The City of Parkville is making strides to be more inclusive to all citizens through adoption of a calendar of lesser-known or celebrated holidays and recognitions.
At the Tuesday, Oct. 1 meeting of the board of aldermen, the city adopted a calendar of inclusive holidays, celebrations, proclamations and recognitions, as recommended by the city’s Diversity and Inclusion Commission.
The city formed this commission in 2021 to promote community awareness and education on the value of diversity to the community, to promote equity on the basis of economic status, race, color, religion, gender, national origin, ancestry, marital status, physical or mental disability, familial status, sexual orientation and gender identity; evaluate and develop actionable equity recommendations to be used to examine and strengthen policies, practices, services and programs; promote responsiveness of government to concerns of people that may be subject to bias or discrimination in the community; and encourage the creation and continuation of community equity, diversity and inclusion awareness efforts, programs, and activities that are available and accessible to all community members.
Alderman Brian Whitley spoke about the commission’s work on the calendar and the city’s inclusivity planning, stating the group had worked on the project for more than a year and had received community input during the process. During that time, he said, the commission received feedback ranging from skepticism to embracement of the ideals of inclusivity.
“Just because we recognize one population, doesn’t mean we don’t recognize the majority population,” Whitley said.
The calendar includes dozens of meaningful dates, ranging from acknowledgement of World Braille Day in January, Mental Health Awareness Month in May and International Human Rights Day in December.
This new calendar allows the city to use its communication channels to raise awareness about lesser-known observations, such as minority religious holidays and new year celebrations. Additionally, the calendar makes this information available for all who interact with the communication messaging. This information can be freely shared within and without the community.
The board also approved the Diversity and Inclusion Commission’s strategic plan.