“Evolving,” “unaware,” “slow” and “beautiful” — these words were used to describe Concord in one word during a series of diversity and inclusion-related focus groups.
Between late April and early May, 37 Concord residents and stakeholders shared their thoughts about the community in a series of focus groups facilitated by city-hired consultant Racial Equity Group, according to a report presented to Concord’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee.
Their responses ranged from praise for the city’s police force to complaints about public transportation and the lack of publicity surrounding diversity-related events.
“Nice town, but underlying things we need to deal with, otherwise I feel when the population becomes 30% people of color, it may become a powder keg,” one participant said.
All of the responses from members of the focus groups were kept anonymous and the city maintained that the conversations held over video calls were not public meetings open to the press.
“Being an openly queer person in this city, I’ve been harassed in the street numerous times,” one participant said. “And that didn’t happen when I was a kid.”
The consultants sought a variety of voices, which was reflected in the demographics of the participants. About 60% of those in the focus groups were white, while 25% were Black, 3% Latino and 3% Pacific Islanders. More than two-thirds were women, while slightly less than a third were men. Ages ranged from 18 to 24 and 75 and older.
Some weren’t city residents and mentioned that in their responses.
“It is incredibly expensive to live here and the housing crisis makes it too expensive to live in Concord,” one person said.
The city’s diversity committee accepted the report at its July meeting and will discuss its contents in greater detail at its meeting later this month. Last year, the committee was tasked with helping the city develop a deeper understanding of attitudes toward belonging and inclusion.
To that end, Racial Equity Group CEO Bird Guess developed a series of recommendations for the committee based on the responses and attitudes reflected in the focus groups.
Based on a “qualitative analysis” of focus group responses, the Racial Equity Group concluded that five key focus group themes emerged during discussions between participants, the first being a sense of disconnect from cultural community events.
“There are some queer spaces in and around Concord that are hosting some cool stuff. But I think it is genuinely lacking overall,” one person said. “I think there could be more of a space to celebrate difference.”
Concerns about poor public transportation and accessibility emerged as another theme from focus group discussions.
“One of the most striking places of physical inaccessibility is the city council chambers,” said one of the stakeholders. “Can you imagine if we someday elected a mayor with a physical disability or a city councilor with a physical disability? Where would they sit?”
Another theme was barriers to civic engagement.
“New American communities feel excluded from civic engagement opportunities due to a lack of tailored communication and participation options,” the report stated.
Nearly all participants expressed positive interactions with city officials.
“Libraries are safe havens, and they treat you very well,” one person said. “We went to Concord City Hall to get registered to vote and do that kind of thing when we moved here. People couldn’t be nicer.”