Diversity & Inclusion

Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough said after speaking with departments, businesses and vendors, he recommended removing the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion language. The committee still must pass the budget bills before they can make it to the Senate floor.

The University of Missouri System is halting the use of diversity statements in its hiring practices. UM President Mun Choi said in an email Monday that officials will now send a “values commitment” to job applicants instead of DEI statements.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft tweeted that a job posting for a “diversity, inclusion and belonging leader” was an example of “left-wing indoctrination in the workplace” and the wrong use of taxpayer dollars. State agency leaders say inclusion and belonging programs help retain employees during a severe staffing shortage.

Black students at Eureka High School are upset that the Rockwood School Board eliminated its diversity and inclusion programs and want the school board to replace their programs or implement new ones. The students say that racist incidents at their school are weighing on them and that they need more diversity programs, which are safe spaces for them.

Washington University researcher Calvin Lai discusses his latest study showing that the daylong implicit bias-oriented training programs commonly used by most police departments are unlikely to reduce racial inequity in policing.

The documentary is screening at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis will produce three short operas by artists of color who seek to expand the boundaries of American opera by incorporating new sounds and stories. A community panel of artists, most of whom work outside the opera field, selected the pieces.

In an email to principals, Superintendent Curtis Cane said the district would delay equity efforts while he reviews the training. But he said the work will continue.

Fluffy GRL Movement founder Ebbi Nichole is throwing a body-positive pool party in St. Louis, and all the fluffy girls are invited.

Bishop Deon Johnson is the first Black bishop and openly gay leader of the eastern Missouri diocese.