Over the past few years, towns on Cape Cod and the Islands have talked about incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion into town government.
Both Falmouth and Nantucket managed to hire DEI officers for the town. But when those officers resigned, they were never replaced.
Donna Walker has spent the past few years as DEI director for Provincetown. Before that, she worked in higher education.
CAI's Gilda Geist had a few questions for the Cape and Islands' only town-wide DEI officer.
Gilda Geist Donna, can you tell me a little bit about how you got into this role?
Donna Walker It was a citizens' petition. We worked several months on designing some sort of initiative for the town to consider having a DEI committee—something where they would be able to check in with citizens who were concerned about what the town was doing for diversity and inclusion. This came about because of a series of Facebook posts by members of town boards and committees that poked fun at, not necessarily people of color—it was mostly women—and from that, this group came together. We did well at town meeting. It passed virtually unanimous. I had no intention of being a part of this. Once it passed, I was stopped in town by any number of people and organizations who would say that I should apply for the position. So, I applied and I was hired.
GG What has your experience as DEI director for Provincetown been like? Do you feel like you have the tools to make the difference that you want to make?
DW We set the parameters around the position that I would only be working internally for the town. We would focus on, 'What kind of policies are we setting? What kind of procedures do we have and the rules that we have with those procedures? What kind of systems are we setting up and are they creating barriers for people to participate?' So it did not [involve] community engagement. There are times when I wish that I could have that community engagement piece as well. It would entail probably greater resources than we currently have for the office. Coming out of the education world, I sometimes wish I had an ability to do some planned programing for our residents so that they have an understanding that this office is really for them.
GG There are at least a few examples of towns that don't have any DEI officers or directors in local government, but the school district or the school committee will be the ones leading the charge. I know in Falmouth that's the case, and in Sandwich. Is this something you've noticed as well?
DW I have noticed that, and yes, here on the Cape and Islands, we tend to find if there is a DEI person or a committee, it generally comes through the educational system. Those are the environments in which something like DEI will grow a lot more than, say, in a town environment. Towns are transactional, whereas schools are transformative. So as a transactional organism, their ability to think transformationally may not always be there. I do see my role sometimes as coming in and saying, 'I understand you have a day-to-day life where you need to make sure things get done. I'm asking you to incorporate into that day-to-day life some way of thinking about it in a way that's going to help people. Not just that you're getting them a license, but that you're understanding why they need that license.'
Case in point: Jamaican citizens here wanted to put together a Jamaican Independence Day program. They went before the licensing board, who said no. The only reason they said no is because the rules say you have to stop music—anything that requires a microphone, a loudspeaker—has to stop at 10:30 at night. The problem we ran into is that many of the Jamaican workers tend to finish their jobs at 11:30 or even midnight. So we had to ask for special permission. There was nothing wrong that the licensing board was doing. They were following the rules. We were asking them to say, okay, is there some way that we can make this a little bit more user friendly? That's more transformational than it is transactional. Eventually, that's what we were able to do, so that they could have their Jamaican Independence Day.
GG Was there anything else you wanted to add?
DW I mean, I think obviously the thing that's going on right now with executive order after executive order. We feel comfortable here in Provincetown because we do have this position. It's not tied to any kind of federal funding. In fact, there's no federal funding involved with this position. One thing I hear a lot recently is, 'DEI is dead, and this just proves it because there are these executive orders going on out there.' No, it's something I believe will always be available as long as people are looking at it not as a racial issue—and I think many people do—[but] it is more of a, 'how can we get people to understand that DEI is really about uplifting everyone in the community?' Because you may have different identities that you deal with, [and] you are still going to be touched by diversity, equity and inclusion.
