by Bill Barnes

Nearly 12 months after launching the Partnership for Working Toward Inclusive Communities, NLC President James Hunt, councilmember, Clarksburg, W.Va., has declared that, though his year of presidency will soon end, NLC will continue to promote and encourage cities to build a nation of inclusive communities throughout 2007.

As of Nation?s Cities Weekly press time, 139 cities have joined the partnership. Their populations total 13.7 million people in 39 states.

?This has been a tremendously important and promising effort by NLC and by the many municipal officials involved,? Hunt said.

Recently, support for the partnership has also come from additional quarters. Comcast Cable contributed four public service announcements (PSAs) promoting the partnership. This fall, the PSAs have aired 15,363 times on Comcast channels. In addition, municipalities have downloaded the PSAs from NLC?s website and used them on their local channels.

Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI), an NLC Corporate Partner, issued a statement of corporate support for the partnership, pledging to promote the program and NLC through its many communications media.  During the year, NLC?s full Corporate Partners Leadership Council also expressed support for the program and shared examples of how they promote inclusiveness within their organizations and through their business practices. 

?These are very significant contributions to and support for municipal efforts to work toward inclusiveness,? Hunt said. ?On behalf of NLC and the nation?s cities, I thank Comcast and ESRI for joining NLC in this program.?

The partnership cities have each formally adopted a resolution embracing the value of inclusiveness and committing the city or town to advance those values. Each city can receive a sign from NLC to be erected in the community, which reads ?WELCOME. We are Building an Inclusive Community.?

Many of the city and town activities in support of this goal are described at NLC?s website, www.nlc.org. The first state municipal league, the Nevada League of Cities and Municipalities, joined the partnership in November.

In joining the partnership, some cities found it to be motivation to continue their work in building inclusive communities, while some found it as motivation to start building by creating programs and task forces. The following examples showcase what some of these municipalities have been doing to reach their goals.

Anchorage, Alaska 
Since 2001, the City of Anchorage has developed a diverse and wide-ranging array of programs including the Anchorage Neighborhood and Fire Applicant School. The program strives to increase minority applications for fire and police positions and to increase communication and cooperation between minority citizens and the police and fire departments.

The Municipal Employee?s Diversity Council holds Diversity Town Hall Gatherings and sponsors a local diversity festival, which includes cultural communications trainings, discussion forums, and a series of seminars and clinics on fair housing and workplace diversity. The city also sponsors a Committee on the Promotion of Tolerance and Diversity and a Hate Crimes Task Force.

Rock Hill, S.C.
In 1997, the City of Rock Hill made a commitment to addressing race relations by establishing the No Room for Racism Committee. In addition to coordinating bimonthly forums, study circles and social circle support groups, the committee has recently taken proactive steps to address the lack of diversity training for local public school teachers.

Although the state?s public schools have become increasingly diverse, no diversity training exists for school employees. The committee is currently developing plans to expand this diversity training program to the entire school district.

Kalamazoo, Mich.
City leaders in Kalamazoo organized a Summit on Racism to bring attention to institutionalized forms of racism and to highlight ways to improve race relations in the community. This activity is bolstered by the ongoing implementation of Kalamazoo?s Equity Agenda, which addresses issues such as redevelopment and social equality throughout the city.

The city also works to foster diversity through a broad-based collaborative known as the Partners Building Community initiative, which focuses on improving the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods. These city-level efforts are complemented by a citizen-initiated program, the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship, which funds post-secondary education for all Kalamazoo public high school graduates.

Cambridge, Mass.
The City of Cambridge has focused efforts on making the city a more accommodating place for its disabled citizens. To ensure that emergency preparedness plans fully address the needs of the city?s disabled population, the city has included members with disabilities in its local Emergency Planning Committee.

Additionally, the city created an outreach program which worked with 90 different religious organizations, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other denominations, to encourage them to make their facilities, programs and services more accessible to worshipers with disabilities.

The city?s Commission for Persons with Disabilities encourages participation in social life, shopping and dining with a Fa?ade Improvement Program, and offers matching grants to help sales or service establishments remove access barriers. In addition, over two dozen city parks and playgrounds have been made accessible to persons with disabilities.

Moscow, Idaho
The work of the Moscow city government?s Human Rights Commission is central to the town?s efforts to build an inclusive community. This active commission aims to eliminate discrimination, improve human relations and to recommend policies to the mayor and city council regarding the civic and human rights of Moscow?s citizens.

