April 2021 Community Conversations

“Telling the Full Story”

Co-authored by Timothy Baroody, City Manager, and Angela Freeman, formerly the City Diversity, Equity and Economic Advancement Officer

The City of Fredericksburg is committed to a more self-aware lens, with greater intention and attention to equity and inclusivity as we strive to reach our vision of success and creating an organization reflective of and attentive to the communities we serve today and tomorrow.

Through a fair and just public policy, we have emphasized the importance of proactive attention to address unintentional bias and any form of discrimination in all areas of our government and community. Our efforts are inclusive of developing and promoting programs and initiatives to provide education and resources to our teams in the areas of service delivery and community well-being. The following provides historical context and represents the origins of our city’s racial equity initiatives and how our teams are working together to be our best selves for those we serve. 

The City of Fredericksburg is a community with a diverse population of approaching 30,000.  It is the heart of the Fredericksburg Region, situated equidistant between Washington, DC, the nation’s capital, and the City of Richmond.  Based on 2010-2018 demographic reports the Fredericksburg region is the fastest growing region in Virginia. 

The non-white demographic made up 77% of the regional population increase.  This includes the growth of the immigrant population, the increase in mixed race and mixed ethnicity marriages, the elderly comprising a larger percentage of our total population, a more diverse workforce where women outnumber men, and an increase in non-traditional family living arrangements, including multi-generational families.  As our community continues to become more diverse in every way, the City is leaning into its leadership by example with a purposeful awareness on the importance of eliminating racial inequities, on closing disparity gaps which racial inequities have caused, on embracing and fostering diversity and to create sustainable change fostering prosperity for every member of our community.

The City of Fredericksburg was established in 1728 and has a storied, complex past, as the home of Mary Washington, George Washington’s mother, and the home of several significant Civil War battles.  It is also the home of the first stop on the 1961 Freedom Rides and subsequently home to James Farmer, one of the Freedom Rides organizers and prominent Civil Rights Leader. 

A stone block was situated in the heart of Fredericksburg’s downtown - documented to be the site of auctions of enslaved persons in the 1800’s and symbolizes Fredericksburg’s long engagement in the transatlantic slave trade.

Our complicated history, much like other communities, has contributed to the complexities of how Fredericksburg’s community understands, perceives and relates to each other through a personal and historical lens.

Removal of the Slave Auction Block artifact was first considered by the Fredericksburg City Council in 1924, when the local Chamber of Commerce argued that its presence reflected poorly on the community.  In 2017, after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Fredericksburg City Council held discussions on the Slave Auction Block and its presence in the community. City Council recognized that its decision-making process would take place within the larger context of a community dialogue about race, history, and memory. 

Council determined to leave the stone block in place while pursuing a community dialogue with City and community leadership, the local religious community, business community, historians, academic institutions, and the African American community.  Throughout 2018, the City conducted community engagement work, with the support of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC).  Hundreds of citizens engaged on topics related to race, history, and equity.  City residents and stakeholders have been integral to these discussions and Council’s actions have sought to reflect a more equitable voice of Fredericksburg.  In June 2019, the City Council voted to reverse their previous position and relocate the Slave Auction Block from the corner of William and Charles Streets to the Fredericksburg Area Museum – and committed to an effort to tell a more complete Fredericksburg history. After approximately 170 years in place, the stone block was finally moved on June 6, 2020.

While progress was in motion, protests of the killing of Black Americans by police across the country in June 2020 brought immediate and necessary attention by the City Council with approval of a Response and Recovery Plan to initiate a more comprehensive effort to address racial inequities for sustainable change. This planning process took place over the summer and fall of 2020, much of which focused on questions of systemic issues, training, policing, and community response to demonstrations.

The pace of the development and implementation of the plan continued to be accelerated by the sustained civil unrest across the country, as City officials understood the importance of responding with sustainable changes with a self-aware lens. The third phase of this plan called for the collection of community input related to racial equity, which would be considered by City Council to incorporate into its future planning.  The City again hired ICSC to facilitate public input sessions and report on stakeholder views to the public.

The findings of the ICSC report noted the “ability to talk about racism and equity is important because the process of transforming racial inequality in Fredericksburg is a multigenerational one.  While immediate steps can be taken, this is a conversation and a process that, to succeed, must be seen as an intentional, energetic, and sustained effort.  Building off its sequenced approach from the summer, the city would do well to continue to move ahead short-term and long-term work simultaneously.  In pursuing this work the city has an abundance of allies and vision within its residents and we encourage the city to take advantage of that as it develops and implements policy changes.” The recommendation includes normalizing the collection of demographic data that illuminates where there is equality as well as inequity across its operations, to increase transparency at all levels of decision-making and to be acutely aware of what voices are being included and how decisions are being made, to develop shared vocabulary necessary to navigate racial equity conversations with a shared understanding of terminology and meaning, to be intentional to build inclusive participation in public processes and to encourage learning and dialogue across the city staff. 

The next major step in the City’s racial equity initiative is for City Council to consider this information and determine the City’s racial equity goals and how these goals impact community priorities during City Council’s off-site planning session, scheduled for mid-May 2021.  This may include, at a minimum, the adoption of a racial equity resolution.  Additionally, the City will be joining the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and will conduct an internal employee assessment and undertake training, including unconscious bias and microaggression training.  Ultimately, the City will look to engage the community and develop a racial equity plan.  City staff will then be able to develop a plan to operationalize racial equity goals, and in doing so advance Council’s 2036 Vision for the City of Fredericksburg as …”a place that works for everyone.”  

To discuss this concept further or ask questions contact City Manager’s Office PIO, Sonja Cantu (spcantu@fredericksburgva.gov)

Have a topic for a future Community Conversations article to suggest?; please contact Cindy Mester (cmester@fallschurchva.gov)

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Civic Engagement April 2021

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