Clarksville City Council to hear a resolution to eliminate DEI from city government
Clarksville City Council is expected to hear a proposed resolution that would eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from city government.
On Thursday, the council will hear the resolution proposed by Travis Holleman, Ward 7.
In the resolution, Holleman says that "the Clarksville City Council wants the city of Clarksville workforce to serve the community to the best of their ability based on merit, and the people of Clarksville deserve a competent workforce to serve them ... regardless of race or sexual orientation.."
The resolution continues to say that the city "spends $120,000 of the taxpayers money annually on a DEI Communist Propaganda officer's salary." And based on election results, "there is overwhelming evidence that the people of Clarksville are tired of the DEI Communist push, as it contributes to the destruction and mismanagement of our society."
The resolution also cites other extra expenses that have arisen such as deploying firefighters to help with wildfires in Los Angeles, calculated into the fire department's budget.
DEI in the City of Clarksville
The City of Clarksville does have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer.
According to the city, this is a stand-alone position in the Human Resources department focused on coordinating various human resources programs. Responsibilities include the development and implementation of citywide diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which encompass onboarding, employee retention, performance management, training and cultural change initiatives.
The officer monitors compliance with equal opportunity laws to ensure fair employment practices, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, disability or other protected statuses. Duties also involve data collection and analysis, making recommendations, providing guidance on employee relations, investigating EEO complaints, conducting training and preparing reports.
The officer also acts as the City's official EEO Officer and Title VI Coordinator.
In 2023, Michelle Lowe was appointed as the officer, but Leah Frazier currently holds that position.
Previous comments made by Holleman
This is not the first time Holleman has been vocal about DEI.
At the June 27 meeting, Holleman gave a presentation regarding "public policies and employee policies," where he criticized DEI training and programs implemented by many major corporations.
He called DEI efforts "training programs to help employees brainwash and indoctrinate," pushing "woke agendas," comparing DEI officers to communist officers before he continued to criticize actions of the LGBTQ community, drag shows and transgender issues, saying "Prince of Pride is Satan," and calling the city to "wake up and repent."
At the July meeting, Democratic and LGBTQIA+ leaders spoke during public comments to protest the comments made by Holleman.
"DEI isn't just about LGBT folks. It's about Juneteenth. It's about Emancipation Day. It's about the AAPI Festival. It's about Latino heritage," said Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Charles Uffelman. "Clarksville is a beautiful city because it's diverse, not despite its diversity, and that's an American concept. Has nothing to do with Russia has nothing to do with communism."
"On my previous comments about DEI didn't exist, that homosexuals wouldn't exist, disabled people wouldn't exist. I mean, they existed before diversity equity inclusion, like diversity equity inclusion, is a new thing.
"Talking about my presentation, I mean, I never really cared until the LGBT (community) started targeting children," Holleman said, citing a law passed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed that prevents schools from revealing a student's sexual orientation or gender identity to any person without the student's consent.
"My whole objective is to protect children," Holleman said. "And so I'm sorry y'all feel attacked, but protecting children is more important. That's all I've got."
Holleman did not respond to The Leaf-Chronicle's request for comment.
Kenya Anderson is a reporter for The Leaf-Chronicle. She can be contacted at kanderson@gannett.com or on X at kenyaanderson32. Sign up for the Leaf-Chronicle to support local journalism at www.theleafchronicle.com.
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