On Sept. 11, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed a proposal to establish the Office of Equity, Belonging and Inclusion within the Mayor’s Office. Ben Tapper, Indianapolis’ first chief diversity and equity officer, will serve as the head of the office to continue to guide the strategic equity, belonging and inclusion vision for Indianapolis.
“Creating an Office of Equity, Belonging and Inclusion for the City of Indianapolis is the next step in a process the members of the City-County Council led with the City in December of 2019 to normalize and operationalize racially equitable systems of local government,” said City-County Council President Vop Osili.
Osili, Administration and Finance Chair Frank Mascari and Community Affairs Chair La Keisha Jackson co-sponsored the proposal that led to the creation of the Office of Equity, Belonging and Inclusion.
“This work of dismantling inequities in our public institutions begins with an acknowledging that such inequities exist, are neither random nor accidental, and have been sustained through time by systems designed for that very purpose,” said Osili. “To have an impact, our efforts to dismantle inequity must be equally intentional, equitable, and sustained.”
Contact staff writer Jayden Kennett at 317-762-7847 or by email JaydenK@indyrecorder.com. Follow her on Twitter @JournoJay.
