Unity Council

On June 23, 2020, the Arlington City Council created the Unity Council made up of the fifteen (15) members of the City's Community Relations Commission and fifteen (15) additional members appointed by the Mayor and Council members. The Unity Council began meeting in July of 2020 and presented its recommendations to the City Council in February 2021.

The full charge from the City Council to the Unity Council was to:

• Gather community input on the need to use equitable measures to build greater equality,
• Study equity strategies that the City could implement to promote and encourage greater equality,
• Report findings and recommendations to the City Council, and
• Create an equity plan which includes strategies to eliminate racism and other forms of discrimination and to advance unity in Arlington.

In March 2021, the National League of Cities selected the City of Arlington as the winner of its 2021 Cultural Diversity Awards for the work of the citizen-led Unity Council. Arlington was awarded the top prize in the 200,001-500,000 population category.

At the recommendation of the Unity Council, the City Council has established the Unity Council as a standing, ten-member committee which aligns with the diversity of the city. The mission of the Unity Council is to monitor the implementation of the Unity Council Report, make additional recommendations to the City Council to promote Equity and provide at least twice yearly updates to the City's Chief Equity Officer and the City Council.

"The rich diversity we celebrate here in Arlington also brings us the challenge of how to meet a wide variety of needs within our community. The thoughtful, data-driven work of the citizen-led Unity Council continues to help the City of Arlington ensure that its programs, services, and resources are inclusive and equitable and that we are working collaboratively with our community partners to best meet those needs today and tomorrow. We are better together."