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Austin’s new Office of Equity and Inclusion outlines human-rights, anti-hate and ADA priorities to Public Safety Commission
Summary
City officials introduced the merged Office of Equity and Inclusion and its Human Rights Division, previewing quality-of-life studies, an anti-hate 'We All Belong' task force, fair-housing outreach and new ADA administrator hires; staff asked the commission for feedback and cross-department collaboration.
City Equity and Inclusion leaders visited the Public Safety Commission on Dec. 1 to introduce the newly merged office and to outline plans for a human-rights framework, complaint resolution and community engagement.
"Our mission is to transform systems to increase access, remove barriers to opportunity and address discrimination," said Dr. Lindsey Wilson, director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. She said the office combined prior equity and civil-rights work and recently added a Human Rights Division and an ADA administrator.
Shafina Khaki, the city's Human Rights Officer, described a focus on immigrants, refugees and veterans and asked the commission for input on a planned anti-hate task force connected to the city's 'We All Belong' work. Khaki said the city is collecting community input and weighing task-force selection models—including council appointments, applications, or a hybrid approach.
Emmy Johnson, who outlined civil-rights operations, said the office closes roughly 41 employment complaints and about 28–30 housing complaints per year, resolving about 30% of housing cases through alternative dispute resolution with monetary or nonmonetary outcomes. Johnson noted work-share agreements with EEOC, HUD and the Texas Workforce Commission.
Commissioners pressed for follow-up on past equity assessments—including a 2020 police-academy assessment—and asked staff to consider liaison models, language access, disability accommodations in lighting plans and emergency preparedness for immigrant and refugee populations. Dr. Wilson said prior equity assessments were completed through 2022 and that the office is shifting toward department liaisons to support implementation across city departments.
Staff said they will publicize an office newsletter, host a free fair-housing conference in late April, and follow up with the commission on quality-of-life study results and implementation details. They also offered to coordinate with Public Safety Commission staff on emergency-management and language-access concerns raised by commissioners.
The commission thanked staff for the briefing and requested future agenda items including joint presentations about inclement-weather response, sobering-center updates and follow-ups on whole-blood and budget planning.
