Westport Values Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

Westport’s Value Statement
Westport's Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity
The Historical Marker Project
RTM Resolution: Racism is a Public Health Crisis

Westport’s Value Statement

Westport is a town with a future that is bright and full of promise. We respect the richness of our past, and commit to addressing future challenges with particular focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion for all who live, visit, and work in our town. As an engaged community, we are bound by a passion for the arts, education, the preservation of natural resources, and our beautiful shoreline. We are uniquely positioned to thrive in the years to come. (Top)

Westport’s Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity

Adopted October 13, 2021

Upon motion by Jim Marpe, seconded by Melissa Kane and passing by a vote of 3-0, the Town Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity, as follows:

RESOLVED, that the Town of Westport is committed to fostering a civic culture that provides the equitable respect, belonging and treatment of all citizens, students, employees and visitors by its populace, government, schools, businesses and organizations. That commitment extends across all community segments including but not limited to races, ethnicities, religions, genders, abilities and LGBTQIA+. Building on the richness of its past while acknowledging the challenges of its history, the Town of Westport commits to proactively making the town genuinely welcoming and inclusive.

Today, Westport is a town with engaged communities and a future that is bright and uniquely positioned to thrive with great promise into the future. Our commitment and action items to realize this promise and to maintain a relentless focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the long-term social health and viability of the Town include the following:

• Proactively identifying and dismantling systemic inequities and ‘othering.’
• Ensuring that the full humanity of any group or individual is never politicized or considered debatable.
• Applying an equity perspective to all decision-making including the municipal budget.
• Providing training in Equity & Inclusion for elected officials and employees.
• Expanding our local historical narrative to be increasingly accurate and inclusive.
• Building on the longstanding foundation of TEAM Westport to develop and implement Town-driven programs and initiatives to make the Westport community increasingly welcoming and conducive to a sense of belonging for all community segments, universally, across our populace, government, schools, organizations and businesses.
• Supporting proactive equity initiatives established within the Westport Public Schools.
• Implementing proactive hiring initiatives to increase the racial diversity of the town employee base.
• Ensuring Town-driven support for DEI initiatives across its businesses and organizations
• Prioritizing initiatives, policies and practices that enhance the availability of affordable housing and the facility of transportation for all within our community
• Providing policing DEI leadership via national certification of policies, programs and community accountability.
• Achieving certification for DEI within the Sustainable CT program.

and that as a Board, to denounce efforts to divide and instill fear in our community based on characteristics including but not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, abilities and LGBTQIA+.

 

Is hereby ADOPTED. (Top)

The Historical Marker Project

The Town of Westport, in consultation with Team Westport and the Westport Museum of History and Culture is committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our community. The marker project works to correct prior versions of Westport’s written history. These markers can be seen at Town Hall, 22 ½ Main Street and by the Saugatuck River near the Taylor Place Lot (see map below) and in digital format below.

Click the thumbnails below to view or download the high resolution JPEG files.

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RTM Resolution: Racism is a Public Health Crisis

The Westport RTM condemns racism in all its forms and hereby commits to actively working toward combating racism and valuing all people as deserving of equitable treatment. We see the world around us and recognize racism as a crisis having negative effects on the public health, welfare and lives of Black, indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC). Racism diminishes us all; therefore, we ask the town of Westport to commit to continue work already begun, and we ask the Town of Westport to develop means to evaluate our progress in the area of racial equity and justice. (Top)