Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Diversity Equity Inclusion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioner says Veterans Administration barred DEI remarks; county reaffirms cultural-fluency training
Summary
During discussion of a $102,000 cultural-fluency contract, a commissioner said a Veterans Administration event told them not to speak about diversity, equity and inclusion; the board adopted the training contract and several commissioners pledged to continue local DEI efforts.
A discussion that began with a proposed $102,000 contract for cultural-fluency training expanded Monday into a broader defense of local diversity, equity and inclusion work and a personal account from a commissioner who said a federal event barred them from discussing DEI.
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the Columbus Council on World Affairs contract (Resolution 68-25) to provide cultural-fluency training for county staff. The training, described by county staff as intended to improve staff interactions with residents of diverse backgrounds, was framed by board members as timely given recent federal policy changes.
D'Amica Withers of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, who introduced the item, told commissioners the training is designed to help staff "understand and interact effectively with people with varying culture backgrounds," and to make county services "relevant, responsive, and delivered with sensitivity and respect." (First appearance: D'Amica Withers, SEG 589.)
Elsie Johnson, founder and CEO of Zora's House, which earlier received a separate DEI grant, described her organization’s work and asked for the board’s support on that item. (Elsie Johnson, SEG 605.)
During discussion of the contract, one commissioner invoked a personal point of privilege and described being invited to deliver a keynote at a Veterans Administration event but, two hours before the program, being told they could not speak about "diversity, equity, and inclusion." The commissioner said they declined to participate under that restriction and urged the county to "run toward the conversation, not from it." The transcript records the statement as made by an unidentified speaker (first extended remarks beginning at SEG 843).
The speaker said the county should continue its DEI work regardless of federal developments and praised colleagues for progress made over recent years. "We represent the masses," the speaker said, urging the county to keep engaging in such conversations on behalf of the community.
County officials and other commissioners responded by thanking staff, emphasizing continued local planning, and urging coordinated work among county agencies. The board approved Resolution 68-25 with no recorded dissent.
The adoption of the cultural-fluency contract follows the board’s approval of other DEI- and small-business–focused grants earlier in the meeting, and it occurred amid a broader series of social-services and workforce-development actions taken by the commissioners that day.
The county did not provide a written response from the Veterans Administration in the meeting record; the commissioner’s account remained an unchallenged statement in the public meeting record.
