Most people think of Jim Crow laws as a Southern problem. They picture Alabama, Mississippi, or Georgia. But Iowa? Not so much.
Here’s the thing. Iowa has its own complicated racial history. And it’s a story worth knowing.
What Were Jim Crow Laws?
Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation across the United States. They kept Black people and white people apart in schools, restaurants, hotels, theaters, and public transportation. The name came from a racist character in old minstrel shows.
These laws were meant to do one thing. Keep Black Americans from having equal rights. Plain and simple.
Most Jim Crow laws existed in the South. But discrimination did not stop at the Mason-Dixon Line. Not even close.
Iowa Was Not the South. So What Happened?
Okay, this part might surprise you.
Segregation was not legal in Iowa. But many Iowa communities segregated Black people from white people anyway. That’s the key difference. Iowa did not have formal Jim Crow laws on its books. But the discrimination was real. It showed up in restaurants, pools, theaters, housing, and schools.
Historians who have studied Iowa’s civil rights era note that a lot of the discrimination happening in the South was also happening in Iowa.
Honestly, this is the part most people miss. “No law” did not mean “no racism.”
Iowa’s Early Racial Laws Before the Civil War
Before we get to segregation, let’s go back further.
When Iowa became a state in 1846, it inherited laws that were deeply unfair to Black residents. The state Constitution preserved all existing territorial laws until they could be reviewed. That meant several racial covenants remained on the books after statehood. One of those laws tried to keep Black children out of public schools.
Wait, it gets better. Iowa actually had some of the most forward-thinking courts in the country at the same time.
The Clark Case: Iowa Made History in 1868
Here’s a story that should be in every American history textbook. But it’s not.
In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court made one of its great civil rights decisions in Clark v. Board of Directors. Susan Clark, a 12-year-old African American, was not allowed to attend the school in her Muscatine neighborhood because it was for white students only.
Her father, Alexander Clark, was a prominent businessman. He fought back. And he won.
In April of 1868, Susan Clark became the first Black child to attend an integrated school because of a court order. This was 86 years before the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Pretty remarkable, right? Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled against school segregation nearly a century before the rest of the country caught up.
It is important to note that the Iowa Supreme Court never overturned the Clark decision, even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that segregation was legal under the U.S. Constitution.
Iowa held the line. That’s genuinely impressive.
Iowa Passed Anti-Discrimination Laws Early
Most people don’t realize how strict these laws were, or how early they came.
In 1884, the Iowa legislature passed the Iowa Civil Rights Act, outlawing discrimination in barbershops, theaters, hotels, and on public transportation. In 1892, another law was passed that said discrimination was illegal in restaurants. Iowa was the fourth state in the country to pass such laws.
That sounds great. Here’s the problem.
These laws were largely ignored.
Seriously. Iowa had some of the most progressive anti-discrimination laws in the country. And then just… did not enforce them for decades.
De Facto Segregation: The Real Story
Okay, pause. Read this carefully.
Just because something is not written into law does not mean it isn’t happening. That’s called “de facto” segregation. It means segregation in practice, even without a law requiring it.
Black Iowans faced systemic discrimination in housing, education, employment, and political participation. Segregated schools persisted well into the twentieth century, and Black residents were often confined to substandard neighborhoods.
Wondering what this looked like in real life? Think about Waterloo, Iowa.
Despite the promise of better employment opportunities and an escape from Jim Crow, African Americans in Waterloo still faced segregation and racism. Local white homeowners and realtors used racial restrictions on property to keep neighborhoods segregated. Public facilities including pools and the municipal beach on the Cedar River prohibited Black people from swimming in white areas. Segregation was enforced through violence and intimidation.
This was Iowa. Not Georgia.
Waterloo: One of Iowa’s Most Segregated Cities
In the early twentieth century, the African American population in Waterloo was very small, just 29 persons at the 1910 census. That changed fast when employers brought in Black workers during a labor strike in 1911.
As the Black community grew, so did the resistance to it. Cafe owners refused Black customers. City planners pushed Black neighborhoods to certain areas of town. White-owned newspapers helped spread stereotypes that justified the segregation.
Black residents who tried to fight back faced big obstacles. In Waterloo, businesses had signs that read “Negro patrons not solicited.” One resident recalled that Black people had to sit in special sections in theaters.
Sound complicated? It was. But the community fought back every step of the way.
Edna Griffin: Iowa’s Rosa Parks
A friend asked me recently who the most important civil rights figure in Iowa history was. Most people get this one wrong.
Her name was Edna Griffin. And she changed Iowa.
On July 7, 1948, Edna Griffin, her infant daughter Phyllis, John Bibbs, and Leonard Hudson entered the Katz Drug Store in Des Moines and ordered ice cream at the lunch counter. The manager refused to serve them because of their race.
They did not just walk away.
Griffin organized. She and other members of the Progressive Party of Iowa picketed in front of the store every Saturday for two months. Griffin, along with Bibbs and Hudson, also filed charges against the store owner. They cited the 1884 Iowa Civil Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination in a public place.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. This happened a full seven years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus.
The criminal trial drew statewide attention when Katz was found guilty by a jury and fined $50. The drug store owner filed an appeal but the conviction was upheld by the Iowa Supreme Court in December of 1949.
Their victory set precedent years before the Greensboro sit-in at Woolworth’s and spurred the enforcement of Iowa’s 1884 Civil Rights Act.
