KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The City of Kalamazoo will participate in a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Assessment, as approved during a virtual meeting Monday night.
According to city documents, the contract to do so is with the Michigan Public Health Institute in the amount of $145,330.10.
City documents also state the following in regards to this agenda item:
“In February 2020, the inaugural office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was established to help our organization work toward the goal of becoming an antiracist organization. The first step of this goal is to understand where we are in the process of becoming an antiracist organization.
This assessment will include but not be limited to a review of the Equal Employment Opportunity records, review from an equity perspective the hiring and promotions and separations as well as organizational and cultural survey to understand employee attitudes, conditions and experiences.
The results of this survey will be used as the basis of our organizational Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan.”
At the start of the meeting, City Manager Jim Ritsema made a statement regarding that item before Commissioners discussed it.
“Racism is a painful part of American history,” Ritsema stated. “Systemic racism, unfortunately, is deeply rooted not only within our country, but within our cities and all of our present-day local government institutions, including the City of Kalamazoo. Despite legislation meant to correct racial inequities, challenges remain, and the trauma and intersected toxic impacts caused by systemic racism are endured daily by people of color in our community.
The City of Kalamazoo is committed to governing intentionally to create equitable and inclusive outcomes for everyone in Kalamazoo. This commitment begins with understanding and acknowledging the truth of our past, and the harms that the City of Kalamazoo has historically played in creating and sustaining systemic racism. At the City of Kalamazoo, we are committed to this antiracism journey, which will require courageous and continuous leadership, and must be informed by the trauma caused by systemic racism, past and present. We hope to work collaboratively with our community and community organizations focused on realizing transformational change for racial equity.
We understand that words are not enough, and we must demonstrate our commitment to transformational change with credible action to change policies, promote community healing and increase trust, and ensure community members are treated fairly. The City Commission will be asked to approve a contract to hire a consultant to perform the city’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Assessment. The assessment results will be used to inform our first DEI plan, which will help us continue in areas where we are strong, and strengthen areas where we are weak.”
Ritsema noted that the plan will also develop an antiracism task force to work alongside Director of DEI Dorla Bonner.
Afterwards, some Commissioners, such as Erin Knott, expressed displeasure with the message, saying it was contradictory to actions by the city.
She pointed out that during the last meeting, the Commission voted to accept a statement of apology from Ritsema, who had said that the former Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas had resigned, when in reality, she was fired.
“Instead of addressing an action that continued to cause harm, especially to our black and brown neighbors, the commission chose to adopt a watered-down resolution that basically wagged our finger at the City Manager and told him not to do it again,” Knott said. “Tonight, we are in essence patting ourselves, once again, on the back, saying ‘look at us doing the hard work.’ But two weeks ago, we made a dramatic statement that we’re not interested in engaging in hard work. So how do we expect the community at large to trust us this evening, that tonight’s statement that was just read is a commitment and not just words, and truly any different?”
Later during the meeting, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion director Dorla Bonner joined the call to explain what the assessment means for the City.
“Since the fall of 2019, many of us have been attending ERACCE Introduction to Systematic Racism [workshops], and there is a portion of that training that asks organizations to rate themselves on the continuum from being a racist organization to being an antiracist organization,” Bonner said. “Most of us, and there have been 98 of us since the Fall of 2019 attending this, and most of us rated ourselves in the middle.”
She said that is the framework for the work going forward, noting that city leaders had developed a plan over a two day work session.
“The first step of that plan was to conduct an internal equity assessment to gain knowledge of where we are strong so we can enhance it, and learn where we are not so strong so we can strengthen it,” Bonner said. “I firmly believe that transformative changes are not made on assumptions, but on truth. This assessment will give us truth.”
She said that the assessment is being undertaken to make sure staff are treated equitably, and that opportunities for employment and advancement are equitable, as well.
“Our ultimate goal is to make sure that diversity, equity and inclusion becomes our culture, so our inward-facing work and community-facing work reflects this culture,” Bonner said. “The results of this assessment will be used to develop our first equity plan, with one of the first actions being to put together a City of Kalamazoo Internal Antiracist Force.”
She also confirmed the results of that assessment will be made public upon finalization. She said the goal is to have the assessment finished by the end of the summer season, at which time the new plan can be developed, including for KDPS and others.
Commissioner Chris Praedel also asked Bonner to clarify why the Michigan Public Health Institute was selected for the assessment.
“They were the most responsive to our needs, their process was cleaner in terms of their experience, they understand the Midwest,” Bonner said. “We only had two applicants unfortunately, the other one was from California. During our interviews, the teamwork was amazing how they understood our questions.”
Vice Mayor Patrese Griffin also said that the hard work must be done, otherwise nothing will change.
“I want this to not be in vain, I want this to not be something that got said, I don’t want this to be a report that comes back and nothing happens with it,” Griffin said. “Let’s make this one of the last investments into having to find out whether or not this organization is equitable, and move forward accordingly.”
Ultimately, Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the contract, with Mayor David Anderson noting that he will be looking forward to getting the work done.
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