed by all Whites in this great country. For myself, I wish only to experience what so many others take for granted. I want to go shopping alone without being followed. I want to enjoy the freedom not to represent an entire race. And I will jump at the chance to go through just one day without wondering if some weird incident had "racial overtones." I thank you again for raising these issues publicly. We both know that institutional racism existed before either of us was born. We did not create it. It's no one's fault; but it is everyone's responsibility to change it. Guilt and fear are the glue that holds institutional racism in place. Here in Seattle, people are learning to talk with each other about race. The Seattle Chamber of Commerce has sponsored several "It's Time to Talk" luncheons where people from all walks of life talk about their own attitudes and emotions. The National Coalition Building Institute has offered training to anyone wanting to eliminate prejudice and racial conflict in communities. For the last three years, City of Seattle employees have participated in the CityTalks! program, a series of facilitated discussions about race in the workplace. The terms of the debate about race in America are changing in exciting and useful ways. I look forward to the day when you and I sit down together to continue the conversation and together, hopefully, help find the solutions. [Return to Top of Page]How did Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired me?Note: In January 2002, the editor of The Seattle Medium asked a number of people to write about their relationship to the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. The following essay appeared in the January 23 edition.) "Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second degree of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." - Martin Luther King, Jr.As I contemplate the impact Martin Luther King, Jr. has had on my life, I realize I don't have a ready response. My thoughts begin with another major force in my life - my mother. She was a life member of the NAACP, and for years she served as the secretary in its local office. She was active in church and the local YWCA, at a time when few Black women participated. This was in the 50's in South Bend, Indiana, which in those days was another country. News traveled slowly, and you didn't get a real sense of everything that was happening. I heard of Rosa Parks and lunch counter sit-ins, but I have to admit it didn't take up a huge part of my day. I couldn't connect those actions with any social change in my Midwest community. Then came the 1963 March on Washington. I was getting ready to start college, to journey into the larger world, and here was this Big Event, that seemed to tie together all the separate strands of the movement into one braided chord. Martin Luther King, Jr. embraced everyone, rich and poor, black and white, and galvanized them into action. He showed that social justice was inclusive, that there are people of good will everywhere. The dream was simply for America to live up to its promises for social justice and civil rights. I realized there was a place for me in the movement. What struck me then about Martin Luther King were both his commitment to service and his courage to follow it through. When Martin took over leadership of the Montgomery boycott, he was the new minister in town with a college-educated wife. Folks only asked him because they figured with no family in town, he'd run less risk of retaliation. Then he found himself at this fork in the road. One way led to action, the other to inaction. The road to action also led to great, great danger. Many others also stood at that place. And their courageous choices are the reason I am who I am. It is impossible to summarize Martin Luther King Jr's effect on me. It's like trying to describe the air we breathe. The results are all around me - the schooling I enjoyed, the careers and interests I've pursued, and the neighborhoods I've lived in. As the early 60's unfolded, I was inspired to work for racial and economic justice. King's vision led me to join the Peace Corps in 1992, to work for most of my adult life on the education of Black children, to volunteer for community social change agencies and to advocate for Empire Way to become Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. And yes, it led me to the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. It's the first time I've been able to combine my personal and my professional life - to serve in the cause of equality, to right wrongs, to overturn barriers, and to address the issue of institutionalized racism in our society. At the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, we investigate cases of alleged discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and contracting. Few people have the courage that Martin and so many others displayed. I know that his dream will not happen in my lifetime. Still, we all need dreams to follow and heroes to admire. We need the example of people larger than ourselves, an image projected against a larger screen than our own lives from which to draw guidance and inspiration. Because you never know when your own small steps may lead you and others into a movement. "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable ." said Martin Luther King. "Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals." [Return to Top of Page]Larger Issue is HarassmentThis letter appeared in the "Letters to the Editor" section of the P-I on August 