‘I want to learn.’ Arlington unity council plans to study disparities, seek solutions.
Arlington Unity Council Chair Jason Shelton, Ph.D., has an assignment for his group.
The UT Arlington associate professor and the director for the Center for African American Studies asked the group to suggest names of people to interview and rank their interests in different subcommittees, as they begin identifying and researching disparities across the city.
The end result? A list of short, medium and long-term recommendations to create a more equitable city.
“We are large and we are diverse. We were not as large and as diverse 40-50 years ago,” Shelton said, pointing to census data that show 22.5% of Arlington residents are Black or African American, 6.9% Asian and nearly 30% Latino.
The council, which will meet at least once a month between July and February, will split by five primary research categories—housing, education and workforce training, health, policing and business.
The group will begin reporting monthly to the city council as its members research and consider local and federal data. The Unity Council will conduct interviews and focus groups near the end of the year after preliminary research.
“The numbers are the nerdy stuff,” said Shelton, who called himself a “nerdy professor.” “But this is where the action is.”
Committee members introduced themselves and listed their own expectations for the group. Several members said they wanted to improve communication among communities.
“I see the various races in Arlington being like great individual islands that you have to have a boat to visit,” said the Rev. Ronnie Goines.
Julie Nicholson said despite living in the city for over 40 years, she feels like she’s missing a lot of chances to get to know people with different backgrounds and experiences.
“I see the need for communication, for conversation, and I want to learn,” she said.
Arlington City Council members and Mayor Jeff Williams unanimously approved the group’s formation weeks after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd and people across the globe — including Arlington — demanded institutional police reform.
Williams thanked council members at the top of the meeting, stating the city and residents have a responsibility to “seize this opportunity” for change.
“Let’s not put anything off limits. Let’s discuss, let’s come together and let’s do it the Arlington way,” he said. “And that’s to express kindness to each other and success.”
Nearly 70 people filed applications for the Unity Council, according to applications obtained by the Star-Telegram. Council members said at previous meetings the council was already discussing the group’s formation prior to Floyd’s death.
Speakers at meetings have had generally positive reactions to the council’s creation, while some questioned the Unity Council’s priority level as other city council-ordained entities take up issues including term limits and the city council considers zoning cases critics say will cause environmental inequality.
During the Unity Council’s inaugural meeting and during previous city council evening sessions, Odom-Wesley said the committee will focus on presenting recommendations in a timely manner and focus on action-oriented solutions.
“We’re here to put actions into policies, practices here in Arlington,” she said.
The next Unity Council meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 25, with meetings scheduled monthly and subcommittee meetings scheduled to begin by Aug. 14. People can send comments to unitycouncil@arlingtontx.gov.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 9:31 PM.
