Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility: DEIA News in the World

Eatonville has been selected as one of six finalists for Florida’s Black History Museum. The museum will celebrate the rich history and culture of African Americans in Florida. If selected, the site of the museum will be at the former Hungerford School site. Learn more here. 

The Grammy's hosted on February 4, 2024 saw some big diversity wins. For the first time women won all four major categories 

• Album of the Year: Taylor Swift 

• Record of the Year: Miley Cyrus 

• Song of the Year: Billie Eilish

• Best New Artist: Victoria Monét

• Kim Petras and Sam Smith won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song "Unholy." This marked the first time an openly transgender artist has won in this category. 

• Karol G, a renowned Latin music artist, became the first woman to win the Best Musica Urbana Album category at the Grammys for her 2023 LP Mañana Será Bonito. 

Fiona O'Keeffe delivered a stellar performance at the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Downtown Orlando on February 3, 2024. 

• Stunning Victory: Fiona won the trials in her marathon debut, becoming the first woman ever to do so! This was a major upset against seasoned competitors.
• Record-Breaking: Her time of 2:22:10 shattered the Olympic Trials record by over 3 minutes, previously held by Shalane Flanagan (2:25:38).
• Dominant Performance: She gradually pulled away from the pack, leading by mile 17 and continuously widening the gap until a decisive win.
• Historic Youngest: At 25, she broke Joan Benoit Samuelson's record (1984) as the youngest woman to win the trials.
• Ticket to Paris: As the winner, she earned a coveted spot on the Team USA squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Golden Globes hosted on January 7, 2024, saw some big diversity achievements: 

Ali Wong became the first actress of Asian decent to win Best Female Actor in a Limited Series for her performance in Beef. 

Steven Yeun became the second actor of Asian decent to win Best Actor in a Limited Series for his performance in Beef. 

Beef won the Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. The series was created by Korean director Lee Sung Jin. Beef is the first show created and starring Asian Americans to win in this category.

The women-led film, Barbie, won the Golden Globe for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement. This was a new category for the 2024 awards.

Lily Gladstone became the first actress of Indigenous descent to win a Golden Globe for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. 

Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animation legend won a Golden Globe for The Boy and the Heron. The film was awarded the Best Motion Picture in the animated film category. This was the first time a non-English animated feature has won in this category. 

Yosha Iglesias became the first ever transgender woman to become a Woman International Master (WIM) in Chess. According to Chess.com there are only 846 active WIMs in the world. 

Barbie was released on Max with an ASL version on December 15th. Did you notice that the release of Barbie on Max included an ASL option? The movie is signed by Leila Hanaumi, a deaf performer who hopes "Barbie with ASL makes Deaf children seen." Learn more here.