The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Commission started its work in January 2022, with its mission defined by the Lebanon City Council and written into a City Charter.

Purpose / Charge / Mission

1. Enhancing the City’s support for a welcoming environment encouraging cooperation, tolerance, and respect among and by all persons living, working, and visiting the city.
2. Serving as a resource for the City government and the community by providing information, education, and communication that facilitates a better understanding and celebrates our differences.
3. Advising the City government to ensure the community is united amongst diversity, where everyone is equally respected, valued, needed, and cherished.

Since we began, the DEI Commission has undertaken a broad portfolio of activities, such as revising all the City’s codes with gender-neutral language, creating an equity worksheet for boards and committees to use when making decisions, Juneteenth celebration, multicultural festival, participating in “listening sessions” at Farmer’s Markets to understand what is important to the community, compiling educational materials, and sharing information about DEI-related events.

We also created a 5-minute survey to help us better understand how those who live, work, shop, dine, and recreate in Lebanon experience the City. We want to hear the perspectives of people along a spectrum of identities – racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, age, gender, sexuality, language, ancestry, and more. The survey is anonymous, can be taken in many different languages, and will remain active until the end of December. Our hope is that survey functions as both a systematic analysis of residents’ and visitors’ experiences with discrimination that can guide the commission’s activities, and a way to collect and share stories that may increase empathy and understanding across lines of difference.