McKee and others believe that a renaming would be the beginning of the end for the Rowlett Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission. “That's where it's going,” McKee said. “This is just their first step.”
DEI programs have been a heated topic throughout Texas in recent years, with Gov. Greg Abbott doing away with DEI offices on state university campuses in 2023.
In June 2021, Rowlett Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian announced a plan to recognize Pride for the first time by placing a Pride proclamation on the council agenda. It was Dana-Bashian who established Rowlett's DEI commission as well. Shortly thereafter, three city council members contacted local pastors who opposed Pride, McKee explained. The group then put together a petition in opposition to the city recognizing Pride.
As a compromise, the Pride proclamation was read by the mayor and on behalf of the mayor only, not the full council. McKee said the city council later changed the rules around proclamations to stop the mayor from issuing those that members didn’t agree with. Two years later, in June 2023, the Rowlett Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission held the city’s first-ever Pride event, called “A Sweet Taste of Pride.” It was a huge success, according to McKee.
McKee ran against Jonathan Reaves for city council and lost in a run-off election in December 2023. Since Reaves’ election, the balance of power has shifted on council in favor of conservative Christians, McKee said. Now, several city council members, including Reaves, have advocated to change the commission’s name.“This is just their first step.” – Kellie McKee, former DEI commissioner
tweet this
All of this was sparked by a Feb. 19 city council work session when a council subcommittee reviewed all of the city’s boards and commissions, according to Dallas Voice. The subcommittee recommended changing the name of the DEI commission to simply “Diversity Commission.” Reaves, who didn’t respond to a request from the Observer for comment, told Dallas Voice that the commission’s current name seems like a trigger word that carries a partisan connotation.
Mayor Pro Tem Debra Shinder's comments to Dallas Voice seemed to support changing the name as well. She told the publication that a name change isn't meant to diminish the work of the commission, but is meant to garner more support from the Rowlett public.
“There are some people in the community who would like to abolish this board completely, and I don’t want that,” Shinder told Dallas Voice. “I want to eliminate the divisiveness, which is what companies and cities are doing now all over the country. If you do a web search, you find out that corporations are changing this to something that is more inclusive of more members of the community.”
However, Shinder told the Observer by email that she hasn't decided yet how to vote on the name change and won't until she's heard from everyone. "Those comments may influence my opinions, so I can’t take a position until I’ve heard from everyone and analyzed all of the facts," she wrote.
Local GOP leadership also issued a statement about the proposed name change; it came from GOP Precinct 3967 Chairman Steve McDaniel. “To unite our city, DEI must DIE,” the statement read. It said a more accurate meaning of DEI could be division, evil and insanity. “Our city has no business using our tax dollars to take sides on moral and other social issues,” the statement read.
Susan Urrutia, chair of the commission, told the Observer it was initially called the Diversity and Inclusion Commission but was changed to add equity to it in the summer of 2020. Urrutia said it was then Mayor Dana-Bashian who suggested the name change at the time. Now, some say that name change didn't follow proper city protocols, which is one of the reasons a change is being proposed now.
"We had no idea that there was any further protocol needed to change the name," Urrutia said.
The commission's name has deep meaning, Urrutia said, and it gives residents hope that the city is doing something about diversity, equity and inclusion. "I know there are many people in the city who have a very positive feeling about the city, in that they are trying, and it's an ongoing process, but at least trying to address every single part of that," Urrutia said.
Additionally, from a branding perspective, it wouldn't be smart to change the name, Urrutia argued.
"We've worked really hard to let the city know we exist, which is not easy," Urrutia said. "We don't have a marketing budget, so it's just been literally word of mouth and Facebook, for the most part, that has gotten us some recognition among citizens. ... I just think that would be a really big loss for the work that we're trying to do."
Urrutia is worried that first the city council will come for the commission's name and then it will go after the commission's funds during budget talks.
Rowlett City Council held a work session about the proposed name change last night. A vote on the proposed name change was expected tonight, but the item did not appear on the council's agenda when it was recently posted.
Counting the votes on council, it's not looking great for the Rowlett Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission. But, Urrutia still has hope, saying "I still have hope that hearing from citizens about the importance of what we do and what those words mean to them could possibly get through."
