City staff said a vote to adopt the resolution<\/a> would have made Fort Worth comply with President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order to end DEI initiatives in local government or risk losing federal financial assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council members Charlie Lauersdorf and Macy Hill voted against delaying the vote, with Lauersdorf saying he felt it was not fiscally responsible to keep minority-business incentives, even though diversity is \u201cthe right thing.\u201d Hill did not speak publicly about the resolution during the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council member Chris Nettles moved to push the decision to a later date, saying he wasn\u2019t comfortable with ending the minority-owned business incentives without seeing concrete plans in place to continue aiding small businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n The council is scheduled to vote next on the resolution Aug. 5, unless council members call a special meeting in July, when they\u2019re scheduled to be on summer break.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before voting, council members discussed partisanship, the merit of DEI initiatives and the impact voting on the resolution \u2014 in favor or against \u2014 would have on the city\u2019s relationships with communities of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nettles said it was important that the council take a stand against the Trump administration and stand up for Fort Worth and its residents, particularly those of marginalized identities.\u00a0<\/p>\n About a dozen community members and business leaders spoke in opposition to the resolution\u2019s adoption, while one spoke in favor.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you guys leave this dais at whatever time it is, what will you be known for?\u201d Nettles said, addressing his colleagues before their vote to delay the resolution. \u201cWill you be known for eating the crumbs off of Trump\u2019s table, or will you be known for standing up to a bully and saying, \u2018Today is the last day that you are going to put us up against a wall.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n City\u2019s DEI programs put federal funds at risk<\/p>\n If council does not adopt the resolution, Fort Worth risks losing $277.1 million in multiyear awards from the federal government, according to a June 17 staff presentation. The grants fund a range of departments including law enforcement, environmental services, housing and utility assistance.<\/p>\n Council member Mia Hall asked City Manager Jay Chapa when the city was notified that it would have to make changes to its DEI initiatives to continue receiving federal funding, questioning why the council was rushed to make a \u201cdifficult decision\u201d before going on summer break.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chapa said he doesn\u2019t know if the city received any direct notification from the federal government, adding that it was uncertain for several months whether communities would have to comply with Trump\u2019s executive orders. He said city leadership began getting information from various departments in May, at which point the council met to discuss federal funding in an executive session meeting. Executive sessions are closed meetings where council members and city management may discuss legally sensitive matters.<\/p>\n Chapa said he plans to create new, broader economic incentives under a \u201csmall-business development program,\u201d to soften the blow to minority-owned businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdoff told council the program would work alongside the city\u2019s Black and Hispanic chambers of commerce and break large projects down into smaller-scale packages that small businesses could take part in.<\/p>\n While receptive to the concept, council members were wary about how long it would take to realistically create and implement a new program, arguing that even a temporary break in small-business assistance would hurt minority-owned businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council members in opposition of the resolution\u2019s adoption said they would be open to voting in support if they could see concrete plans from city management on how to continue supporting small businesses while in compliance with federal orders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chapa expressed hesitancy that staff would be able to create a concrete plan including stakeholder input in time for August, noting that whether the resolution gets adopted will impact how he and staff prepare a draft of the city\u2019s upcoming budget. Under the city\u2019s charter, he has a deadline of Aug. 15 to present a proposed financial plan for the city\u2019s fiscal year 2026 budget, which extends from October 2025 to September 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI need to present one balanced budget, and I don\u2019t know whether or not I need to take into consideration that federal funds are not going to be part of the mix, and what that budget might look like, or (that) federal funds will be part of that mix,\u201d Chapa said.<\/p>\n Council member Elizabeth Beck challenged Chapa to work with council members, city staff and community stakeholders to create a plan that can convince her and other council members to adopt the resolution. If he can do that, she added, the council has indicated it will support the resolution\u2019s adoption.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think, honestly, the biggest factor is you,\u201d Beck said to Chapa. \u201cI think it\u2019s simply just a red herring, something to throw off, that you want to take the vote today and dismantle DEI \u2014 to hide behind that budget when we\u2019ve heard so many of our colleagues say that they\u2019re comfortable (but) only with a plan in place.\u201d<\/p>\n If the council votes to close the diversity and inclusion department, the city would still continue the department\u2019s civil rights enforcement programs, which include fair housing and accessibility assessments and are federally protected.\u00a0<\/p>\n As it stands, Fort Worth\u2019s diversity and inclusion department manages the city\u2019s business equity programs and civil rights enforcement. It also oversees three council-appointed advisory bodies \u2014 the Human Relations Commission, Mayor\u2019s Committee on Persons with Disabilities and Business Equity Advisory Board \u2014 as well as an employee diversity and inclusion committee. City staff have not explicitly said what impact the department\u2019s suspension would have on those commissions.<\/p>\n Council hashes out disagreements over dais\u00a0<\/p>\n While City Council positions are technically nonpartisan, the motion to delay the vote was most vocally supported by five of the council\u2019s Democrats: Nettles, Peoples, Hall, Beck and Jeanette Martinez.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lauersdorf, a Republican, said he sees diversity across Fort Worth\u2019s staff, specifically noting the diversity of the city manager\u2019s office.