The Human Rights Commission also works closely with Pullman, Idaho, and local universities to host an annual action-oriented conference called ?Finding the Center,? which offers workshops for community leaders and citizens on issues regarding stereotypes, discrimination, and social justice.

To recognize their participation in the NLC?s Partnership for Working Toward Inclusive Communities, the Moscow launched an inaugural celebration of Race Equality and Inclusive Communities Week in September. During the week, all city staff participated in diversity training. Since last year, City Councilmember Linda Pall has also coordinated a monthly series of public discussions to heal a rift that had developed between different religious groups in the city.

Springfield, Ohio
Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, community members in Springfield gathered in Study Circles, a project of the City of Springfield Human Relations Board, to discuss their reactions to the attacks. Study Circles met in churches, workplaces, and other community settings throughout the city to discuss issues related to race and ethnicity.

Since that time, the Study Circle project has evolved into the Global Education and Peace Network, which sponsors an annual speaker series to build awareness in Springfield of the diverse ethnic and national groups in the community. The local library produces a complementary bibliography of teaching materials for teachers to use in the public schools, and the Human Relations Board has trained Study Circle leaders in the community and in local high schools to promote leadership development.

Mesa, Wash.
Mesa is building inclusiveness by bringing its diverse population into local government affairs. In order to better serve the needs of their increasingly diverse community, the city recently hired a permanent bilingual assistant who has conducted an in-house translation of city documents and who disseminates a community newsletter in both English and Spanish. Flyers, town notices and announcements of special hearings are now all posted in both languages, and a translator is available at city council meetings upon request.

Since hiring the new assistant, there has been an upsurge in Hispanic attendance at community meetings. In addition, many Hispanic adults and parents are now able to conduct their own business at City Hall rather than relying on their children to serve as translators.

Mesa was honored as a Diversity Champion by the Association of Washington Cities for its efforts to honor diversity and to promote greater participation in local government.

Winston-Salem, N.C.
Winston-Salem?s efforts to address issues of diversity and equality have stemmed from the city?s racial history and changing demographics. Mayor Allen Joines has made community dialogue a centerpiece of his commitment to ?improving meaningful relationships? in his city.

In April, the mayor?s office sponsored a forum, which addressed racial issues in the city?s past and present, mediating discussions on the city?s changing ethnic make-up and initiating a Civil Rights Movement Resolution to honor a local citizen who played a leading role in the struggle for Civil Rights.

The city?s Human Rights Commission works to address issues of discrimination and social justice. Most recently, the commission sponsored programs such as the ?Beyond Soul & Salsa? series of public forums which address relations between African-Americans and Hispanics in the city.

The city is also promoting government reforms by means of a dialogue regarding equality in the judicial system. Its Racial Healing Task Force, founded in 2004, includes representatives from the clergy, educators, city employees, law enforcement and other diverse stakeholders. The task force has developed strategies for bringing closure to a recent case involving racial injustice in the legal system.

In addition, the task force has developed initiatives for addressing the presence of racism in the community and for establishing a process for rebuilding trust upon essential community institutions. As a result of this dialogue, the police department recently started holding sessions in neighborhoods to teach citizens about their policies and procedures and collaborating with a local youth group to improve neighborhood dialogue. Local organizations as well as the public schools have joined the task force, working to create comprehensive strategies for bridging racial divides in the community.

Santa Fe, N.M.
Beginning in the 1980s, the Santa Fe witnessed drastic increases in the cost of land and housing. By the early 1990s, many long-time Hispanic residents of the city had been pushed out of their homes, and 80 percent of the city?s population could not afford a median-priced home.

The Santa Fe Affordable Housing Roundtable was formed in February of 1992 to address the issues of gentrification and affordable housing. The roundtable has provided space for city and county officials to work with nonprofit housing and shelter providers to develop new approaches to solving the affordable housing dilemma. Since 1992, these partners have assisted over 1,900 low- and moderate-income households.

In addition, the Neighborhood Bill of Rights, which empowers local citizens to maintain the integrity of their neighborhoods, and Santa Fe Homes, require that 30 percent of all new developments within the city be affordable housing.

More recently, the Santa Fe has implemented a Living Wage Ordinance in recognition of the fact that many city residents do not earn enough to support their families adequately. When enacted in 2004, the ordinance required all businesses with 25 or more employees to pay a minimum wage of $8.50/hour with a $1 annual raise in that minimum each year through 2009.