The current movement for “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) is big. In my world, it is a focus area for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) where I serve on the board of directors. This post begins a series of posts of my thoughts about DEI. Posts in this series have the DEI tag. As always, my posts on this blog are my own views. They are not the views of the VLCT or any other entity or person.

The VLCT created an Equity Committee in November 2020. This committee recently adopted a charter which states that a core value of the committee is that:

Diversity, equity and inclusion should be embedded in all aspects of local government.

The charter instructs committee members to:

Use a DEI lens when making all decisions related to the work of the Equity Committee.

Information about the VLCT’s Equity Committee and DEI initiatives can be found on the VLCT’s website: Equity Resources.

I discuss my reservations about the statements quoted above and other aspects of the DEI movement in the next four posts:

• What is DEI?
• Problems with DEI
• Alternative to DEI
• Alternative for VLCT – I propose a different approach for the VLCT

Throughout this series of posts, I link to news items and opinion pieces in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Subscriptions are probably required to access those links, and I apologize for that. There are also many links that do not require a subscription.