Looking to broaden representation within city employment and leadership, Manhattan Mayor Usha Reddi Tuesday proposed a diversity and inclusion advisory board.
“We make so many policies all the time, but we don’t know the unintended consequences,” Reddi says. “I think it’s important to have people that represent all of these communities that haven’t been reached out to before to be part of that, to help us and guide us to make sure we are as inclusive as we need to be for everybody involved in our community.”
Though specific details were scant, Reddi points to Manhattan-Ogden USD 383, Kansas State University and other municipalities as examples of such a group. USD 383 has recreated its Committee for Diversity and Inclusion after disbanding it when the district hired a district diversity coordinator. The committee was recreated years after budget cuts eliminated the position.
K-State has also expanded its focus on diversity and inclusion since 2017. During that time, the university reorganized the Office of Diversity as the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. They’ve also created two new positions: the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Human Capital Services as well as Director of Multicultural Student Affairs. Efforts are ongoing as university officials pledge change following online comments made by Black students and alumni about their experiences with racism under the #BlackatKState hashtag.
Reddi says diversity and inclusion efforts will also be something young African Americans and other people of color will pay attention to when considering where to live.
“We are doing a lot of things right, but there’s a lot of things we can do better,” says Reddi. “The Black Entrepreneurs have just reached out to the Chamber — they were not on any Chamber radar before that I know of, so there’s a lot of missing parts that have a barrier to coming and reaching out to us.”
Commissioners Linda Morse and Aaron Estabrook endorsed the proposal. Morse sympathized with the feelings of African Americans, saying she doesn’t want to wait 58 years for change like she has for the Equal Rights Amendment to be ratified. That evening was the anniversary of its senate passage.
“There’s so much unrest in our country and I don’t want us to be one of those communities that kind of explodes,” says Morse. “I want us to hear our public.”
Estabrook says he hopes the committee will have identifiable recruitment metrics to strive toward.
“I know that we’ve struggled with that at all levels — from the university to the city to the school district,” Estabrook says. “I would also say that diversity isn’t just about race, there is a socio-economic component to diversity.”
No commissioners expressly opposed the proposal. Mayor Pro Tem Wynn Butler called for the commission to move on to the planned agenda as the discussion was occurring during commissioner comments. He says further discussion should be saved for an upcoming work session.
KMAN has reached out for city employee and leadership demographics. Previously, officials have said under 25 percent of Manhattan workers are female. 2 percent identified other than male or female. 74 percent were men.
