Indy PL CEO Steps Down Amid Allegations of Systemic Racism

摘要

On the evening of August 20, Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) CEO Jackie Nytes announced that she would step away from her role in response to accusations that IndyPL leadership has perpetuated systemic racism throughout the system. Black staff members and the library union spoke to the press over the summer about their experiences with racism, ableism, homophobia, and sexual harassment from other workers and leadership, and called for Nytes, who is white, and Board President Jose Salinas, who is Latino, to step down. In August the Central Indiana Community Foundation announced that it would withhold funding for the library until those charges are addressed. Nytes, who had been CEO since 2012, was most recently reappointed at the end of 2019, with her three-year term originally planned to conclude at the end of 2022. Chief Public Services Officer John Helling stepped into the role of interim CEO September 1; the search process for a new CEO is in progress. Salinas will not step down from his position as board president.