William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

Iowa NAACP officials are worried about the Iowa Legislature's agenda in 2017, warning it could reverse decades of racial progress and that some legislation is forcing them to recall "Jim Crow" laws that enforced racial segregation in the South.

About 30 members of the National Association for the Advance of Colored People met with lawmakers at the Iowa Capitol Thursday for the nonpartisan organization's annual lobbying day. NAACP leaders were careful to avoid criticizing any political party or individual legislators, but they expressed concerns about a host of bills, including voter identification legislation, a so-called "stand your ground" gun rights bill, along with proposals to have state government override local efforts to increase the minimum wage and to prohibit efforts to expand local civil rights laws.

“African-Americans in this country have a history steeped with barriers," said Betty Andrews, of Des Moines, president of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP State Area Conferences of Branches. “We speak up here to remind our legislators that this house does indeed belong to the people of Iowa and that all Iowans, including those of a darker hue, must be heard.”

Andrews described the voter ID bill, which passed the House Thursday, as a "reincarnated poll tax and literacy test," reminiscent of the old South. Voting is a constitutional right, she told reporters, questioning why barriers would be placed in the way of African-Americans who want to cast their ballots.

The "stand your ground" law, she added, creates fear among black Iowans who are concerned it could be cited as justification to shoot them. The measure would allow Iowans to use deadly force without retreating.

Andrews said lawmakers passed their first legislative deadline without advancing a bill aimed at addressing racial profiling in Iowa. But she is hopeful the issue will be studied after this session and then be considered in the 2018 session. The issue is significant, she said, because blacks represent only about 3 percent of Iowa's overall population, but about 26 percent of the state's prison population. She thanked Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, for his work on the racial profiling issue.

Russell Lovell, a Drake University Law School emeritus professor and civil rights lawyer, noted that Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds have pledged to help efforts to employ more minorities and disabled people in Iowa. But he said there is an urgent need to address situations where Iowa employers are excluding job applicants with criminal convictions. People with jobs are much less likely to become involved again with the criminal justice system, he said.

Lovell also expressed concerns about clean water and he suggested that legislation aimed at dismantling the Des Moines Water Works is being pursued in retaliation for the Water Works' federal lawsuit intended to protect drinking water for central Iowans.

Arnold Woods Jr., president of the Des Moines NAACP organization, said African-Americans in Iowa are concerned about losing some of their basic rights and freedoms. His worries were shared by Dedric Doolin, Cedar Rapids NAACP president, who said Iowa has a long history of racial progress, but all Iowans must be heard for the state to remain a leader in civil rights.