About Us

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.

Our goals are to elevate community voices to our elected leaders, ensure there is greater public awareness for human rights concerns, and create actionable objectives for local officials.

Mission

To increase visibility of human rights concerns and to dismantle systems within the city to ensure Seattle delivers on its commitment to human rights.

Vision

Develop an understanding of community needs, bring the SHRC platform to those communities, and determine how a human rights city should be accountable to its people.

  • Partner with community organizations
  • Create cross-commission coalitions
  • Educate the public about human rights concerns
  • Promote civic engagement among communities
  • Meet in our communities 
  • Collaborate with other cities that share our city's human rights vision

Values

Communities: We center the communities impacted by human rights concerns in all the work we do.

Race & Social Justice: The commission supports the city's Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) - an effort to end institutionalized racism and race-based disparities in City government. The commission incorporates RSJI's long-term approach in its plans, by working to change the underlying system that creates race-based disparities in our communities to achieve racial equity.

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.


This material, as well as reasonable accommodations for meetings and events, is available on request for people with disabilities. To request an accommodation, call (206) 684-4500 or complete the accommodations request form on seattle.gov/americans-with-disabilities-act.

Seattle Human Rights Commission

The Seattle Human Rights Commission advises the Mayor, City Council, and City departments on human rights issues, elevating community voices to ensure a greater public awareness for human rights concerns and creating actionable objectives for local officials.