Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
INTEGRATION
INTEGRATION. The struggles integrating different cultures into the social fabric of Dubuque have often focused on AFRICAN AMERICANS. Other groups, however, faced their time of discrimination including the IRISH. A callous attitude toward people of different heritages was extended toward the Chinese as shown in this article from the Dubuque Herald on December 23, 1875:
Three "pig-tailed" Chinamen were the observed of the observers
yesterday on the street. Their long braids were the envy of
many a woman, who wanted a twist of natural hair to adorn her
cranium. The event of these Celestials opens up the consumption
of ten pounds of rice and a dozen rats per day. (1)
In 1876, the Dubuque Herald carried the following description of carrying on a conversation with two local Chinese.
Have you talked with Chang Lee and Tong Swung, two celestial
gents who crave citizenship in the Key City of Iowa?...They,
for instance, say "wash-ee" for wash, "velle" for very, and
"hun-ta" for hundred and so on. They speak in a manner as if
they swallowed something between every two syllables. (2)
In 1877 recounting the business trip of John THOMPSON to the Sioux, the Dubuque Herald used "noble sons of the forest" and "brick colored humans."(3)
Callousness extended even to gender. In 1876 the Dubuque Herald reported on a group of women who, noticing a fire on Eagle Point Avenue, formed an "Amazon fire department" (Note: late called an "Amazon bucket company") and "went for that Heathen Chinese." (4)
Despite these examples of bigotry and callousness, efforts were being as early as 1877 to interest Dubuque residents in the culture and history of China. In February the DUBUQUE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION sponsored Chinese lecturer Wong Ching Foo who spoke at the Congregational church. (5) On February 21, 1877 the Dubuque Herald in reporting that every ticket had been sold for the lecture made quite a statement for the times regarding the importance of attending:
None should fail to attend the lecture of Wong Ching Foo
at the Congregational church tonight. China and her people
are now matters of even vital interest to Americans. The
Chinaman, as well as the Indian and the negro, is destined
to mingle his blood more or less with the Yankee. It is
not, therefore, either uninteresting or unimportant to
inquire into his condition. (6)
Wong Ching Foo was such a popular speaker that he was hired to return to Dubuque in March 1877 to lecture at the ATHENAEUM. (7)
On May 4,1990, the Dubuque Human Rights Commission asked a broad-based community group to develop a plan and timetable for bringing one hundred minority families to Dubuque by 1995. The proposal was part of a plan developed by the Commission's three-member Race Relations Community Action Exploratory Committee. The Commission assembled a list of fifty-five individuals to be invited to serve on the ad hoc committee.
The names of the integration task force members were released in October 1990. Participants included Kenneth GEARHART, Terry Lambert, Jan Bleacher, Doug Henry, Sister Nona Meyerhofer, Ted Blanchard, Katie Mulholland, Gwen Nilles, Randy Peck, Dale Repass, Dave Roberts, Marcia Sola, Rev. Msgr. Neil Tobin, Claudette Carter Thomas, and Gail WEITZ.
In early February, the plan was made public. After public input on February 25,1991, at WAHLERT HIGH SCHOOL, parts of the proposal were changed. Copies of the plan were made available to the public at the Human Rights office at the DUBUQUE CITY HALL. In April 1991 the Dubuque Human Rights Commission unanimously accepted "We Want To Change," the task force's nine-page proposal.
The plan addressed such factors needed to attract and retain minorities to Dubuque as housing, social services, and community education. The need for a minority coordinator to work with government officials, businesses and community groups was stated. Commissioners Ruby SUTTON and Steve Racks worked with the task force in preparing a presentation of the plan to the city council.
In May 1991 following the Dubuque City Council's 6-1 vote approving the task force report, City Manager Gearhart was directed to develop methods for carrying out the program. The task force then reorganized itself into the following committees: finances; housing; recruitment of employers, new businesses and minority families; education and public relations; and incorporation/ retention of families. Community members were then given the opportunity to serve on one of the committees. An eight-member executive committee coordinated the project.
In October 1991, Dubuque's Constructive Integration Task Force was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization. In this capacity the group could solicit private donations and matching grant money from private and federal sources. Money received was to be used to implement the integration program.
In reaction to the work of the task force and the issue of encouraging minorities to come to the city, Dubuque was the scene of cross-burnings. One incident occurred in FLORA PARK across the street from IRVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL that had Dr. Jerome Greer, the first African American principal in the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. In late October 1991, police were called to DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL to restore order after fighting, called racially based, broke out. Some interest was shown in forming a local branch of the N.A.A.W.P. (National Association for the Advancement of White People).
Except for two Asian and two Hispanic teachers, the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT had no minority employees in 1989-1990. In October, 1990 an affirmative action plan was adopted. A proposed goal of hiring women and minorities to fill four administrative and management positions by 1992, however, was called unrealistic. That time table was delayed to 1993. The affirmative action plan also called for efforts to hire qualified women, racial minorities and disabled people for other school positions. Katie Mulholland, the district's staff development coordinator, stated that the goals of the plan represented a standard the district should try to attain and was not a hiring quota.
