ATLANTA — The city of Atlanta is renewing efforts for a more equitable community, as Mayor Andre Dickens unveiled Thursday a new inclusive language guide touching on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexuality and other societal factors.
The 24-page document, now available on the city’s website, is intended to show how city officials should address people.
Dickens said the city is committing to these progressive actions today, and everyday, because the city wants to ensure no one is left behind in society. Dickens also gave kudos to his predecessor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who in 2021 created the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, which is the agency spearheading this initiative.
“As any child on any playground in Atlanta can tell you, words matter,” Dickens said at City Hall prior to signing the city’s administrative order for the recommendations.
“It matters what we call people and what we allow people to call us,” Dickens said.
The city’s new guide focuses on terms concerning race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, health equity, socioeconomic status, immigration and international affairs.
It also focuses on ability, addressing terms such as invisible disability. That term is defined in the guide as “disabilities that are not immediately apparent.” It continues by explaining how these conditions are “typically chronic illnesses or cognitive conditions that significantly impair normal activities of daily living.”
Additionally, the guide addresses critical race theory, a higher education concept examining racism’s impact on society. Republicans in Georgia’s Legislature have vowed to rid state schools of the concept, just as other agencies in the public and private sectors have done.
But Dickens said Atlanta will double down on its inclusive principles.
“This is not about being…
Read the full article here
