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Seattle Municipal Archives Finding Aids

Human Rights Department Annual Reports

 Series
Identifier: 1802-G9

Scope and Contents note

The Human Rights Annual Reports are brief and there are not reports for every year. The 1975 report includes Affirmative Action reviews for each department. Series also include Office for Civil Rights annual reports.

Dates

  • Creation: 1963-2021

Creator

Conditions Governing Access note

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

The Human Rights Commission was created in 1963 to promote equality and understanding among Seattle residents and to study, investigate, and make recommendations regarding discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. The Human Rights Department (HRD) was created in 1969, replacing a small Office of Human Rights in the Executive Department. The agency enforced the Seattle Fair Employment Practices Ordinance and Open Housing and Public Accommodations Ordinance, and developed outreach and public education programs to help reduce incidents of discrimination. In 1980 all employment and housing discrimination functions were consolidated under HRD with transfer of certain enforcement responsibilities from the Office for Women's Rights (8400). In 1995 the Compliance Unit which monitored and enforced the Women and Minority Business Enterprise Ordinance was moved to the Department of Administrative Services and HRD's affirmative action monitoring function was transferred to the Personnel Department. In 1996, most of the functions of HRD and the Office for Women's Rights were consolidated into a new Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR provides a forum for resolving complaints of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and contracting within the Seattle city limits. The office also provides policy recommendations to city agencies, as well as outreach and education to the community on civil rights issues. OCR staffs five advisory commissions: the Human Rights Commission, the Women's Commission, the LGBT Commission, the Commission for People with Disabilities, and the Immigrant and Refugee Advisory Board.

Full Extent

0.2 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

General Note

A Comptroller or Clerk File (CF) can consist of correspondence, reports, petitions, contracts, agreements, etc. from elected officials, City departments, other government agencies, or the general public, which have been placed on file with the Office of the City Clerk (OCC). They are primarily permanent records, but also include routine material which was periodically purged. Certain archival records identified in the CF have been removed, arranged into records series, and incorporated into the collection of the Seattle Municipal Archives, a program of the OCC.

Associated Digital Files

Title
Guide to the Human Rights Department Annual Reports
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.
EAD Location
http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv45154

Repository Details

Part of the Seattle Municipal Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 94728
600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3
Seattle 98124-4728 USA US