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Seattle Office for Civil Rights

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Seattle Office for Civil Rights

The Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) works to advance civil rights and end barriers to equity. We do not ask about citizenship or immigration status.

We enforce laws against illegal discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and contracting within Seattle city limits. Our Vision: A city of liberated people where communities historically impacted by racism, oppression, and colonization hold power and thrive. Our Mission: To end structural racism and discrimination through accountable community relationships and anti-racist org

anizing, policy development, and civil rights enforcement. What We Do:
• We investigate discrimination in housing, employment, public places, and contracting.
• We coordinate the Race & Social Justice Initiative, a citywide effort to end institutional racism in City government and to achieve racial equity across our community.
• We offer free presentations to community groups and businesses.
• We staff four City of Seattle Commissions:
• Seattle Human Rights Commission
• Seattle Women’s Commission
• Seattle LGBTQ Commission
• Seattle Disability Commission

If you believe you have been discriminated against, please contact us at 206-684-4500. Our services are free and we will provide a language interpreter. Visit us at 810 Third Avenue, Suite 750 in downtown Seattle. For full information go to www.seattle.gov/civilrights. View the City’s policies at www.seattle.gov/digital.

05/12/2026

Everyone in our city deserves to live safely, openly, and free from discrimination and fear. We are deeply saddened by the tragic killing of a young transgender student at her off-campus student housing near the University of Washington. Our hearts are with her loved ones and the LGBTQ+ community. This is a pain and loss no person should endure, yet acts of violence—particularly against transgender women—have become all too familiar in our country.

We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and reaffirm our commitment to upholding civil rights, protecting transgender communities, and building systems that ensure everyone in our city is safe, supported, and able to thrive.

Free mental health services for youth and young adults up to age 24 are available at seattle.gov/youthmentalhealth.

05/06/2026

🏡 We are hosting a training for housing providers about fair housing laws in Seattle. This training will provide a basic overview of different treatment, harassment, reasonable accommodations and modifications, service animals, retaliation, alternative source of income, first-in-time, and fair chance housing and eviction records. This is not an advanced class.

Basic Fair Housing Training for Housing Providers
Thursday, June 4 from 5pm-7pm
El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave S.
Seattle, WA 98144

Registration is required! To register, click the link in our bio or visit seattle.gov/fairhousing. If you don’t register and arrive at the training location, we will ask you to wait until it begins to see if we have space. If you can’t make it to this session, we plan on having others on September 12, and October 22 (dates are subject to change).

Contact Monica Beach at [email protected] or call (206) 684-4521 for questions about the training, reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and language services.

04/28/2026

🏡 We are hosting a training for housing providers about fair housing laws in Seattle. This training will provide a basic overview of different treatment, harassment, reasonable accommodations and modifications, service animals, retaliation, alternative source of income, first-in-time, and fair chance housing and eviction records. This is not an advanced class.

Basic Fair Housing Training for Housing Providers
Saturday May 9, 10am-12pm
Van Asselt Community Center
2820 S. Myrtle St. Seattle WA, 98108

Registration is required! Register at www.seattle.gov/fairhousing. If you don’t register and arrive at the training location, we will ask you to wait until it begins to see if we have space. If you can’t make it to this session, we plan on having others on June 4, September 12, and October 22 (dates are subject to change).

Contact Monica Beach at [email protected] or call (206) 684-4521 for questions about the training, reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and language services.

04/13/2026

On June 1, the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, Mayor Katie B. Wilson, members of Seattle City Council, Deaunte Damper, and the Gender Justice League will gather for the 14th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Flag Raising and Pride Month Proclamation. The afternoon will also include awards celebrating one individual and organization for their leadership and service to the LGBTQ+ community. 🌈

Join us as we reaffirm our commitment to building a welcoming and inclusive city for our LGBTQ+ community. Everyone is welcome to attend, and light refreshments will be served!

📅 Monday June 1, 2026 at 12:00 PM in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle City Hall on 600th 4th Avenue

An accessible route to the ceremony is available by elevator. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, language interpretation, and translation are available upon request.

More details coming soon!

03/27/2026

The City of Seattle Government and the Y Social Impact Center YMCA of Greater Seattle are excited to announce that the Get Engaged program is now accepting applications!

Get Engaged places individuals ages 18-29 on the City of Seattle’s boards and commissions. Get Engaged board members serve a one-year term as fully vested and voting members starting in September. Acting in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and City Council, board members help shape policy decisions, make recommendations, and provide citizen participation in city government. Since 2001, the Get Engaged program has been dedicated to cultivating the next generation of leaders and advocating for the influence of young voices in city affairs.