24, 2001, in response to an article written by P-I Reporter Rebecca Denn titled "White woman settles school reverse-bias suit" "Reverse bias" is one of those headline phrases that packs ore punch than meaning. There is a far more alarming reality behind this specific case: Harassment and bullying are endemic within our schools. The problem affects students of all ages, both genders and all backgrounds. "White woman settles school reverse bias suit: "Yes, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Aug. 14 headline certainly caught my eye. What the article described, however, was not "reverse bias," but a horrendous case of harassment based on someone's race. Racial harassment is not just illegal - it is profoundly offensive to all of us who believe in civil rights. And when a business, an organization, a government office or a school district ignores the problem? Well, time to craft the apologies, schedule the training and haul out the checkbook. Because somebody blew it. "Reverse-bias" is one of those headline phrases that packs more punch than meaning. There is a far more alarming reality behind this specific case: Harassment and bullying are endemic within our schools. The problem affects students of all ages, both genders and all backgrounds. Consider the following: I pulled these statistics from the final report of the "anti-Harassment Project in Seattle Public Schools 1995-2000," released earlier this year. The report describes a demonstration project in four Seattle public schools to bring anti-harassment education and training to the entire school community. The project emerged out of a three-way partnership among the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, the Seattle Women's Commission and the Seattle Public Schools. At Denny and Asa Mercer middle schools and at Ingraham and Roosevelt high schools, more than 350 staff and 4,000 students received anti-harassment training, as did community volunteers who assisted with classroom education. The project developed clear protocols for school staff to use to address incidents of harassment. All students received information about harassment and their schools' procedures for reporting harassment. Would staff and student training have helped Rebecca Porcaro in Rainier Beach High School? Would it have saved the Seattle School District $40,000 and a public shaming? No one can answer those questions. But you have to wonder: Why do we continue to ignore this issue, except when it hits the headlines? This year the Washington Legislature had the chance to do something about school safety, but it opted for a failing grade instead. The 2001 Safe Schools Bill (HB 1765) would have directed the superintendent of public instruction to develop statewide criteria for school districts to use to craft their own policies against malicious harassment. The criteria would have defined prohibited conduct, specified grievance procedures, established protection for victims and identified remedies to deal with perpetrators. It also would have developed guidelines for staff training. Well, there's always next year, kids. And while we wait for the Legislature to act, here's the reality to contemplate: Next month the curtain goes up again on that long-running tragedy, Harassment in Our Schools. Every day, children and teenagers will endure taunts, teasing and threats of violence. Most of them will be non-white. Most of them will be sexually harassed. Most will suffer in silence. Will we read about it in the papers? Note: The complete "Anti-Harassment Project" report is available to any school or school district interested in developing its own anti-harassment program. For more information, call the Seattle Office for Civil Rights at 206-684-4500. [Return to Top of Page]Your Rights!How Does the Law Defines Discrimination? Discrimination. You may not be able to explain it, but you definitely know what it feels like.The City of Seattle was a pioneer in establishing a Human Rights Department back in 1969 to challenge discrimination in Seattle. Today we have some of the strongest civil rights protections of any city in the country. And yet, people ask me all the time, "Why can't the Seattle Office for Civil Rights do more to prevent discrimination?" That's a hard question to answer, because it hits me right where I live. I've fought discrimination all my life, I've been a target of discrimination all my life, and I'm as tired of it as any of you who are reading these words. When the Seattle Office for Civil Rights investigates an individual's complaint about possible illegal treatment, we are required to work within a specific legal definition of the term. According to the law, a person's action needs to meet three tests to qualify as illegal discrimination: In other words, different treatment does not necessarily mean illegal discrimination. When one of our investigators sits down with an individual who wants to file a complaint, that investigator has to find evidence to address all three points I've just listed. For example, say you and your friend have just finished eating at a restaurant, when your waiter tells you there is a time limit for seating and you need to pay and leave. You are both Black, and you notice that White customers who have been there longer than you have not been asked to leave. Unequal treatment? Sure looks like it - you are asked to leave; other customers are left alone. Adverse consequences? Yes - you are being forced to vacate before you're ready. Protected class? Yes again - race and color are both protected