Lexington preserves DEI officer despite national, state efforts to ban similar positions
As national and state governments target diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Lexington city council voted Thursday to keep a position that champions those values.
After protests from residents, the city council amended an ordinance that would have eliminated the city’s officer of diversity and inclusion.
The job will instead remain open as the sole job in the city’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The current officer will be transferred to another position in a different department to do similar work.
“This is not just about a single department. It is about whether we will stand strong as a city committed to progress or roll over in the face of the rising tide of tyranny sweeping across this country from Washington, DC to Frankfort, Kentucky,” said Nicole Gwishiri, a Lexington resident who spoke at Thursday’s city council meeting.
Diversity, equity and inclusion have become a major target of Republicans in Kentucky and nationwide. President Donald Trump signed an executive order soon after taking office to eliminate federal DEI jobs, and the Kentucky legislature has filed several bills targeting diversity efforts in local governments and state universities.
Senate Bill 165, filed by Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, would bar state and local government agencies from allocating resources to “establish or maintain diversity, equity and inclusion offices,” and from “requiring or incentivizing” a person to attend a DEI training.
That same bill would also block all levels of government from “providing preferential treatment” to individuals or groups based on race, sex, color, or national origin.
Tichenor also filed a bill targeting DEI efforts in Kentucky public schools.
The city council established Lexington’s diversity officer position in 2016. At Thursday’s meeting, Debbie Winslow, one of the speakers in favor of keeping the position, said everyone benefits from such programs.
“No matter what the federal government or the Kentucky legislature does Lexington and Fayette County should not give in to repressive actions and tyrannical rules,” Winslow said.
Prior to the council meeting, protesters gathered in front of the city government building to denounce the potential elimination of the officer position.
Councilmember Denise Gray thanked the attendees and reminded them that local government is constrained by decisions made at the state and federal level.
She encouraged residents to use their voices and be heard in Frankfort to keep DEI efforts afloat across the state.
Lexington’s Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton told the Herald-Leader that officials have no plans to make major changes to DEI initiatives across the city despite federal and state efforts to scrap such initiatives.
The Officer of Diversity and Inclusion is in Hamilton’s office.
Arthur Lucas has been the diversity officer for several years and will transfer to a new job, created by the amended ordinance, acting as the senior administrator in the Human Resources Department. He will continue to work on inclusion efforts, the city said.
“It seems like this ordinance is simply a renaming of the DEI office,” said Craig Blair, who spoke at the council meeting. “That’s a rather craven tactic, because that’s not going to stop this administration from coming for you.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 11:59 AM.