The Human Rights and Human Services Advisory commissions of the City of Rockville will launch a communitywide survey this spring, at the direction of the Mayor and Council.
The survey will assess the state of social justice, racism and bias in the city, as well as the availability and appropriateness of city services during the pandemic.
The survey will be available at www.rockvillemd.gov/humanrights, can be taken anonymously and will remain open for at least 60 days. Paper surveys will be available on request by calling the Department of Housing and Community Development at 240-314-8300.
The scope and impact of social justice, racism and bias on city residents, and in the community, has become a leading priority for the Mayor and Council following last year’s nationwide protests of the police-involved killing of George Floyd, in Minneapolis.
The city is seeking to better understand and improve its approach to social justice, inclusion and diversity.
Measures initiated by the Mayor and Council include forming a new Community Policing Advisory Board; declaring Juneteenth a city holiday; advocating to the Maryland General Assembly for the replacement of the state song as, what the Mayor and Council called, an “antithesis of our shared values of diversity, inclusion, equity, and unity;” and conducting an internal survey to better understand how racial equity and inclusion is approached within city government.
For more information on the survey, and the Mayor and Council’s priorities related to social justice, racism and bias, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/humanrights.