Personally, I think Edna Griffin deserves way more recognition than she gets. She was fighting these battles before most Americans even knew there was a fight.
Redlining and Housing Discrimination in Iowa
Hold on, this part is important.
Even after Iowa banned discrimination in public places, another form of systemic racism took hold. It was called redlining. Banks and real estate companies literally drew red lines on maps around Black neighborhoods. They refused to give mortgages or loans to people inside those lines.
Historians have documented redlining in Waterloo and Des Moines. These discriminatory housing policies led to Black families being kept out of certain parts of towns.
Housing discrimination because of race was banned in 1968. But the segregated neighborhoods still existed. People still acted on the same assumptions about which neighborhoods and schools were “good.”
Think of it like this. You can remove a wall. But the empty space it leaves behind still shapes everything around it.
Iowa’s Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s
By the 1960s, Iowa was seeing its own wave of civil rights activism.
In August of 1963, more than 2,000 people held a rally in Davenport in support of the national civil rights movement. Similar protests continued throughout the 1960s, leading newly elected Governor Harold Hughes to propose a Human Rights Commission in his 1964 inaugural address.
Iowa was moving. Slowly. But moving.
Black Iowans broke many barriers during this era. William Parker of Waterloo became Iowa’s first Black judge. Willie Stevenson Glanton became Iowa’s first Black female legislator, and Cecil Reed became Iowa’s first Black male legislator.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965
The turning point came in 1965. Iowa finally created real teeth for its anti-discrimination rules.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965 prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and education. Discrimination is illegal if based on race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, physical disability, mental disability, age, familial status, or marital status.
That is a long list. And it matters.
It is also illegal to retaliate against someone for filing a discrimination complaint, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory conduct.
You’re not alone if you did not know all of this. Most people don’t.
Where Iowa Stands Today
Iowa has come a long way. But the legacy of segregation did not disappear overnight.
Underlying segregation still exists in school districts across Iowa, including in Waterloo, Des Moines, and Sioux City. This is partly because housing policies and practices from earlier in the 20th century created segregated neighborhoods, which the elementary schools mirrored.
That’s not a knock on Iowa. It’s a reality that most American cities face. The past has a long shadow.
Today, the Iowa Office of Civil Rights works to provide impartial, efficient, and fact-driven analyses of discrimination complaints filed in Iowa. The Office processes an average of 1,600 complaints each year.
That’s a lot of complaints. And that tells you something.
How to Report Discrimination in Iowa Today
Wondering if this applies to you? It might.
If you believe you have been discriminated against in Iowa based on your race, religion, sex, disability, age, or other protected characteristics, here is what you can do.
You can file a complaint with the Iowa Office of Civil Rights. Their website is icrc.iowa.gov. They handle cases involving employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and education.
You can also reach out to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for workplace discrimination. Iowa’s Office of Civil Rights works directly with the EEOC.
If you are unsure whether your experience counts as discrimination, talk to an attorney. Many offer free consultations for civil rights cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Iowa ever officially have Jim Crow laws?
Iowa did not have formal Jim Crow laws like Southern states did. But widespread de facto segregation existed in housing, schools, restaurants, and public places for many decades.
When did Iowa ban school segregation?
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled against school segregation in 1868 in Clark v. Board of Directors. This was 86 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same conclusion in Brown v. Board of Education.
What was the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1884?
It was one of the earliest anti-discrimination laws in the country. It outlawed discrimination in restaurants, hotels, barber shops, theaters, and public transportation. But it was largely unenforced for decades.
Who was Edna Griffin?
Edna Griffin was a Des Moines civil rights activist who successfully sued the Katz Drug Store for refusing to serve her in 1948. She is often called the “Rosa Parks of Iowa.” Her case helped enforce Iowa’s 1884 Civil Rights Act.
Where can I file a discrimination complaint in Iowa today?
You can file a complaint with the Iowa Office of Civil Rights at icrc.iowa.gov. They investigate cases involving employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and education.
Is housing discrimination still a problem in Iowa?
Yes. While housing discrimination has been illegal since 1968, the effects of past policies like redlining still shape neighborhoods and school districts across Iowa today.
Final Thoughts
Iowa’s history with race and civil rights is not simple. It is not all good, and it is not all bad.
Iowa was one of the first states to ban school segregation. It passed anti-discrimination laws in 1884. Edna Griffin fought and won a landmark civil rights case years before the national movement took off.
At the same time, Black Iowans faced real discrimination for decades. In housing. In schools. In restaurants and pools and theaters. The laws were sometimes there. The enforcement was not.
Now you know the full picture. Stay informed, learn from this history, and when in doubt, look it up or reach out for help.
References
- Iowa Office of Civil Rights: icrc.iowa.gov
- A Brief History of Iowa Civil Rights Law, Historical Iowa Civil Rights Network: dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/hicrn
- Clark v. Board of School Directors (1868), Drake University Law Library: libguides.law.drake.edu/Clark150
- Iowa led the nation in school desegregation, Iowa Capital Dispatch: iowacapitaldispatch.com
- Edna Griffin: Civil Rights Pioneer, Iowa History Journal: iowahistoryjournal.com
- Mapping Segregation in Iowa, University of Iowa: mappingsegregationiowa.lib.uiowa.edu
- Civil Rights History, Iowa PBS: iowapbs.org
