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Greensboro Ranks First In State In Annual LGBTQ Equality Index

The City of Greensboro. WFDD FILE PHOTO

Greensboro has topped a list in North Carolina for LGBTQ inclusivity in an annual ranking, the fifth year in a row the city has come in first place.

The Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index (MEI) looks at laws, policies, and services, then it rates them on their inclusivity of LGBTQ people who live and work in the city.

Greensboro scored 79 out of 100 points. Standout categories include city services to youth, transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, and the number of LGBTQ citizens in leadership positions.

Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Maria Hicks-Few says that the city continues to strive for equality, and is putting new systems in place.

“We can actually come up with some bullying policies as far as our municipality to make sure that the youth, as far as the library, as far as parks and rec, the coliseum, we can actually put some things in place where we are being progressive and not allowing any type of non-welcoming behavior into our facilities,“ says Hicks-Few.   

North Carolina has no statewide non-discrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people, so all of the cities scored a zero in that category. 

Winston-Salem scored 52 points. Areas for improvement include city services, workplace equality, and representation on a governmental level. Cary ranked last, with a total of zero points.

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story, Wilmington was incorrectly identified as the city with the lowest MEI rating. 

Eddie Garcia is WFDD’s News Director. He is responsible for planning coverage, editing stories, and leading an award-winning news team as it serves the station’s 32-county listening area. He joined WFDD as an audio production intern in 2007 and went on to hold various roles, including producer, Triad Arts Weekend co-host, reporter, and managing editor. When he’s not working, Eddie enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and watching films.

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