Iowa Department of Education personnel annually visited thirty-two schools in Iowa to evaluate determine compliance with the state's multi-cultural guidelines. In 1991 during their visit to Dubuque, the team found problems similar to other districts in Iowa. Students with disabilities were not sufficiently integrated into the schools. Some classes tended to be dominated by students of one sex--females in office education and males in computer classes. Minorities were under-represented in vocational programs and advanced classes. (8)
In November and December 1991, the cross burnings and acts of vandalism resulted in Dubuque being the subject of numerous national television and radio programs and newspaper articles. On November 21, 1991, Thomas Hunt, national coordinator of the Guardian Angels, and twelve members from chapters in Chicago, New York and Indianapolis arrived in Dubuque. The group spoke to students at HOOVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, patrolled several streets, and made appearances at a rally in WASHINGTON PARK and an ecumenical Thanksgiving service at CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY on November 27,1991. This same event was attended by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, State Representative Thomas J. JOCHUM and State Senator Joseph J. WELSH. Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, the only African American candidate for the 1991 Democratic presidential nomination, came to Dubuque on November 24 to attend church services with Ms. Alice Scott and her family. Scott's home had been vandalized on November 12 when a piece of concrete block was thrown through a window.
November was also a month of rallies. On November 23 an estimated two hundred people braved cold and snow to march from 15th and Main STREETS to TOWN CLOCK PLAZA to protest the racial incidents. The event had been arranged by a group called the Active Students Against Prejudice. The following day several hundred Dubuque residents met at Washington Park for a rally against hate crimes and prejudice. On November 30,1991, Rev. Thomas Robb, the national director of the KU KLUX KLAN arrived in Dubuque and spoke to a rally attended by an estimated two hundred people in front of the DUBUQUE CITY HALL. Members of the Dubuque chapter of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (N.A.A.C.P.) staged a counter rally estimated to include two hundred people in Washington Park.
The mission statement of the new twelve member Dubuque Council for Diversity was approved in April 1992 by the Dubuque Human Rights Commission. Concern was voiced that the private diversity group did not have to hold public meetings. Ruby SUTTON, a member of the Commission, stated that closed meetings might stem the kind of publicity that greeted Constructive Integration Task Force nine-page "We Want to Change" document. "The reason for the closed meetings of the council is that they want to go forward. A lot of outside criticism tends to delay you." (9)
At the request of the Iowa Advisory Commission's representative in Cedar Rapids, the Iowa branch of the U. S. Civil Rights Commission was scheduled to hold a meeting in Dubuque in late April, 1992 to investigate racism in the city. Dubuque residents; federal, state, county, and city officials; as well as representatives of business, labor, community-based organizations and the religious communities were scheduled to participate. It was anticipated that the meeting would be looking for background information on how the Dubuque Human Rights Commission got activated on race relations and how the Constructive Integration Plan was developed. (10)
The City of Dubuque and the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT initiated programs to increase racial and handicap sensitivity. The City developed an Intercultural Competency Initiative. In 2006 a three-year contract with One Ummah Consulting had as its goals promoting community understanding and education, encouraging a more diverse workforce, identifying tools residents could use to resolve conflict, and support for a community that valued all residents. Portions of the training were implemented with school district employees and CLARKE COLLEGE students.
The Diverse Dubuque website was opened in February 2008. This was intended to keep the community updated on the City's intercultural competency initiative as well as cultural events happening in the community and resources that might be helpful to others. The TIPS subcommittee published intercultural community building tips in the employee newsletter every two weeks and arranged for management team training tips every month. City departments also prioritized brochures and forms that were most commonly used by the public for translation into Spanish.
In 2009 community partners promoting an inclusive community included Faces and Voices which sponsored the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Tribute Days and a biennial Human Relations conference. Project Hope was designed to help unemployed and under-employed residents who were disadvantaged because of social, cultural or educational barriers. Step by Step, a non-profit organization, encouraged sustainable projects created by and for people with disabilities. Proudly Accessible Dubuque worked to provide accessibility to everyone and awareness of accessibility issues to businesses. Bi-lingual signage located at points of interest, public facilities and on-street sites was developed in English and Spanish. The Every Child, Every Promise initiative provided every child with Five Promises: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education, and opportunities to serve.
See: DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT
AFRICAN AMERICANS
---
Source:
1. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, December 23, 1875, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18751223&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, January 20, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18760120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
3. "The Noble Red Man," Dubuque Herald, August 14, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770814&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
4. "In Ruins," Dubuque Herald, November 11, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18761111&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
5. "An Extra Lecture," Dubuque Herald, February 20, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770220&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
6. "The Country of Chaung Lee," Dubuque Herald, February 21, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770221&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
7. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, March 16, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770316&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
8. Hanson, Lyn. "School Multicultural Programs Still Deficient," Telegraph Herald, March 22, 1992, p. 3A. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920322&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
9. Arnold, Bill. "Commission OKs Diversity Plan," Telegraph Herald, April 14, 1992, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920414&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
10. Webber, Steve. "Federal Rights Analyst Sets Dubuque Meetings," Telegraph Herald, April 14, 1992, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920414&printsec=frontpage&hl=en