Dear Arlington friends and neighbors,
Please note the following changes on the Town's Community Conversations.
Series Change on Community Conversations: Racism and Reform Date: 07/01/2020 7:48 PM Update on Community Conversations: Racism and Reform Series hosted by Town and Arlington Human Rights Commission. One of the presenters is currently recuperating from a bicycle accident and cannot present at the July 7th session, VISIONS, Inc. Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Climate Assessment of APD. Visions, Inc has rescheduled this session for July, 27th at 7 p.m. Add to your iCalendar. In the meantime, the public is invited to view the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Climate Assessment and Final report they conducted on the Arlington Police Department in January. July 7 Community Conversations: Racism and Housing Due to broad public interest, the Town is adding another community conversation on July 7th. This session will discuss the intersection of race and housing and how past government policies created massive inequities. We will provide details of the session in the coming days. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to watch this short film, narrated by Richard Rothstein, author of “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America,” to familiarize themselves with this topic of the next session on July 7 at 7:00 p.m. Register for this session and add to your iCalendar.
Arlington is committed to studying and addressing issues of housing discrimination. On July 1st, The Housing Discrimination Testing Program (HDTP) at Suffolk University Law School, Analysis Group, and the Boston Foundation released a new study finding Greater Boston landlords and agents are discriminating against Black renters and those with Section 8 housing vouchers, illegally shutting out qualified renters.
Testers were sent to 11 neighborhoods in Boston proper, and nine Greater Boston cities and towns including Arlington.
Below is the report.
Also included is a recent "Fair Housing and Equity Assessment for Metropolitan Boston" from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).
We look forward to discussing these important issues in the next installment in the town's series of discussions on race. True Story Theater Dialogue Watch, listen, or share personal experiences. Paralleling the Town hosted conversations, True Story Theater will also offer an additional online “story theatre dialogue” to reflect on the issues discussed. All are welcome to watch and listen, or share personal experiences that will then be respectfully and creatively reflected by Arlington’s improvisational improv group. The purpose of these True Story events is to help all of us in town more deeply understand each other in an honest, human way, from the heart. These sessions will be held every other week. Register for an upcoming session. View details of these sessions as well as other True Story events on their events page.
Arlington values equity, diversity, and inclusion. We are committed to building a community where everyone is heard, respected, and protected.
Email: ahrc@town.arlington.ma.us
Phone: 781-316-3250
By Mail: 27 Maple Street
Arlington, MA 02476