Civil Rights

The primary goal of the City of Madison Equal Opportunities Division's FREE Community Partner training is to educate community members and organizations by helping to raise awareness surrounding Civil Rights afforded to the public through the Equal Opportunities Ordinance in the areas of Employment, Housing, and Public Accommodations.

Through an informative virtual workshop session with the Equal Opportunities Division staff, community members and organizations will receive the most up-to-date information about Civil Rights and Equal Opportunities. You will learn the process of supporting other community members who wish to take a stand against discrimination and file a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Division. By learning this process, you will be able to assist in identifying situations of discrimination, as well as provide information and support to community members regarding options offered by the Equal Opportunities Division toward resolving these instances of discrimination.

If you or your organization is interested in attending a Community Partner Training, please sign up for one of our pre-scheduled monthly trainings here or submit a request for Training here.

Why attend our Community Partner training?

• Become educated in Equal Opportunities laws afforded to the City of Madison public.
• Build an increased level of trust with community members.
• Have the ability to provide support in filing complaints of discrimination.
• Breakdown silos and build professional relationships with Department of Civil Rights staff.

Does your organization want to help take a stand against discrimination?

We also offer a Certified Community Partner program for organizations who wish to provide a higher level of support to community members who experience discrimination. These organizations will be expected to provide complaint writing assistance in-person to members of the public, including those referred by Equal Opportunities Division (EOD) staff to allow EOD to remain neutral.

Certified Community Partner (CCP) organizations are listed on our website as resources for community members to reach out to for assistance in writing their complaints. If your organization is interested in becoming a CCP, we encourage you to attend this training and to contact our office at dcr@cityofmadison.com for more information.