Annual Meeting to Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At a time when city governments around the state and nation are embracing diversity, equity and inclusion programs — often known as DEI — to improve their ability to serve their communities and their employees, the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting will host a session explaining how these efforts work and why they matter. The Annual Meeting will take place July 14 – 17 in Charleston. 

Kelvin Waites, who joined the City of Myrtle Beach as its first director of diversity, equity and inclusion in January, will speak at the session. 

“As one of the fastest-growing metropolitan statistical areas in the county, we have people from all over, with all different backgrounds come to our city,” said Myrtle Beach City Manager Jonathan “Fox” Simons, discussing the purpose of the DEI position. “We want to be an organization that is reflective of our community, and one where folks feel their voices are being heard. We want our team members to be representative of our community.” 

Before joining the City of Myrtle Beach, Waites acquired decades of law enforcement experience, including his most recent position as the chief of the Georgetown Police Department. He also served in the U.S. Army. Waites said this background helped build the communication and organizational skills for his newest job, which he described as “the opportunity of a lifetime.” 

In describing the function of the job, Waites notes that “diversity” often leads people to think of racial identity, but that the concept is much more expansive.

“There’s age, there’s gender, there’s sexual preference, sexual identity, there’s veteran status, there’s disability. There’s so many different things that go along with being diverse,” he said.

Equity, Waites said, is often confused with equality.

“Equality is exactly what it says — everyone has got the same tools in their hands, we’re passing those tools out. Equity is making sure everyone has the tools that they need in order to be successful,” he said. “As leaders, we are challenged and tasked with making sure that we find a way for every employee to be successful, because if they win, we win. When we win, the community wins.” 

In explaining inclusion, he said that he has often heard the argument that a given organization is inclusive because everyone “has a voice,” but he likes to ask if the voices are actually being heard. Waites will demonstrate this by covering his mouth with his hand and muffling his words — the voice is present, but it has no meaning. 

Since starting in his position, Waites has worked at developing assessments and surveys to identify gaps and challenges in Myrtle Beach’s diversity efforts. He has also built a committee for the purpose, asking each city department head to nominate a department representative to serve on it. 

In explaining to a city official who is unfamiliar with DEI programs why they might need one, Waites noted that “looking at things through a DEI lens gives you the opportunity to do better, and be better, as it relates to your workforce.”

“Everybody wants to be a reflection of the community that they serve,” he said. “But in addition to that, from an ‘equitable’ lens — are your employees having a positive experience at work? If the answer is ‘no,’ then we have work to do.” 

Simons said that achieving the city’s diversity goal, “there has to be some hard conversations, and we need someone with Kelvin’s skills to lead those discussions and guide us. Because at the end of the day, organizations that embrace DEI as a culture are much more likely to be successful.” 

The DEI session during the Annual Meeting will be one of several concurrent sessions taking place on July 14 and 15. Here are the others: