Fort Worth is moving forward with trying to find ways to bridge gaps in race relations in the city.
This comes after a study by the National League of Cities found concerns in communities leaving some residents feeling disenfranchised and excluded.
This week, city leaders, including mayor Betsy Price, wrapped up a series of workshops and conversations about race relations.
“Create the space that the city has made to intentionally focus on the issues of race and create a space that really helps to move forward in a meaningful and intentional way,” Leon Andrews with the National League of Cities (NLC) said.
Andrews is the director of the NLC’s Real, Equity and Leadership division and he helped facilitate the three work sessions attended by the officials.
“So what’s really exciting about the way the city is leading is the level of investment that they've made to them being at the table and having these discussions and creating the space to have these conversations play out in the community,” Andrews said.
Andrews explained that along with the city leader training sessions, there have also been dozens on similar discussions with community members about racial and cultural diversity in the city.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“The work really takes the balance between having the conversations that need to happen within the city, but also the same conversations are happening in the community,” Andrews said. “Doing this work across the country, we know how important it is to normalize the conversation on race and culture equity.”
City leaders said current goals included the lessening of segregation in the city, a focus on compassion and inclusion and an added emphasis on some of the less prosperous communities.