The Y Social Impact Center offers additional support and training at monthly cohort meetings where participants have an opportunity to discuss strategies, share ideas and collaborate.

🗓️ Applications for the 2026-2027 term will be accepted until Friday, April 24th at 11:59pm.

✨To apply: Complete the application at forms.office.com/r/qEB2xzpkV1 and send a resume & cover letter to [email protected]

💻 View participating boards and commissions at seattleymca.org/get-engaged-boards-commissions

✉️ For more information, contact Imani Bender at [email protected]

03/16/2026

In response to requests from survivors of domestic violence, the City of Seattle is investing $855,000 in community programs focused on prevention, healing, and restorative justice. Programs will increase community-based options for support as an alternative to traditional criminal legal system responses to domestic violence.

Programs include:

📝 Workshops by Seattle's LGBTQ Center on how to create safety plans, set boundaries, communicate effectively, and recognize signs of harm

💜 Safe spaces, case coordination, and domestic violence prevention training for faith leaders, youth mentors, and women’s groups by Against Abuse Center

🗣️ Healing circles and training by Justice on bystander intervention and restorative justice practices for community members and incarcerated individuals

Funding is provided in partnership by the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and the Human Services Department as a result of the 2025 Collective Network Request for Proposals (RFP). Read the full announcement on our blog at https://ocr.seattle.gov/city-of-seattle-invests-855000-in-community-led-domestic-violence-response-and-prevention-programs/

Photo captions in the comments. ⬇

03/04/2026

📅 Event postponed

To support a high level of registration and adequate staff capacity, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights has postponed the Bridges of Belonging Community Storytelling Showcase. We look forward to bringing people together for storytelling, connection, and wellness activities in the future.

02/18/2026

We are living through a defining time in our country—one marked by accelerating harm, deepening fear, and deliberate efforts to divide us from one another. One powerful way we can meet this moment is by taking action to connect with others by listening to their stories. Stories are important because they shape who we feel connected to, who we see as human, and who belongs.

Join us for Bridges of Belonging, a community storytelling showcase that will bring
people together to build solidarity through connection and wellness activities.

Come for:
🗣️ Story spotlights from powerful community voices across Seattle. Speakers will be announced soon!
💭 Creative conversations about how to protect one another, turn priorities into next steps, and make belonging a reality for everyone in Seattle
💗 Wellness activities including guided sound meditation, healing circles, and art workshops
🎤 An inspiring keynote from Ben McBride of the Empower Initiative
🍽️ Lunch by Communion Seattle, with meat, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options to choose from!

This event is free and hosted by Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Community Passageways; Lake Burien Presbyterian Church Urban Family We Deliver Care Mary's Place, Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, Beautifulle, and additional community-based organizations.
Join us Saturday, March 7 at Pacific Tower from 11am-4pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. Registration is required.

https://www.seattle.gov/rsji/bridges-of-belonging

02/03/2026

We are living through a defining moment in our country—one marked by accelerating harm, deepening fear, and a deliberate effort to divide us from one another. Today, our Director, Derrick Wheeler-Smith, shared this statement in response to ICE operations we’re seeing across the country, federal actions that aim to divide and exclude, and the importance of solidarity in this moment.

Swipe through to read the full statement.

01/19/2026

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Those who love peace must organize as effectively as those who love war.” This instruction feels especially urgent today, as our national leadership exercises power through force and militarized strategies rather than accountability and democratic consent.

This , we’re reflecting on Dr. King’s legacy not only as a visionary civil rights advocate, but as a community organizer who understood that peace and justice don’t emerge spontaneously—they must be organized into existence. Too often, peace has slogans without structure while war has institutions, budgets, pipelines, and the dominant narrative. Dr. King warned us against this imbalance. Loving peace is not enough. It demands strategy, coordination, and sustained participation.

📰 Our Director, Derrick Wheeler-Smith, reflects on Dr. King’s call for collective action in an opinion in titled, “Dr. King’s Legacy Shows Us Peace Is Not Passive – We Must Organize.” Read the full story at https://seattlemedium.com/organizing-for-peace-and-justice/

Address

Seattle, WA

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 3pm
Tuesday	9am - 3pm
Wednesday	9am - 3pm
Thursday	9am - 3pm

Telephone

+12066844500

Website

http://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/

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