On November 30, 2020, Shoreline City Council adopted Resolution 467 declaring the City’s commitment to building an anti-racist community through addressing the ways racism is maintained through beliefs, behaviors, and policies. To do this, the City will:

• Work with members of the community to co-create a vision and identify the outcomes and activities of an anti-racist community 
• Facilitate community listening sessions to hear Shoreline community members’ expectations and desired outcomes for City services, policies, and practices. 

In April 2021, an Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) community workgroup of City staff and community consultants was formed to plan listening sessions. The community consultants are Shoreline residents who represent diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives and have connections to and knowledge of Shoreline organizations and/or resident groups.

Over several meetings, the ESJ Workgroup reviewed four topics:  Shoreline’s racial history; police services; affordable housing and homelessness; and community resources. Four key principles were identified in planning the listening sessions:

1. Actionable:  Structure sessions to identify actions that are sustainable and with accountability to build trust.
2. Community-Centered Design:  Prioritize Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Build respectful partnerships which honor culture and co-design listening sessions that are tailored to specific needs.
3. Build an Anti-Racist Community Movement:  Support community network and organizing through strengthening relationships and engaging broad participation.
4. Support Systems Change/Transformation:  Be strategic and thoughtful to make institutional change and support community leadership development.

City staff and ESJ community consultants are working together to plan listening sessions, prioritizing BIPOC community groups and those actively working on anti-racism. As sessions are scheduled, information about them will be shared here.