Edwardsville s Race Relations, Equality Committee offers 10-point proposal
Charles Bolinger, charles.bolinger@edwpub.net
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EDWARDSVILLE While most of the city council’s final meeting of 2020 was routine, Mayor Hal Patton added a new element.
Patton announced the findings of his race relations and equity report and copies were placed on the city’s website for residents to review, discuss, print and share.
He recounted that back in late May, after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, there were nationwide protests, including about 600 people in downtown Edwardsville.
“As mayor, my first and second thoughts were, ‘We need to keep our officers and our residents safe and we need to protect our downtown’ but this group had a lot to say and they did so peacefully.
Mayor hopes residents tune in to Tuesday meeting
Patton to present race relations, equality findings at city council
Charles Bolinger, charles.bolinger@edwpub.net
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The group issued a 10-point directive for improving race relations and equality in Edwardsville:
First, the city should refine and repeat its race relations and equality survey every two years; this initial one should be used as baseline measurements.
Next, the city should continue to hire more employees from diverse backgrounds. Only 4.5 percent of current city employees identify as minorities while African Americans alone comprise 10 percent of the city’s residents.
The city plans to re-activate its Human Relations Commission and change membership to create true diversity. Proposed is a minimum of 10 members – city’s human resources director, an area employer, an administrator or educator from District 7, a clergy member, someone from the LGBTQ+ community, a person with disabilities awar