classes in the City of Seattle. Here's another example: a woman complained to our office that the foreman of the factory where she worked yelled and swore constantly at her. She believed the foreman was subjecting her to this treatment because she was female. Was it a case of illegal discrimination? The investigator on this case spoke with a number of co-workers, and found clear evidence that the foreman yelled and swore at other employees too. In other words, he may be a bad supervisor, but he had not broken any of the City's anti-discrimination laws. SOCR must conduct a complete investigation before we can determine if unlawful discrimination has taken place. We are impartial; we hear from all sides in the dispute, and probe for and gather as much outside evidence as we can. Everyone who works in the Seattle Office for Civil Rights has a passionate commitment to civil rights, but at the same time, we have to ensure that a complaint meets the legal definition. We know what discrimination feels like - and we also know how to recognize it under the law. [Return to Top of Page]Published on Page 10 of the Seattle Medium newspaper on February 14, 2001. Your Rights! Why file a discrimination complaint?People ask me all the time: "Germaine, why should I bother filing a discrimination complaint with the City? What good does it do?"I can hear people's frustration in that question - and sometimes their fear. It's wrong to be made to feel unworthy, it's wrong to be dragged down by another person's action, and then after all that, it's wrong to feel like the load is on your back alone to try to make it right. And yet, we must always stand up to discrimination. I believe this with all my heart. So when friends and strangers start asking me questions, here is what I say: "Why should I bother? What's in it for me?"A possible settlement, for one thing. If SOCR's investigation finds probable cause of illegal discrimination, we can require the respondent to repay you lost money or benefits, such as wages, medical bills, rent payments, moving costs, etc. The City of Seattle also allows SOCR to require the respondent to make limited payments for pain and suffering. Why should I jeopardize my situation? I'm afraid to lose what I've still got.Yes, filing a charge can be a hard step to take. But let me ask you this: have you already tried everything else? Have you spoken with your supervisor? Discussed it with your landlord? Followed the chain of command? And is the problem still there? Maybe it's time to give the law a chance. You may have more to gain than you think. Our office can help get you and the other side talking together. The law also protects you against retaliation. But what good does it do? Who really cares?We care. The Medium cares. Your community cares. Everyone has the right to live and work free of discrimination. Everyone - your co-workers, your neighbors, the woman with her baby at the bus stop, the man sitting at the next table of the café while you read this article. None of us live in isolation. When someone discriminates, we're all affected. When you take a stand, you help guarantee that the same thing won't happen to someone else. At the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, we're tearing down the wall of discrimination, one brick at a time. It's slow work. I wish we had better equipment to do the job. I wish the wall had never been built in the first place. But we're working with the world as we found it. One of our most powerful tools is the law. The law is also your tool, and we can help you wield it. Do you have a general question about illegal discrimination in the City of Seattle? Write to Your Rights! , c/o Seattle Office for Civil Rights, 700 3rd Ave., Suite 250, Seattle, WA 98104-1849. You can also call in your question by dialing (206) 684-4507. For general information about SOCR, check out our web site at www.seattle.gov/civilrights. When it comes to complaints about discrimination, the devil is in the details. Every situation is different and unique. It is impossible to determine whether unlawful discrimination has occurred based on a brief description. That is why the Seattle Office for Civil Rights employs trained, professional investigators. If you have a specific case you would like to discuss, call SOCR at (206) 684-4500. [Return to Top of Page]Questions to "Your Rights!"Dear Germaine,I work in the cafeteria of a hospital. Two months ago, I got a new supervisor, and she's been on my case from Day 1. I'm not sure if she's discriminating against me or she's just being nasty. I don't know what to do. Should I wait for her to move on? Should I get nasty back with her? I'm close to exploding! Angry in the Cafeteria Dear Angry, Perhaps you can't show that kind of evidence right now. Maybe you've got a gut feeling about what your supervisor is doing, but you can't actually prove it. In our business, that situation crops up a lot. The investigator may tell you, "It sounds like you're being discriminated against, but there isn't enough evidence to go on right now." In your case, the investigator probably will recommend that you keep a sharp eye on your work situation. Start keeping notes of incidents at work that you think show discrimination. Make sure your notes contain the following information as much as possible: You can file a charge up to 180 days after the most recent incident of possible discrimination. Until you file a formal charge with our department, SOCR cannot contact your employer or begin our own investigation. Here is one step