Several Hamilton County groups are partnering to organize the Celebration for Equity in Education, set for 4 to 8 p.m. July 31 at Carter Green in Carmel.
The free event will include a student-led walk at 5:45 p.m., food vendors, merchants and representatives from Hamilton County schools and organizations speaking and providing information on equity efforts in local school districts.
Event organizers are Communities Allied for Racial Equity, Westfield Parents for Change, Noblesville Diversity Coalition and the Racial Equity Community Network.
Ashten Spilker, CARE executive director and co-founder, said her organization held a similar event last summer focused on Carmel.
“We wanted to expand it to all of Hamilton County, because we’re all working together for the same goals of equity and acceptance and a safe environment for our students,” Spilker said. “We wanted to do a celebration for equity in education because there’s been a lot of negativity surrounding this work. It’s so heavy a lot of the time.”
Since the 2020 event, Carmel Clay Schools hired its first diversity, equity and inclusion officer, but that move and other DEI efforts throughout the county and beyond have led to pushback.
Sage Mehta, who will be a senior at Carmel High School, is an intern with CARE who is helping plan the event, which she hopes will allow community members to share their experiences and show their support for continuing DEI efforts.
“Carmel is a great school and I’ve had a lot of good experiences there, but at the same time it’s kind of apparent in a city like Carmel I don’t think people of color or minorities often get told they’re valued,” Mehta said.
Learn more at alliedforracialequity.org.
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