Heineman Orders Diversity Team to Discriminate
May 10, 07:30 PM CST
Articles this week in the Lincoln Journal Star chronicle a series of disturbing events in the administration of Governor Dave Heineman. Today’s story by Nancy Hicks looks at what happened, and the Governor, in his usual style, just won’t talk about it.
The Health and Human Services (HHSS) Employees Diversity Teams in Lincoln and Omaha recently experienced an influx of resignations by team members due to administrative orders to blatantly discriminate against a scheduled speaker at an upcoming event.
The Diversity Team in Lincoln, composed of volunteers within the Central Office of HHSS, is in existence to promote and educate co-workers on the various diversity issues within the group and the community. The written vision of the team states, “The Nebraska Health and Human Services is an inclusive environment where each individual is valued.” The mission statement reads, “The Central Office Employee Diversity Team promotes and encourages the appreciation of human diversity in the workplace and the communities we serve.”
The latest program for presentation to the employees was entitled “Recognizing Family Diversity”. It was a forum for discussion of the various family constructs in today’s society. Seven speakers were planned and included blind parents, a grandmother raising her grandchildren, a foster parent, and another speaker covering several issues related to diversity. Her family included three ethnic races, adopted foster care children from a previous marriage, a special needs child, and same sex parenting. Upon the announcement of the program, the co-chairs of the Diversity Team were ordered by State Administration to remove the last mentioned speaker from the program because she was part of a same sex partnership.
The team co-chairs met with administration to stress the importance of recognizing this situation as yet another diversity issue and that it was unreasonable to order a team whose sole existence is to recognize diversity to discriminate. They were told that this Administration (the Governor’s office) does not and will not recognize same sex issues. When asked how a Diversity Team could be told to blatantly discriminate, the administrator said it did not make a difference how long the discussion took place or what points were raised, the speaker would still not be allowed on the agenda and that all future programming would have to be run by Administration prior to the event, an order that had never previously been required.
When stressed that the Diversity Team was neither condoning nor condemning the gay life, but simply recognizing their existence and the special circumstances their families may encounter, the administration was unwilling to waiver on their refusal.
Governor Dave Heineman has been informed in writing of the situation and has yet to answer the question of discrimination and prejudice against Nebraska’s GLBT community.
Since the refusal of the speaker, both co-chairs and eleven other members of the Diversity Team have tendered their formal resignations on the basis of principle.
And in Omaha, the team there has seen a great deal of resignations as well following the Heineman administration’s order to cancel a similar program.
– by eric | Send this to a friend
— Luke Peterson May 11, 12:58 PM CST #
— Tony Maloley Jr May 13, 10:26 PM CST #