TEP applauds Memphis City Council support for inclusion and equality

Memphis, TN, October 16, 2012 — Tennessee Equality Project applauds the Memphis City Council for voting to amend the municipal non-discrimination ordinance to include age, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity as factors that may not be used in city employment decisions. Memphis now joins Nashville and Knoxville as Tennessee cities that officially recognize and practice the American values of inclusion, equality and fairness in employment.

On Wednesday morning, City of Memphis employees will wake up to the news that the Memphis City Council values their hard work and ability to do the job. City employees who protect our neighborhoods, fight our fires, remove and recycle our waste, and lend us library books are on their way to being solely judged by their job performance without harmful prejudice. TEP calls on Mayor AC Wharton to sign this ordinance and celebrate the council’s decision.

We thank Councilman Lee Harris for his leadership in sponsoring the non-discrimination ordinance. We are deeply grateful to the council members, community groups, city employees, leaders of the faith community, and the many other advocates who supported equality for City of Memphis employees. Their dream for equality and fairness is now realized in a more inclusive Memphis where workers may earn a living, provide for their families and contribute to their communities without fear of losing or never being hired for a job because of who they are. 

We invite equality advocates to give thanks to Memphis City Council members who voted in favor of a fully inclusive ordinance. Copy and paste these email addresses into an email message:

Wanda.Halbert@memphistn.gov, Jim.Strickland@memphistn.gov, Harold.Collins@memphistn.gov, Shea.Flinn@memphistn.gov, Edmund.Fordjr@memphistn.gov, Janis.Fullilove@memphistn.gov, Lee.Harris@memphistn.gov, Reid.Hedgepeth@memphistn.gov, Myron.Lowery@memphistn.gov