COLUMN: Salem's Human Rights Commission grew out of civil rights movement
Oregon was an early adopter of civil rights legislation with the 1949 passage of a law establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Just ...
Oregon was an early adopter of civil rights legislation with the 1949 passage of a law establishing the Fair Employment Practices Commission. Just six U.S. states had that type of civil rights protection. Beginning in the 1950s, this commission began hosting an annual conference called the Annual Forum on Intergroup Relations. In January 1963, Salem City Council was approached by a group of citizens who asked the council to form a civil rights group. Salem Mayor Willard Marshall appointed the Human Rights Temporary Advisory Committee to research this issue and determine the feasibility of creating an ordinance for the City Council which would prohibit racial discrimination.