Join Club

CivFed Resolves to Diversify Its Ranks, Broaden Its Outreach

Audience members at Civic Federation debate in 2014 (file photo)

Leaders of a local civic organization admit their membership does not reflect the diversity of Arlington County, but they’re looking to change that.

One of Arlington’s largest community organizations, the Arlington County Civic Federation (CivFed) gives representatives from 85 local groups — including neighborhood civic associations and local advocacy organizations — a non-partisan forum to discuss community topics and provide input on county government and Arlington Public Schools activity.

Generally speaking, however, many delegates are older residents who own homes in North Arlington, and historically, the group has had lower participation from minority groups, younger residents and renters, says CivFed President Allan Gajadhar.

This month the group signaled its commitment to better represent the county by adopting a Diversity, Equity Belonging, and Inclusion resolution. It comes amid ongoing efforts at APS and the county to center racial equity and advance the interests of underserved communities.

In implementing the resolution, Gajadhar says CivFed will focus internally on membership and externally on outreach.

“The representation in the CivFed isn’t fully representative of racial and ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of Arlington,” he said. “There’s definitely a lot more work to be done in the delegate base. That’s not just something that’s going to happen over night. The first thing was to declare our intention to do so — now we are slowly taking steps to evaluate [diversity].”

CivFed, which is nearly 100 years old, aims to bring together and amplify the voices of neighborhood civic associations and organizations such as the local branch of the League of Women Voters. More than 300 delegates vote on resolutions for things on which they want to see the County Board and School Board take action.

CivFed has never formally tallied the demographic diversity of its membership, but it’s not a stretch to say a fair number of delegates are older, wealthier retirees, Gajadhar said.

“It’s been mentioned more than once that the delegate population could be more diverse,” Gajadhar said. “We do have a fair amount of representation from the communities you’d expect.”

CivFed is examining how it can include more young people, people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, women and renters in its ranks. It is also looking to diversify who holds leadership positions and how information gets communicated. In addition, the resolution made commitments to giving members multicultural competency training, collecting data on community participation, and holding events that engage diverse communities.

Gajadhar, now in his second term, says diversity and equity have been themes during his presidency. He oversaw the launch of a diversity committee, which put forward the resolution.

After the resolution passed with a 94.4% approval rate earlier this month, CivFed surveyed its members to see how they evaluate the diversity of their groups.

The survey is important, Gajadhar says, because CivFed is only as representative as its constituent organizations and realizing the aims of the resolution depends on whether the member groups are equally committed to the stated goals.

“A lot of people don’t necessarily think of the issues that are identified in the resolution as issues,” he said. “We have to be sensitive to who our membership is. We can’t come in with a very strong, forceful mandate or anything like that… We have to go about it carefully — otherwise it’ll be counterproductive.”

One softer approach CivFed took was to nominate more diverse candidates to leadership positions. The effort bore fruit in June, he says, when more young people and women were elected to top posts, including Nicole Merlene, a former Democratic candidate for state Senate, and Alistair Watson, secretary for the Aurora Highlands Civic Association.

As for external efforts to target underrepresented communities, CivFed aims to step up its communications by beefing up its social media presence and possibly posting fliers in apartment buildings, he said.

Getting more people involved would bolster its current efforts to examine county policies and see how they can be reformed to improve equity. Focal points include election reform — allowing ranked-choice voting and potentially changing the structure of the County Board — as well as the efficacy of county engagement processes and what it suggests is an inequitable distribution of Arlington’s tree canopy.

“Our overall mission is to work toward an Arlington that works for everyone,” Gajadhar said. “That is very much in line with improving diversity within CivFed and giving voice to people outside of traditional power and interest groups.”

Recent Stories

Alexandria might not be getting a pro sports arena, but Arlington and Alexandria might be getting another “premier indoor active entertainment destination.” Specifically: Sky Zone, a kid-friendly trampoline park with…

A new Arlington food hall opened this week with the hope of breathing more life into Rosslyn. Featuring fresh technology, murals by local artists and a full plate of nine…

With the Alexandria NHL and NBA arena deal now dead, and MLB opening day today, it’s a good time to reflect on the fact that Arlington could have been the home…

Morning Notes

Alexandria Arena Nixed — “The City of Alexandria just announced that the city is ending negotiations related to the Potomac Yard Entertainment District and ‘the proposal will not move forward.’”…

Award-winning drag queen Tara Hoot is bringing her Family Fun Story Time Brunch to Arlington at Freddie’s Beach Bar! Saturday April 6 at noon! Join Tara for songs, stories, puppets, bubbles and joy! It’s not just stories, it’s a SHOW that’s perfect for kids and kids at heart–fun for everyone! Plus a tasty brunch at Freddie’s! Click the link and make your reservations now! ❤️ 🫧 🌈

Submit your own Announcement here.

The Summer 2024 STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Math) Fellowship application is now open! Apply by April 15 to be considered!

The STEAM Workforce Development Teacher Fellowship provides Arlington Public Schools (APS) high school, middle school, and elementary school teachers with opportunities to learn about workplace needs in STEAM-related fields and for them to use the experience to enhance student learning to match workplace expectations in a selected industry. STEAM Fellows participate in a three-week summer fellowship, receiving a $4,000 stipend upon completion.

Applicants planning to pursue a fellowship in the arts must demonstrate how they will build connections between the arts and science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Click the button to learn more, share, apply, and see the variety of fellowships completed in previous years.

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

ACFCU’s Homebuying 101: Steps to Getting Pre-Approved

Are you ready to jump into homeownership, or have you started considering it but don’t know where to start?

Financial preparation is key when thinking about purchasing your first home and the first step to getting pre-approved. Join ACFCU for

Free Right-Sizing Workshop – How to Get Rid of Your…

Cody Chance and Dick Nathan of Long & Foster are hosting a free workshop at our office on Cherry Hill Rd. (formerly Lee Highway) on the topic of “down-sizing” Thursday, March 28 from 5:30-7:30. We have created a workbook with

×

Subscribe to our mailing list