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re doing the right things when it comes to diversity and city leadership. \u2026 I don\u2019t think we need an ordinance to tell us to do the right things,\u201d Lauersdorf said. \u201cI think that we will continue to see the city move forward and still give small businesses the opportunities they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n He questioned how the city would make up the hundreds of millions it stands to lose without financially gutting other programs, and called it \u201cvirtue signaling at its best\u201d to ask city staff to figure out a solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hall, co-founder of Fort Worth ISD\u2019s Young Women\u2019s Leadership Academy, maintained that the city\u2019s DEI programs are about doing what\u2019s best for the community, not partisan politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beck argued that the council\u2019s vote on the resolution is more partisan than any other action or vote the council has taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe vote that we are taking today did not happen and will not happen on June 24 or some date in the future \u2014 it happened back in November,\u201d Beck said. \u201cWe are now being forced to make a decision, and that decision is to hurt people or to hurt people.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Mattie Parker, who voted with the majority to delay the vote, said she plans to vote in August to comply with federal requirements, saying $277.1 million is too much to lose and affects too many employees.<\/p>\n \u201cI want this dais to have respectful debate, and we hear each other. I think you\u2019ve done that today. I hear your hearts,\u201d Parker said. \u201cI know this is really hard, and I think we can ultimately, hopefully come up with a result in August.\u201d<\/p>\n Several council members floated the idea of calling a special meeting in July, during the council\u2019s summer break. Parker and council member Carlos Flores, a Democrat who council members elected as mayor pro tem that day, argued that it would be challenging to meet quorum in July, when council members have travel plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nettles said it was \u201cnasty and disrespectful\u201d to look residents in their faces at the meeting and tell them they can\u2019t vote on the resolution because they\u2019re \u201cbusy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t give a damn if you\u2019re busy in July or August,\u201d Nettles said. \u201cIf we got something that we need to vote on, you need to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Peoples, a former chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said she wanted to ensure that delaying the vote on the resolution would result in new information for council members to consider, so they don\u2019t come back to vote on the same thing in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be sure that by extending this to Aug. 5, we are not just kicking the can down the road,\u201d said Peoples, who opposed the resolution\u2019s adoption. \u201cThe whole purpose of extending it is to give our staff time to go back and look at alternatives and look at what programs they could put together.\u201d<\/p>\n Chapa said staff will work toward creating the small-business program \u201cas fast as possible\u201d and bring council a presentation on the program Aug. 5. Nettles did not return the Fort Worth Report\u2019s request for clarification on whether he still plans to push for a special meeting in July.<\/p>\n Residents speak against, in support of resolution<\/p>\n During the meeting, council members heard from a variety of community leaders, who expressed understanding that the council was facing a difficult decision but urged them to make the right choice.<\/p>\n Ericka Garza, president of the Hispanic chamber, and Michelle Green-Ford, president of the Black chamber, told council members it\u2019s unfortunate they were forced to make a difficult decision. They both committed to working with city management to move forward strategically to comply with Trump\u2019s orders while continuing to support the city\u2019s minority-owned businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cA strong economy isn\u2019t about uniformity, it\u2019s about unity and purpose and variety and contribution,\u201d Garza said. \u201cWhen we nurture the many voices in our business ecosystem, we reduce blank spots and unlock untapped potential. That\u2019s what makes Fort Worth competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n Pamela Young, executive director of the grassroots organization United Fort Worth, played a recording of Parker speaking when she presented a recognition declaring \u201cY\u2019all means all<\/a>\u201d to celebrate Pride Month in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n During Parker\u2019s June 10 recognition<\/a>, she said, \u201cOur community\u2019s strength, hear my words, does lie in its diversity and unity, embracing people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences to build a more inclusive Fort Worth where every person is valued and free from discrimination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDo you really believe that, Mayor Mattie Parker, or is that just for LGBTQ (Pride) Month and niceties?\u201d Young asked. \u201cIs it really for all people? All people who are going to be affected negatively by this removal?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n John Martinez, a leader of the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association, said that, if he was told a year ago that he would be supporting the end of the DEI programs, he wouldn\u2019t believe it. Martinez signed up as undecided to speak on the resolution but, ultimately, he felt the federal funding was too valuable to lose, especially for minority communities that benefit from it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy trust is not in a department,\u201d he said. \u201cMy trust is the men and women will work at the city of Fort Worth, that they\u2019re going to make sure that this community is reflected in the business that we do and, more importantly, in the services that we provide.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Council members will need to call a special meeting to vote on the resolution Aug. 5, as the scheduled meeting<\/a> is a work session. Work session meetings allow council members to hear reports and have discussion without taking formal actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note: This story was updated June 26, 2025, to correct the characterization of the Black chamber of commerce\u2019s and the Hispanic chamber of commerce\u2019s stances on the resolution. The chambers were not in direct opposition to the resolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a> and drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1751258222_592_Goss-6-24-CityCouncil-05.jpg\")
Fort Worth City Council member Chris Nettles speaks during a city council meeting June 24, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Goss-6-24-CityCouncil-03.jpg\")
Fort Worth City Council member Charlie Lauersdorf speaks during a council meeting June 24, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Goss-6-24-CityCouncil-02.jpg\")
Mayor Mattie Parker speaks during a Fort Worth City Council meeting June 24, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1751258223_747_Goss-6-24-CityCouncil-01.jpg\")
Fort Worth City Council member Deborah Peoples, left, speaks as council member Mia Hall watches during a council meeting June 24, 2025, at City Hall. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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