CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A national LGBTQ advocacy group released its annual scorecards for 506 cities across the nation on their local equality efforts in policies, laws and services. This assessment included Clarksville, which scored a 17 out of 100.

The Human Rights Campaign created the Municipal Equality Index, or MEI, in 2011 to examine how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there.

Comparatively, the average score for cities in Tennessee was 36 out of the eight cities evaluated. Murfreesboro scored a 12, Franklin scored a 19, and Nashville scored the highest with 78 points.

The city responds

The MEI rates cities based on their nondiscrimination policies, the city as an employer, efforts of the city to include LGBTQ residents in city services and programs, the fairness of law enforcement regarding LGBTQ people, and city leadership’s public position on LGBTQ equality.

When asked about the scorecard in general, city spokesman Richard Stevens told Clarksville Now the city did not participate in the MEI survey, which is given to all cities examined so they can respond and ask questions about their scores.

Stevens said the city generally does not to participate in “special interest groups’ efforts to create policy ‘scorecards.'”

Clarksville scored 12 points for reporting its 2018 Hate Crimes Statistics to the FBI, and picked up five additional points for having a city human rights commission – which Clarksville calls its Human Relations Commission.

The Human Relations Commission’s purpose, as stated on its webpage, is to “Organize educational programs for Clarksville residents and City employees on subjects dedicated to the enhancement of human relations, such as discrimination; diversity; cultural sensitivity; bullying; mediation; problem solving; City employment; City bidding; or anti-discrimination, employment, housing, or police conduct laws.”

What does the commission do?

The commission is comprised of 11 voting members, 10 of whom are appointed by Mayor Joe Pitts. The other member is chosen by the mayor from the City Council. Also on the commission are Pitts and the city’s director of Human Resources, Will Wyatt, but they act as non-voting members.

At the time of reporting, Clarksville Now found that the Human Relations Commission’s webpage had not been updated to reflect the June 2020 Supreme Court ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does in fact protect LGBTQ people from discrimination at their workplaces on the basis of sex.

The webpage only recognized protections from discrimination on the grounds of race, color or national origin, as federally mandated under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

When Clarksville Now asked the city why its Human Relations Commission website had not been updated as a result of this summer’s ruling, Stevens responded told Clarksville Now:

As for the Human Relations Commission’s webpage, it does need to be updated to reflect current official policies and procedures, and those changes will be made. It’s important to note that the Commission is an appointed, advisory body and not a City Department. The Commission, which received a substantial boost in funding in the current Fiscal Year 2021 budget, is at work on revising its bylaws and refining its role.

When looking at the amended city budget for the 2021 fiscal year, the plan allots $89,000 to the Human Relations Commission. In 2018, the proposed allotment for the Human Relations Commission was $11,500.

The actual expenditures reported for 2018 in the next year’s budget was $552, while the budget remained $11,500. The commission’s expenditures for 2019 and 2020 were both zeroed out before funding was restored at the much lower $2,500 amount.

The Human Relations Commission is also seeking to hire a part-time staff person in the upcoming year as part of its plan to increase the effectiveness of the commission.

Equal employment opportunity compliance

On Nov. 5, the city updated its Equal Employment Opportunity Policy to include the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” and this policy has been in effect since Dec. 1.

Stevens also told Clarksville Now that even prior to that change, the city complied with “all applicable laws, rules and regulations preventing discrimination against employees and job applicants based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a veteran or special disabled veteran, or status in any other group protected by law.”

However, this is only what is mandated by the federal government through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (to include pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

These laws apply to all employers with at least 15 employees (20 employees in age discrimination cases), including municipalities like the City of Clarksville.

A community leader responds

David Shelton is a gay rights advocate and business owner in Clarksville. He served on Clarksville’s Human Relations Commission after its founding but quit once he realized the group would not have an active role in creating city policy and would instead only be advising on it.

“The problem is that, from the LGBTQ perspective, it doesn’t seem like the city has their back. And I think that needs to change, and I’ve been saying that in exactly that way for 10 to 12 years,” Shelton said.

When Clarksville Now told Shelton about the new and updated version of the city’s EEO policy, he called it a start.

“I feel that the city of Clarksville is a great place to live, it always has been. I feel like as a community, most people are welcoming of their LGBTQ neighbors, and I’ve felt like this is not a hostile town. We’ve had pride festivals here in town, so there’s not a whole lot of animosity. But if anyone decides ‘Hey can we get this official and make it pretty in writing,’ then people get a little bit upset about it, and I don’t understand why,” Shelton said.

Shelton added that with the newly-elected City Council, he’s hopeful more strides will be made in the direction of not just LGBTQ tolerance, but acceptance and celebration.

“As a city, we’ve got to do better. It’s really not just about those five words, it’s about support. It’s about building the community,” Shelton said.

Correction: One of Shelton’s quotes should have read, “I feel like as a community, most people are welcoming of their LGBTQ neighbors, and I’ve felt like this is not a hostile town.” Additionally, the FY 2021 figures used were from the proposed budget, which allotted $2,500 to the HRC. The amended budget allots $89,000 to the HRC. The story has been updated.