Canonsburg establishes diversity taskforce
BY KATIE ANDERSON
Canonsburg has recently put together a Diversity and Inclusion Recognition Task Force, which received the blessing of the borough’s council Monday.
Canonsburg Mayor Dave Rhome told the council that he and others wanted to start the task force “in light of everything that’s been going on across the nation.” Rhome mentioned during the meeting that the idea for the task force developed following peaceful Black Lives Matter protests in the borough in June.
“As a leader and when I formed the task force, I felt that in order for us to move forward at all, we have to understand the issues at hand,” Rhome said in an interview Tuesday.
Rhome presented the task force’s mission statement to council Monday. According to the task force’s mission statement, the purpose is to listen and have “hard, but needed conversations, and address racism and inequality in our community.”
The task force has three main goals, according to the mission statement. The first is to be a “forum” of community leaders who will listen to issues brought before them by people of all races, sexuality, gender identities, religions and ethnic backgrounds. “To keep an open mind and have the hard dialogue that ultimately leads to mutual understanding that bridges any gaps between these groups, police, government and church,” the mission statement reads.
The second is to bring “equality and justice to our diverse citizens,” and the third is to “follow through with action,” according to the statement.
“Lastly, and most importantly, all who come must be willing to identify their own personal and organizational implicit and explicit biases, and be willing to effectuate change,” the statement reads.
Members of the task force include Rhome, Councilman Eric Chandler, borough police Chief Alex Coghill and four pastors from churches in the borough. As the task force is in its infancy, Rhome said the group will keep an open mind moving forward about their role in the community.
In the mission statement, Rhome and Coghill assure residents that they “will not tolerate racism, inequality or injustice.”
“As we grow we learn, as we learn we want to be more than just the words on this paper,” Rhome said. “How we execute this change is going to be a learning process for all.”