Update: Concord to continue diversity initiatives on its own following changes to state law

Members of Concord's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee meet on July 15, 2025.

Members of Concord's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee meet on July 15, 2025. Brendilou Armstrong / Monitor staff

Members of Concord's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee meet on July 15, 2025.

Members of Concord's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee meet on July 15, 2025. Brendilou Armstrong—Monitor staff

By BRENDILOU ARMSTRONG

Monitor staff

Published: 07-18-2025 2:43 PM

Modified: 07-22-2025 3:31 PM


Six months ago, Concord city officials defended hiring an outside consultant to lead their diversity initiatives — now, they’re continuing its work on their own.

For the last several months, the Texas-based Racial Equity Group, hired by the committee in December for $40,000, had been conducting small focus group interviews among various Concord citizens that it used to develop recommendations for ways city government could become more accessible and inclusive. The committee accepted the findings of the study and will take the next steps of sifting through the feedback and recommendations amid a changing political landscape.

Before determining how to proceed, committee members had to face a sudden state roadblock in their path. The trailer to the state budget, HB2, contains a ban on state funding for any such work.

The new law, “prohibits all public entities from implementing, promoting, or otherwise engaging in any diversity, equity, and inclusion DEI-related initiatives, programs, training, or policies,” and allows state assistance or contracts can be withheld.

Further, it states, that towns, cities and school districts shall not “enter into or renew any contract that includes DEI-related provisions, including requirements for contractors to implement DEI programs, conduct DEI training, or comply with DEI-related reporting obligations.”

Members wondered whether the name and mission statement of the committee itself should be changed to protect against potential challenges.

"We clearly need a new name for our committee,” said Rabbi Robin Nafshi, who chairs Concord’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee. “I believe the current name would draw the attention of those who are empowered to enforce the provisions of HB2 doing away with DEI efforts."

The committee’s stated responsibility is “to create and sustain an inclusive process for public engagement so all Concord residents feel a sense of belonging and can authentically participate in the decision-making processes that impact their lives.” In a changing political climate for diversity and equity initiatives, however, the committee decided to proceed with caution.

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Committee members cited state legislation’s “vague language” as a reason to consider changing its name and revising its platform in the near future. They explained that removing words like “just,” “inclusive” and “equitable” from their mission statement and goals may be a necessary workaround; other members preferred to stay the course.

“Those are good words,” said committee member Sheila Zakre. “It’s difficult for me to take out words just because they’re words. It is right to challenge this legislation.”

Despite calls to push back, members voted to form a small group tasked with updating the committee’s name, goals and mission statement.

The small group will meet in August to begin reviewing the committee’s existing language and propose revisions. The full committee is scheduled to meet to discuss the changes in September.

The committee will continue to evaluate the contents of the report produced by the Racial Equity Group, which held several listening sessions with small groups of people in the city this spring.

The focus groups, organized based on demographic characteristics, sought to “develop a deeper understanding of community members’ experiences” with services, opportunities, and general feelings of belonging throughout Concord, according to the final report.

By the end of the study, the focus groups tended to agree on a need for the city to adopt better transportation, stronger cultivation of cultural community events, increased access to civic engagement and better equal opportunity employment initiatives. The plan was to use the results of these groups to develop proposed actions, then to gather community-wide feedback.

Mayor Byron Champlin said the “aggregate information” contained in the report was valuable, which allowed the committee to collect important insight from the process.

Forming the committee was a promise Champlin made at the start of his term as mayor. The city held listening sessions in 2023, where over 100 residents shared ways Concord could do more to welcome, support and include marginalized residents. But the city had not acted on the community suggestions collected during that process, and a facilitator-guided committee was intended to pick up, expand and follow through with that previous effort.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect committee members’ consternation with changes to state law that ban DEI initiatives, not the work of its consultant.

Brendilou Armstrong can be reached at barmstrong@cmonitor.com