Bloomington received a perfect score on the 2018 Municipal Quality Index for its support of LGBTQ residents.
Every year, the Human Rights Campaign analyzes the laws, policies, opportunities and services of different United States cities and how they affect LGBTQ people in the community. For the past four years, Bloomington has received a perfect score on the index.
“For 200 years, Bloomington has been a welcoming place, and we work daily at the policy level to ensure that equity is built into our practices and codes,” Mayor John Hamilton said in a press release.
Of the 506 different cities analyzed, only 78 earned a perfect score, and Bloomington was the only city in Indiana to do so.
The index is based off five different categories: non-discrimination laws, municipal employment policies and services, city services and programs, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ equality.
Bloomington’s scorecard shows the city received bonus points for being an inclusive workplace, providing services to the transgender community and LGBTQ homeless, having open LGBTQ elected officials and more.
“We want Bloomington to be a welcoming place for everyone and safe space where everyone can contribute,” said Barbara McKinney, director of Bloomington’s Human Rights Commission.
The city, as well as IU’s campus, serve as an examples for other communities on how to be inclusive, LGBTQ+ Culture Center Director Doug Bauder said.
“People come from other communities and just marvel at what we’re able to do here,” Bauder said.
Bloomington was also named an “All Star” city by the index for scoring above an 85 percent while being in a state the campaign said lacks comprehensive non-discrimination laws.
Bauder said that he has been contacted by more than 200 other college campuses asking how IU and Bloomington have created a welcoming environment in Indiana.
“I like to think of us as the pebble in the pond," Bauder said. "We create a ripple effect."
Despite being at the forefront of many discrimination issues, there are still some things Bloomington can improve upon, Bauder said.
“I am mindful that there are still people who get harassed, particularly transgender people,” Bauder said. “The good news is that there are places to report these things.”
Bauder works on a campus bias incident team that he said works to solve discrimination issues on campus, and that other groups in the community have been working with him. IU’s LGBTQ+ Culture Center closely works with the Bloomington Mayor's Office, Monroe County Community School Corporation and different faith communities to combat issues.
The city doesn’t minimize issues that target LGBTQ people, Bauder said, and it is important that continues.
“We are not free of bigotry or prejudice, but what I’ve always appreciated since I moved to Bloomington 25 years ago is that issues of sexual orientation and gender identity are just as important as race and religious bigotry,” Bauder said.
