Social Equity Investment Project honored with national award

2009 Cultural Diversity Award runner up

Wanda Hines receiving City Cultural Diversity Award

Washington, DC – Eight city programs were honored today for their efforts to enhance and celebrate cultural diversity in their communities. The National League of Cities’ (NLC) National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) presented the City Cultural Diversity Awards to Country Club Hills, Ill.; High Point, NC; Kansas City, Kan.; and Virginia Beach, Va. Cities chosen as runners-up were: Dyersburg, Tenn.; Burlington, Vt.; St. Louis, Mo; and Fort Worth, Texas.

The awards were presented March 16th, during the annual Celebrate Diversity breakfast at National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC. Cecilia Muñoz, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, addressed the group during the awards breakfast.

Award recipients have implemented a variety of innovative programs and unique events designed to help citizens recognize the impressive diversity within their own community.

City Cultural Diversity awards entrance

Award-winning city programs:

• The Summer Youth Work Program (SWYP) in Country Club Hills, Ill., strives to nurture and instruct youth in a manner that will ultimately prepare them for the challenges in adult life. For more information, contact Earlene Hayden at 708-798-2616 or ehayden@countryclubhills.org.

• The High Point Student Human Relations Commission in High Point, NC, was created to address the critical need of maintaining positive human relations among students in the City of High Point and to curb the propensity for exercising prejudice, racism, bigotry and bias. For more information, contact Al Heggins at 336-883-3125 or al.heggins@highpointnc.gov.

• Kansas City, Kan., created the Quindaro Ruins Stabilization and Restoration Project to preserve the Ruins of an old abolitionist port township along the Underground Railroad network in Kansas and along the Missouri River border. For more information, contact La Vert Murray at 913-573-5730 or Gordon Criswell at 913-573-5024.

• The City of Virginia Beach, Va., Department of Public Works Summer Internship Program was designed to provide full-time work experiences that assist college students in making connections between textbook knowledge and real world experiences. For information, contact Susan L. Perry at 757-385-1355 or slperry@vbgov.com.

Runner-up city programs:

• In Dyersburg, Tenn., the Bruce Extended School Team’s “Taking Back Our Community” program encourages youth to build character, improve self-esteem, inspire confidence and achieve academically in order to strengthen and support their future. For information, contact Pastor Stuart A. Edmonds at 731-286-7624 or bruce@dyersburgtn.gov.

• The Social Equity Investment Project is a new social development resource created to help Burlington, Vt., address ethnic and culturally diverse issues which impact the quality of life for all communities. For more information, contact Wanda Hines at 802-865-7594 or whines@ci.burlington.vt.us.

• The St. Louis Enterprise Center-Midtown in St. Louis, Mo., provides emerging businesses affordable office space, shared equipment and facilities, mentoring, technical assistance, publicity and connections to business opportunities. For more information, contact Ivie Clay at 314-259-3448 or clayi@stlouiscity.com.

• The Economic Development Incentive Program of Fort Worth, Texas and its Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise component attract development projects that diversify the city’s economic base, revitalize the central city, maximize job opportunities and provide opportunities to small business and those owned by women and minorities. For more information, contact Diane Covey at 682-432-4227 or diane.covey@fortworthgov.org.

 

Wanda holding 2009 City Cultural Diversity award

The City Cultural Diversity Award was established in 1995 to promote cultural diversity in community governance through citizen and community participation. Winning cities are selected from a pool of applicants and are grouped according to population.

NBC-LEO President-Elect Audwin Samuel, Mayor Pro Tem, Beaumont, Texas, chaired this year’s awards competition. Judges also included Louvenia Mathison, Councilwoman, Berkeley, Mo.; rJo Winch, Council Majority Leader, Hartford, Conn.; Helen Kawagoe, City Clerk, Carson City, Calif.; Charleta Tavares, Councilmember, Columbus, Ohio; Edna Branch Jackson, Mayor Pro Tem, Savannah, Ga.; Gilbert Wong, Councilmember, Cupertino, Calif.; Louie Lujan, Councilmember, La Puente, Calif.; and Craig Lowe, Commissioner, Gainesville, Fla.

The National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) was established in 1970. A constituency group of the National League of Cities, NBC-LEO advocates for the interests of African-American local elected officials. Its mission is to provide African-American municipal officials and their colleagues with forums to share ideas, discussion groups to develop strategies for improving municipal governance, debates on policy issues and programs that contribute to the success of America’s cities and towns.

For more information on the City Cultural Diversity Awards, visit NBC-LEO’s website at www.nbc-leo.org.