CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The City of Clarksville has released diversity information for one of its departments following a public statement from Human Relations Commission Chairwoman Juanita Charles.

During last week’s Candid Conversation on Race Relations, hosted by Clarksville Summit on its Facebook page, Charles answered a question about the city’s process for accepting bids on public projects.

She said: “We also started looking into the hiring practices within the city government, looking at the disparities in departments such as Parks and Rec. That one stands out most to me because almost 90% of Parks and Rec is Black, and they have almost no Black management,” Charles said.

But the City of Clarksville says Charles’ number was way off, by more than 60 percentage points.

The city compiled diversity statistics from the Department of Parks and Recreation and shared them with Clarksville Now. According to these numbers, of Parks and Recreation’s 155 employees, 68.8% percent are white, 26.6% are Black, 2.59% two or more races, and 1.94% other.

The department has 29 supervisory, or exempt, employees. Of these, 25 (86.2%) are white, and four (13.8%) are Black.

Charles responds

Charles’ responded that her statistics were likely out of date.

“I am not one to deny if my numbers are wrong,” she said.

She said she was glad to be wrong in this instance. “I’m not gonna lie. I am happy to hear that, that the numbers are better than they were before. It’s definitely better than I thought it was.”

Charles also made clear that her statement during the Summit should not be seen as a condemnation of local leaders, whom she said have shown a willingness to improve diversity.

“I don’t want it to seem like this is some kind of witch hunt or something against the administration. I think they all have good intentions. It’s just how we go about it.”

The HRC works with social, economic, political and faith leaders to foster positive relations in Clarksville. This largely takes the form of educational events addressing diversity, economic divides and institutional discrimination.

For more on the HRC, visit their website.