 And welcome to this DEI update. DEI, of course, stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and I am talking to our town's director of that program, Jillian Harvey, who has worked hard, I would say, to carve out the time to talk to us today. We say this about many of our public officials, but Jill, as I was joking with her before we went on, is a candidate for busiest person at Town Hall, I would say. So, Jill, first of all, really from the heart, thanks for being here. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me. We last spoke to you about a month ago, although I'm sure it seems like about a year ago to you. And it was just preceding the Martin Luther King Long Weekend and the Commemoration, which was going virtual. We talked quite a bit about that. I just wanted to ask you very briefly, what is your recollection, if you have one, of that time and of how the event came off from your perspective? Yeah. So yeah, it definitely feels like forever ago, but it was just a month and a couple days. But I was really pleased with the outcome. I honestly was using MLK Day to, I think I said that when we talked about it, just for myself to kind of rebrand and really assess my purpose and the work that I do and just being able to sit alone and watch the program, it felt really great to see it all finally come together. And for the challenges of going virtual, I don't think anyone would have known the challenges that we had, but I was really pleased with the final outcome. And I think by this time next year, if we can be in person, great. But if not, that we'll be able to do a little bit more since we know the process with everything and that we'll still be able to bring some of those elements that people love about that program. Well, that is a great attitude to have. But my God, fingers crossed, you're not dealing with virtual MLK celebration 2.0 next year. No matter what you learned, let's go back to live, right? Let us hope. But on that same theme, kind of picking up on the threads of a couple of the things that we were talking about when we spoke in January, just to find out kind of how those things have been progressing. One of them was the the the teach end with powerful pathways that you were that were just beginning at that time. And again, just to remind folks, this is 60 folks who are doing a course on, you know, I'll let you explain it, but it's once every three weeks for, you know, for a few months. And you must be about halfway through with that. You must have had about three sessions, I think, by now. Yeah, we had our third session this week actually on Tuesday. So it's been going well. It's again, it's also been challenging. We had kind of, you know, an agenda for each, but we're pretty responsive to what's happening in real life as well. So we've been trying to carve out enough time, but it's it is a short amount of time, two hours to address current issues that are happening that are related to racial justice while sticking to some of the core material that we did want to cover. But we're really trying to push folks who are in those sessions to really deepen their introspection. And for us, it's all about self-reflection and then moving into courageous conversations with folks. So taking what you're learning and bringing that out into the community or even just having conversations with family members or friends or neighbors to get things moving, to add to the larger idea of normalizing, talking about race. But it's going well. We've got two more sessions that'll take place in March. So once that pilot program is done, we'll take all that feedback and kind of reassess what capacity we have to offer it again and what changes need to be made and just look at how we can improve it. But I do think thus far, the folks who have the feedback has been that it's been enjoyable and the learning is there. Good, that sounds good. And I have to say, it reminds me of my life, my former life as a teacher, because there's always there always was and there always will be quite a gap between how you prepare for something and imagine it's going to happen and then what happens once once you start to get into it and the conversations that ensue, et cetera. So no surprise to hear that things are not going exactly as planned, but hopefully people are going to be taking something real with them and then spreading it beyond themselves and their families to the community more generally. And lastly on that, I will just say, I do hope that you guys find the energy to go ahead and offer that again sometime soon, though we understand obviously that it does take quite a bit of that. One other thing that I wanted to ask you about before we talk about things current or in front of us, and that is that you were anticipating the re taking up the training from National League of Cities, this being training for town officials, and that had been postponed for a bit. And as far as I know, did take place at the beginning of February. So what are your thoughts about that? Yeah, I'm really excited that we're restarting. We started this journey last January 2020 and with COVID and everything over the summer, it just we had to pause. The facilitators we're working with have the demand is high for their work and quite honestly, other cities and towns might need it a bit more than us right now. The program that we are doing with them came out of the unrest that happened in Berkshire. So we know our