The Oneonta-area branch of the NAACP is highly concerned about the potential impacts of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, including banning all federally sponsored diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and the subsequent discontinuation of similar programs in the private and public sectors throughout the country.
We are calling on local government, as well as businesses and educational institutions, to determine how they might continue to perpetuate the spirit of inclusivity within their organizations in the face of anticipated pressures from the federal government.
Our community has always been diverse — along intersectional lines of class, gender, religion, ability, neurodivergence and race — and grows more so every day, based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. As such, equity initiatives are relevant and necessary in the Oneonta area as much as they are anywhere else. And, for us, DEI is not just a moral imperative; it is good economic sense.
A shrinking local labor force has necessitated many of our larger businesses to recruit talent to fill critical staff vacancies. Our health care providers routinely contract for nursing and other health care professionals from other countries. Bassett Healthcare Network’s residency training programs are filled primarily with foreign physicians. The tourism and hospitality industry depends on summer help from a variety of locations across the globe. And our farm community has been employing migrant workers for many years.
Rural areas that actively embrace diversity and inclusion will be better positioned to attract and retain talent, boost economic development and address ongoing staffing issues. Diversity is not a threat to our area, but rather an opportunity that can help us stave off population decline and economic stagnation.
In order to harness this potential for renewal and growth we must, as a community, become more inclusive and welcoming to diverse populations. Some of this can be done at the government and institutional level with training programs to help heighten awareness. But, as is often the case, the most meaningful changes occur at the individual level. Be kind to your neighbors. Be patient in your daily errands. Welcome those you don’t know, and don’t assume the worst of them. If we are hospitable, our community can grow rather than shrink.
So, while formal DEI programs may be imperiled at the federal level, the Oneonta-area branch of the NAACP hopes that all of our friends and neighbors will do their part to help make our region more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The future of our beloved “City of the Hills” demands that we do.