As some states work to ban DEI programs, Cary makes one permanent

As many government diversity, equity and inclusion programs get cut nationwide, Cary is making one a permanent town advisory board.

The Cary Town Council approved a plan Thursday night to make its Human Relations, Inclusion and Diversity Task Force an official board that continues advising the town’s leaders.

The task force was created in 2020 after Councilwoman Lori Bush and former council member Ya Liu proposed it in response to Black Lives Matter protests that summer.

“It was right after ... the death of George Floyd, that I thought we needed to be more open with how we embrace our diversity and ensure that folks in Cary feel heard,” Bush said. “We care about each other and making sure that the rest of our citizens know how much was important.”

That summer, Cary signed on to the Obama Foundation pledge, calling on cities to change how police and residents interact. The pledge included a series of actions to re-imagine policing.

“One of those actions was to create an advisory board,” Mayor Harold Weinbrecht explained. “(We) interviewed all the candidates for this task force and, I have to tell you, I’ve never interviewed a group of people that were so talented. ... I think they will do fantastic as a permanent advisory board; they are providing a wealth of information.”

The eight-member advisory board will make data-informed recommendations, creating broader access, encouraging fair treatment, and promoting mutual understanding and respect among all people.

With the new board, Cary now has eight boards and one commission, all made up of Cary residents.

DEI programs under fire

DEI, programs encourage the representation and inclusion of people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other underrepresented groups in public spaces and workplaces.

It became a buzzword as companies made efforts to hire more Black people and people of color, remove branding perceived to be racist and invested in historically Black colleges and universities.

Since then, DEI programs in education have come under attack by those who say they exclude other people and unfairly disadvantage white people.

Republican lawmakers have introduced dozens of anti-DEI bills targeting higher education since 2022, and some lawmakers in North Carolina might take up the issue when the General Assembly is back in session next month.

Making ‘a huge difference’

Cary has people of over 65 nationalities and “a wide variety of folks from different age groups and genders and gender identities, and alignments to various religions,” Bush said. “And we celebrate that quite openly.”

Since its first meeting in 2022, the task force has provided feedback on the town’s 2023 Pride Month proclamation and celebrations on ADA compliance, outreach and communication.

“We’ve even had feedback on the way some of our events are laid out to make them more available to people with varying abilities,” Bush said. “That is just the beginning of what they’ve given us and has made a huge difference.”

The board meets at 6 p.m. every first Tuesday of the month in Cary Town Hall. Rashonda Harris is the board’s manager.