place. But we did restart on the second and third of February. We had those two days of training. So we really kind of started with a refresher of what we learned last year because it's pretty much been an entire year. But then we went a little bit deeper. And so we're hoping to have the next session sometime next month in March, and that'll be more entering the stages of kind of operationalizing and how to use racial equity tools and how we can apply them to our departments and start to make some different assessments and how we can identify the areas that we need to make changes in, whether it's policy, procedure, and overall culture. So I'm really excited that that is back on track. Yeah, and it sounds like you are on the cusp there of starting to put things into action again. And of course, that's the point. And so good. Let's hope that in future conversations and updates with you, we get to kind of monitor continuing progress there because, like you said, Arlington is perhaps a little further along a few steps ahead of some of other communities. But obviously, so far, yeah. So far, yeah. OK, let's talk about what's on your agenda at the moment. And also, again, what's coming up. I know that you are, I recently spoke to our town's assistant library director, Anna Lytton, about a program that she and you are collaborating on that she's very excited about. So I know that you're working with the library and I'll let you describe that. And then I understand there's also a collaboration with Arlington at the ACAC, Cultural Arts Council, and or whatever that is. I was just going to say, all of the ACACs, so I know this one is Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture. There you go, Arlington. You pressed it up earlier this week. Yep, I do. Obviously, I'm good at that too. But anyway, these are important local collaborations. So please just give us more of the details. Sure. I'm really excited about this project just because I've been connected with Anna months back now. I don't remember when we first started talking about it, but that this is going to be a digital archive elevating Arlington's Voices of Color. So it'll be housed with the Robbins Library. But the programming that we're doing to build around it, to inspire, encourage folks of color in town to contribute something or just create something for themselves, even if they don't want to contribute. But the programming launched last week. Last week. So it started with a writing workshop with Lynette Benton. And I've actually been participating. It's been wonderful. And I'm working on my own piece to contribute. But it's just been great to know that we're offering this. And some of the other programs taking place will be on the 27th. This is in collaboration with the ACAC. We'll be having Charles Ko do an artist talk. He's a poet. And he'll be offering a workshop on March 6th for people of color as well to continue that conversation into a smaller space and work on some skills. So I'm really excited that we've had this setup of having artists of color provide a space for them to showcase their skills, but then also work with community members to hone their own. So ideally, I would love to have this. As this archive project, it's not going to end anytime soon. It's kind of ongoing. So my goal would be to have this type of setup every other month, have an artist talk, have some workshops, whereas this is just a continuous flow of opportunities for folks. And the archive is open to any folks of color who live in town or work in town or go to school in town. So it's going to be there. And I believe it's launching maybe today, maybe early next week, or just finishing up some of the backend stuff on the web page. But once it's good to go, it'll be live and open for submission. So I'm really, really excited about that. Yeah, I am struck by the fact that you mentioned that you are personally participating, because as we've cited several times and is the case, there's so much on your plate that it must not be easy to think about adding something else in, and yet you have. So if you don't mind, if I can ask you, what inspired you to do that? And what do you hope to be either taking from it personally or contributing or both? Yeah. So I originally hadn't really thought about participating. And then I was like, why not? You've been waiting for this all to happen. Of course, I want to be a part of it. It's what I've been really most excited about. And working with Lynette has been wonderful. The first day I'm with her is like, can you be my auntie? Like, I just want to talk to you all the time. Can I ask you just to explain who Lynette is? Lynette Benden is a writer of color in an Arlington resident. And she has done a number of workshops with the Robbins Library. So familiar to all of the library folks, but it's my first time working with her. So she was delighted about this project when we approached her about kicking us off with the first workshop. And I'm sure we'll have her back for more. I just think it would be wonderful for other folks who haven't been able to attend these ones to be able to attend ones in the future. But just the care and intentional guidance she gives you during the sessions is just really great. And we have our stories and we share them and we give each other feedback. And keep working on it just one way until it's almost done. Right. It's never done done, so most people will do. I just wanted to throw one