NOT to take: Do not explode on the job! Continue to perform your job to the best of your ability. Avoid handing your supervisor an excuse to write you up or discipline you. Sure, it's hard to keep your cool when you think you're being treated unfairly. But any hasty actions you take now can cloud an investigation down the road, and make your case harder to prove. You should also discuss the situation directly with your supervisor. Let her know you've contacted the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to ask about your rights as an employee. Give her an opportunity to respond to your concerns. Sometimes a frank conversation helps to clear the air. This same advice applies to possible discrimination in housing, contracting and public accommodations. Whatever your situation, you should maintain your vigilance and continue to document evidence in your case. Watch out for possible harassment or retaliation. They're both against the law, too. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) investigates charges of discrimination - but our goal is much bigger than that. We're here to stop discrimination any way we can. Do you have a general question about illegal discrimination in the City of Seattle? Write to Your Rights!, c/o Seattle Office for Civil Rights, 700 3rd Ave., Suite 250, Seattle, WA 98104-1849. You can also call in your question by dialing (206) 684-4507. When it comes to complaints about discrimination, the devil is in the details. Every situation is different and unique. It is impossible to determine whether unlawful discrimination has occurred based on a brief description. That is why the Seattle Office for Civil Rights employs trained, professional investigators. If you have a specific case you would like to discuss, call SOCR at (206) 684-4500. [Return to Top of Page]Fair Housing: The Once and Future StruggleThe following article appeared in the program of the Intiman Theatre production of "A Raisin in the Sun" in April 2001. Here is how housing used to work in Seattle: Until the late 1960's, Seattle was a segregated city. If you were White, you could rent or buy a home wherever you could afford. If you were Black, you lived in the Central Area. New arrivals to the city encountered a well-oiled system of residential redlining, restrictive covenants, segregated schools, and limited access to restaurants, theaters and shops. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had outlawed neighborhood covenants in 1948, Seattle realtors and neighborhood groups continued the practice informally. The same year as the Supreme Court decision, the Seattle Real Estate Board expelled one of its members for selling a home in an all-white area to an interracial couple. In 1956, the Madrona-Denny Blaine Neighborhood Association voted against permitting nonwhites to live in the neighborhood. In 1964, Seattle voters rejected an "Open Housing" referendum to end racial discrimination in home sales and rentals. The margin of passage was nearly two to one. Legal housing discrimination only ended in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., with the passage of federal open housing legislation. Seattle City Council passed its own open housing ordinance on April 19, 1968. Washington passed a statewide open housing law in 1969. Here is how it works today in Seattle: Just last year (in April 2000), the Seattle Office for Civil Rights released the results of a fair housing audit for discrimination in Seattle's rental market. To conduct the audit, White and Black testers posed as prospective renters who resembled each other in every respect but race. Out of 30 tests, 23% found racial discrimination. Black testers in another 13% of cases found evidence of discrimination, but were inconclusive. In several cases, apartment owners showed an available unit to a White tester after telling a Black tester there were no vacancies. In other instances, landlords quoted higher rental rates or deposits to Black testers than to White. Black testers also found themselves on the receiving end of rude treatment and intrusive questions. The audit also revealed housing discrimination against people with children. Out of 30 telephone tests, 13% revealed clear discrimination based on family status. Another 30% of the tests found evidence of discrimination, but were inconclusive. The City of Seattle's Office for Civil Rights investigates complaints of illegal discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and contracting. Last year, individuals filed more than 200 cases with SOCR - 68 based on housing. Why did people file? Because they were the wrong color, the wrong type of foreigner, the wrong type of family, or had the wrong type of disability. safe streets, dynamic schools, green parks, healthy businesses, vibrant arts and entertainment. A Raisin in the Sun teaches us that our aspirations cross boundaries, borders and even neighborhoods. Early in the play Mama muses, "Lord, child, you should know all the dreams I had 'bout buying that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in the back - And didn't none of it happen." That was then; this is now. The City of Seattle is committed to a future where no family needs courage simply to open the curtains of their new home. Together, we will erase those lines that needlessly divide us. Together, we can be proud. Celebrate National Fair Housing Month in April. [Return to Top of Page][Home]
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This page was updated on: September 9, 2002, by: Priscilla Poulos |