KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo has the funding, the staff, and the data to fight racism in city government, but the person leading the charge says they aren’t ready to begin just yet.
The Kalamazoo City Commission received a full briefing on a comprehensive study of institutionalized racism, sexism and discrimination in Kalamazoo city government from a Lansing based non-profit Monday.
Consultant Bryan Rowe said the workforce will benefit from a city government that has achieved diversity, equity, and inclusion.
But Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director Dorla Bonner says the report also found that 81% of the staff are skeptical about achieving that goal, and she says they have to work to get everyone on the same page.
Bonner says it could be five years before there is any evidence that the effort is working. She says this isn’t like most city programs that get done in a few months or weeks.
She says the real goal is to institutionalize anti-racist policies and change hearts, so that it lasts beyond their time in city government.
(reporting from John McNeill)
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