more thing at you around this topic. And that is, in speaking with Anna Lytton about this project, one of the things that I found most heartening and most exciting is the fact that this is an archive for these voices and they're not being mitigated as they're not being forced to be in dialogue with the white majority, which so often happens. And I feel like it's so important for those of us who should be in the audience for this to sit with these testaments and testimonies and stories and not simply think about how we're going to respond, but just take them in and take the time to process them, again, without thinking about the response. And I think that that's too rare an opportunity for both people of color to be heard and white majorities to listen and know more. So I'm, as I said, excited about that, wondered whether you've thought about that particular aspect of this and what your own thoughts are. Yeah, for me it's really, I'm glad we're providing the opportunity for people to be able to be heard without commentary. It's not I'm sharing this and I'm waiting for a reaction. It's this is what I have to say or what I'm presenting or what I feel and want to show. There's no question about it. You have your opinions. Cool, you keep them to yourself, but that's not the space for it, which I agree with what you said. It doesn't happen often. And for me, that's a part of my role that's been most difficult as well. When I say something, sometimes it's, OK, that's what I'm saying. That's not an invitation for your suggestions or your feedback. Nope, it's just what I'm saying. And so that'll be interesting when folks have to accept that. There's not a comments box. There's not an opportunity to engage there and ask questions. You just need to accept it and so with it. So I'm really glad that that is going to be there. It's going to be everlasting. Yeah, that's well spoken. OK, moving forward, well, kind of moving forward in a sense, but also just building again on the same idea, we've got the Community Read. Arlington Reads Together happens every March, sponsored by the library. It is usually a series of events that are built around the communal reading or the collective reading of a single book. And again, the Community Read Choice this year, something I'm particularly excited about, I've had some previous experience with when I was a teacher. And just tell us about that. Yeah, well, I'll start from the beginning. It was really, it was a lot, but I was glad I was asked and enjoyed the process. So I did sit on the group over the summer to read through a ton of books and make a selection. So I'm glad we chose Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria. And I'm really excited. I've been working with Anna on some of the programming as well. And I'll be facilitating one of the programs with Margaret Prydal-Thompson, the co-director. So I'm excited to see all of these happening. And there's so many programs that even if you miss one, there's about 12 more you can log into. So there's just the fact that there's programs geared specifically for children, for teens, family oriented ones. It's just I'm really excited that this conversation is continuing and quite frankly, I'm glad all of this programming isn't just happening in February for Black History Month, that these conversations need to happen over and over and over again until they're normalized. And having this as the community read is a great step in that direction to make these conversations be at the forefront. So I'm really excited. It's going to be a busy month, but all good stuff. Yeah, it took the words right out of my mouth too. It's so something you and I have discussed before. It's very arbitrary to designate a month for us to look at and confront and process the whole idea of Black history and contributions made by the Black community to American history, blah, blah, blah. And then cut that off on March 1. It just feels wrong. So great, really great just to know that the last five minutes, 10 minutes of our conversation have been about things that are coming up in March or things that are moving forward into March and beyond that it began in February. Because as you just said, this is not siloed to a single month. It is in every sense something that we have to wake up to and deal with every day if progress is ever going to be made. Yeah. Let me ask you, I'm aware of at least one other thing I want to ask you about, but I also want to make sure that we have enough time. We've got still five or 10 minutes or so. I want to make sure that we do get to everything that you want to share. So I know that you and we as Arlington and you as the DEI director here in Arlington are a few steps ahead. Congratulations, you have just recently passed a year in the job, I think, which again, as you said, a month ago seems like a year. What does a year ago seem like? Who knows? But really, congratulations on that sincerely. But I do know that other communities are maybe just starting out integrating a DEI director or officer of some sort into their structure. And that, therefore, Arlington probably has, there is a need for Arlington to show the path in some ways to other communities. And I know that Adam Chapterlay and our town manager is very well connected with other mayors, town managers, et cetera, around the state. So I expect that that's another call on your time and energy. Yes, it's been quite active on that end. Just meeting