Race, Culture Task Force wants input on its recommendations. Here’s how you can help.
The City of Fort Worth Race and Culture Task Force approved its second draft of recommendations Monday evening to present to community open houses for feedback.
“Once we present this to the City Council ... it’s up to the community to say ‘this is what we want the city to do,’” co-chair Bob Ray Sanders said.
The seven subcommittees are charged with identifying racial disparities within the city and recommend strategies to reduce them. They also must address resources needed and potential challenges.
In one example, the Criminal Justice subcommittee recommended the creation of a citizens police review board to hear complaints against Fort Worth police officers. But a potential challenge would be the “Police Officers Association’s resistance to the Board due to the fear of civilians policing police,” the subcommittee determined.
The Governance subcommittee recommends that the City Council appoint a task force to study the benefits of an independent redistricting commission because Texas House District 90 in Fort Worth must be redrawn. “Political will and opposition” were listed as the biggest potential challenge.
The task force now wants to collect citizen input on these recommendations to repair racial disparities that lead to inequality and inequity. It will arrange six open house meetings around the city to maximize convenience for residents in different parts of Fort Worth.
The draft recommendations can be viewed below:
A third draft with community input will be finalized and voted on Nov. 12 and presented to the City Council on Dec. 4.
Sanders also raised a concern that while the task force is, in part, making recommendations to improve community relations with law enforcement, the Jacqueline Craig case is still open.
Craig, whose arrest in December 2016 went viral and resulted in public outcry, filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city. It brought to the surface racial and cultural inequalities in the city and led to the creation of the task force.
Laetitia Coleman Brown, a senior assistant attorney from the City Attorney’s office, said Monday that she couldn’t publicly comment on details but that the lawsuit is pending.
The open houses will be held at the following locations:
Thursday, Sept. 27
Police 6th Division Headquarters
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 1
Hazel Harvey Peace Center for Neighborhoods
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 4
Southwest Regional Library
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 8
Diamond Hill Community Center
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 9
University Christian Church
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 11
University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Race, Culture Task Force wants input on its recommendations. Here’s how you can help.."