Nominations Sought For 2024 Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Award

The Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission (BMCHRC) is seeking nominations for the 2024 Human Rights Award, recognizing an individual or group that has made specific, significant contributions to improving civil rights, human relations, or civility in our community.

The deadline for online nominations is Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. The recipient(s) of the BMCHRC's Human Rights Award will be honored at a public ceremony later this year.

The BMCHRC especially welcomes nominations of people demonstrating success in any of the following categories:

• ensuring rights to equal access to housing, employment, or education; 
• equal access to community life for people with disabilities; and 
• nominations of people or organizations who have done exemplary work and advocacy in increasing civility in our community.

Past recipients of the Human Rights Award include Doug Bauder, Lillian Casillas, Reverend Bill Breeden, Sandy Keller, Reverend Forrest Gilmore, and the Monroe County School Corporation Equity Ambassadors.

The mission of the BMCHRC is to protect human rights in Bloomington. The BMCHRC is designed to enforce Bloomington's Human Rights Ordinance in a fair and timely manner, educate community members about their rights and responsibilities under civil rights laws, raise awareness of all human rights issues, ensure that contractors and subcontractors on city jobs pay employees applicable common wages, ensure that the City, as an employer, governmental entity, and provider of public accommodations, complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and provide the community with information about the ADA.

The BMCHRC investigates allegations of discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, or education on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, housing status, or veteran status. It also investigates complaints of familial status discrimination in housing. 

More information about the BMCHRC is available at bloomington.in.gov/boards/human-rights.  

Questions or to request a hard copy of the nomination form, please contact human.rights@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3471.