with a number of different folks from towns and cities who are either stepping into this role or a similar role, town managers or mayors who are considering setting up a role that haven't gotten there yet. Sometimes that are setting up boards. So I've been talking to a lot of folks. And like I said, it's definitely time consuming, but it's great to know that everyone is kind of getting on board with moving the equity needle forward. But most recently, I met with Abu Tapin, who is the diversity equity inclusion director for Beverly. He just started not too long ago. So again, one of those conversations about some advice, words and tips. I know now you're a savvy veteran, right? I don't feel like that. I feel like I'm learning every day still. But we discussed with Adam this idea of getting kind of just a group of people in similar roles together to build some one of a coalition or a collaborative just so we can not have these singular conversations but do it as a group, which I think would be more productive. So we're getting that started. We're looking to, we've already got, I think, about 15 to 20 folks on our list, folks that I've talked to. The list keeps growing. But it's across the state, and it's really for municipal leaders. So we're going to be doing it once a month. We're starting the first Friday of March. So I think that's the fifth. But hoping to also pull in MAPC a little bit. So we'll see what happens. But it's just going to be a great opportunity to share some ideas and challenges and just have that support network as well. Because it can be very difficult when you have just this singular role, this single person who is stepping into something who just, you want to talk to folks who've been there. And that's exactly what I did when I started last year. I made connections with the equity department in Brookline and in Somerville and Medford. So being able to have those folks to look to for me was really helpful. And now I'm tired, but I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to give back to others and share what I've learned thus far. And just to think how we can work together moving forward. Yeah, you know, a theme or in a sense a metaphor that is often used, we've often heard, and makes a lot of sense, is how over time, especially people stand on the shoulders of others. And it sounds like really you're taking your spot in that line and having leaned on others to help you get going. You have had a year of intense experience. We refer to it. We joke about it or laugh about it. But to be serious and to give it its due, it's been quite an education for you in this role. It would have been a challenge under normal circumstances. It's been anything but normal. So exhausted you must be, but also how rich is the trove of experience in just 12 months that you have to draw from and share with others. I'm also glad that you mentioned the support element of getting a coalition or a group together of folks who are in your position, because I do think that that is really important for you and for the others who are taking on this work. Yeah, definitely. It'll be just the folks that I've also made the connections with, have shared that they don't have any support or are able to talk to other folks who might understand what they're dealing with. And also just that different layer as well. A lot of the folks who are taking on these roles are people of color working in predominantly white institutions. So that's a big piece as well. It's draining to talk about race all day long and then not be able to process it with someone who can't understand what you're going through. So I'm glad that that's going to be available as a space for folks to. Yeah, might want to have a Friday morning session and then a Friday night session. Well, we've got to get in the middle of the afternoon, early afternoon. So you know. Yeah, exactly. And it's Friday. It could go either way. Anything, Jill, that we have not covered that should be. And again, with the understanding that we hope to be able to check back in, you've already well described how March is going to be for you. So we're going to hope that we can get some time with you in March because we'd like to talk to you each month if we can. But anything that we haven't that we've left unmentioned so far? There's a ton of stuff. But I think everything we test upon is the bigger pieces. And just like I said, I'm continuously learning and growing my skills just with facilitating and trainings and reading and just everything. It's been, it's funny, when I read at home, I'm not reading fun stuff. My go-tos are like history books or books are always with them. So I'm just constantly in it. But I think in March, we definitely will connect because I've got some things in the pipeline for April that I'm working on. So things aren't super detailed yet. But in a few weeks, I'll be able to give you more info on that. Great, that great. We very, very much look forward to it. And we wish you, as always, good luck, lots and lots of good night's sleep. And then the energy to get through each crazy packed day that's in front of you. Yeah, thanks again for taking the time today. Lovely conversation. I'm James Milan. I've been speaking with our Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in town for this DEI update. I thank Jill Harvey for joining us, as I said. And I thank you all out there in the audience for being with us too. We will see you soon.