County Board Listening Session: Racial Justice/Systemic Racism/ Polic
Published on June 15, 2020
The Arlington County Board will hold a virtual listening session on racial justice, systemic racism, and policing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thurs., June 18, 2020. The listening session will help frame the County's review of police practices and County policies, as Arlington works to ensure racial justice and equity in its police practices and all areas of County government.
"Across Arlington, residents are eager for reform and for concrete steps to be taken to address issues of racial equity and justice in our community, both in policing and beyond," Board Chair Libby Garvey said. "My colleagues and I think this listening session will be an important next step in a broad conversation aimed at producing tangible results."
WHAT: County Board Virtual Listening Session: Racial Justice/Systemic Racism/Policing
WHEN: Thurs., June 18, 2020 — 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. (Virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams)
The listening session will begin with a brief presentation, followed by the Board listening to the public on the following topics, which reflect the key issues emphasized in the hundreds of written comments that Arlingtonians have shared with the Board to date:
- ACPD Use of Force Policies
- June 1, 2020, Lafayette Square Deployment
- Mental Health Services/Community Services in lieu of policing
- Systemic Racism Beyond Policing/Racial Justice
- Other topics related to policing, racial justice, and equity
Each speaker, grouped by topic, will be allotted three minutes to speak. The grouping of topics will enable the Board to give a preliminary and brief response to comments at the conclusion of each topic, but it is not intended to limit or restrict speakers who wish to speak holistically, or about the relationships among these inherently related issues. Those who wish to address multiple topics related to policing, racial justice, and equity are asked to sign up for "Other topics."
Speakers are required to register in advance for one of the topics above on the
County Board website by
6 p.m. Thurs., June 18, or by phone at 703-228-3130, until 5 p.m. Thurs., June 18, 2020. If more speakers register by the deadline than can be heard within the allotted time, the Board will carryover the session to hear the remaining registered speakers.Registration deadline: 6 p.m. Thurs., June 18, 2020. Spanish language interpretation is available upon request, through the registration form.
Watch it live: the hearing will be live-streamed on the
County Board website and will be broadcast live on Arlington TV, the County's cable television channel, on Verizon FiOS 39 and 40 and Comcast 1085 and 25. The session will be archived on YouTube and on the County website. Closed captioning will be available on all platforms.
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