On Inclusion

What Does Inclusiveness Look Like in Boulder?

I’m a proud Latina. I live in Boulder by choice, and I’ve spent years contributing to and building community here because I care, because I believe in giving back—and because it brings me joy.

Now I’m running for a seat at the Boulder City Council table.

That’s the job I want. I’m not running to position myself for something else. I want to serve this city, and I’m asking for your support and your vote by November 3.

I think about inclusiveness a lot. What does it actually look like in Boulder?

It looks like people showing up and knowing they belong. It means being part of something bigger than ourselves and finding connections with people around a shared interest, a concern, a neighborhood, or a desire to make our community better.

And we aren’t there yet.

It still saddens me when I attend events in this city I love and see few—or no—people who look like me. Over the years, I’ve known people of color who left Boulder after struggling to find the sense of community and belonging that they had hoped for. They grew tired of always standing out instead of feeling like they belonged.

People come to the table because they care. They stay when they know they are welcomed and valued.

Not discounted. Not overlooked. Not underestimated.

I know how those things feel. And they are painful. Those experiences are part of why I care so deeply about making Boulder a place where more people feel that they belong.

But inclusion isn’t just a feeling. City government can do something about it.

From the City Council table, I want us to ask more than: How many community meetings did we hold?

I want us to ask:

Who did we reach? Who didn’t we reach? Who was missing from the table? And what are we going to do about it?

Every major city priority, project, and initiative should have a real community engagement strategy. Who are the stakeholders? How will we reach them? Who makes the contact? Who follows up? And after people take the time to participate, how do we show them that their voices mattered?

Inclusion also means reaching people in every part of Boulder. It means recruiting for boards and commissions months before applications are due—not simply posting an announcement and hoping a diverse group of people applies.

And I know intentional inclusion can work.

I’m in the fourth year of my five-year term on the Boulder Public Library District Board of Trustees. I was the first Latina appointed to the board—but I am definitely not the last.

Today, four members of our board are women of color.

I’m proud of that. And I like to think I had a hand in helping make it happen.

But here’s what I really hope for: a day when that kind of representation isn’t noteworthy at all.

It is simply Boulder.

That’s the Boulder I believe in. A city where you don’t have to wonder whether you belong. A city where we don’t wait for people to find their way to the table—we invite them, we listen to them, and we make room for their voices.

That’s what inclusiveness looks like to me. And that’s the Boulder I will work for at the City Council table.

What is your experience of Inclusion and Inclusiveness? If you have questions or ideas, I’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to me benitaforboulder@benitaduran.com.