Toward an Equitable & Just Community

Lexington's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Work

The Town of Lexington is committed to ensuring that Lexington is a safe, equitable and just community for all.

Following the national dialog on issues of social and racial equity, in the summer of 2020, the Town Manager began a more formal process of examining our policies, procedures and practices as they relate to municipal operations. This includes engaging professionals in the field, and outside consultants, to ensure comprehensive, unbiased evaluation.

The Select Board and Town Management are committed to ensuring that our community is free from racism, discrimination, and hate.

"Justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other - that my liberty depends on you being free too." - Barack Obama

Highlights

Cary Library Breaking Boundaries through YA Literature - Teen Book Club

A monthly teen-led book club open to 9 to 12th graders from Lexington and the surrounding areas. The mission of the group is to utilize YA books to spark conversations exploring themes of social justice, inclusion and equality, and to enhance connections from communities in and around Lexington. Registration required.

Everybody In! Walk/Move for PerkinsEverybody In! Walk/Move for Perkins

The mission of the inaugural Everybody In! Walk/Move for Perkins is to build a more inclusive, accessible world of opportunities for all people. While we know people with disabilities are capable of so much, barriers to true inclusion persist in our society.

Together, we can work to eliminate stigma, change attitudes and invite people of all abilities to fully participate in their communities.

Take a stand for disability inclusion by joining us for the inaugural Everybody In! Walk/Move for Perkins on Saturday, October 2.

Other Efforts Include

  • Engaging All Aces, Inc. to serve as our Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Transformation (DIET) partner. During this engagement, the Town will develop a comprehensive race equity plan to ensure that Lexington is an equitable community, employer, and place for business.
  • Working with a Core Team made up of municipal staff and a Citizen Advisory Council, made up of members from community organizations and committees representing the diversity of Lexington's municipal workforce and population.
  • Providing Racial Equity training for staff and the community.
  • Creating a new staff position in the Town Manager's Office responsible for DEI efforts.
  • Establishing an online resource for all residents in conjunction with All Aces, providing an interactive, curated space of equity resources, discussion and learning opportunities.
  • Joining both the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and the National League of Cities (NLC) in order to take advantage of their collective Racial Equity resources.
  • Ongoing Racial and Social Equity update at every regular Select Board meeting.
  • Engaging the services of Town Counsel to begin the work of reviewing all Town policies. The starting point of this work was a review of the Police Department policies to ensure there is no unintended bias or discriminatory language and to make recommendations to the Select Board.
  • Introducing the staff of the Police Department through short video clips that explain their work with the community, and the services and functions of the Department.

As we continue to move forward, we will post the status of these items on this page.

See our staff training, public programs and other work in this area over the past few years.

Books IconResources & Recommended Reading

Please note: Recommended resources will be evaluated periodically. Submission of a resource does not guarantee it will be posted.

Community IconEvents & Feedback Opportunities

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Town Departments & Committees