With a diversity score of 97 out of 100, Merrillville is much more diverse than other U. S. cities. The most diverse area within Merrillville's proper boundaries is to the southwest of the city, while the least diverse areas are found in the southeastern parts of the city.
Rick Bella, President of the Merrillville City Council, proposed to form a special council committee focused on diversity, inclusion and equity. He believes that recent tragic circumstances have caused a need for self-reflection in individuals and communities across the country. The committee would be endless and constantly changing, and municipal departments and first responders would receive substantive and ongoing training on diversity. Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana, also took similar steps after protests across the country following the death of George Floyd and other African-Americans at the hands of police.
Kelly White Gibson, Secretary Treasurer of Merrillville City Council, has heard many complaints about police brutality in the community, although the number of complaints has declined. The city recently hired its first African-American as chief of police, Wiley Luther Cuttino. The head of its planning and construction department, Sheila Shine, is also African-American. Councilman Leonard White said he attended some of the protests held this summer and found that systemic racism and police brutality were his main concerns.
The first step should be to train board members on diversity and inclusion. Councilman Richard Hardaway warned that the committee must be careful not to offend anyone. Karen Caffarini is an independent reporter for the Post-Tribune who reported on this issue. There are a growing number of minorities in traditionally mostly white school businesses in Lake and Porter Counties, in line with the growing number of minorities in those communities.
Under his leadership, the Merrillville school district became one of the most diverse school corporations in the state, a majority minority school corporation, while maintaining high academic standards. Continuing racial demographic changes over the past two decades have changed the perception of some residents of Northwest Indiana about school. With the recent addition of a university and career counselor in Merrillville, students now have a liaison that defends them and helps them in the process of applying for college or preparing further for their professional endeavors. Tony Lux, retired superintendent of Merrillville, has previously said that changes in the district during his term of office forced him to focus on and accept the district's diversity.
Anya Johnson, a senior at Indiana University in Bloomington who was a student at Merrillville at the time, didn't always recognize these cases as problems but rather as normal events to be expected. However, even with these resources, only 40% of Merrillville students are adequately prepared for post-secondary activities. Northwest Indiana is a true melting pot of diverse cultures and abilities coming together to create a fantastic region. Amones said that the school district has been working with the Great Lakes Equity Center in Indianapolis for the past few years to address this issue.
Check out statistics from Indiana Department of Education to see how diverse each school district is!.
