Diversity Commission helps make Pleasant Hill a place for everyone
PLEASANT HILL, CA (Oct. 16, 2024) — The city of Pleasant Hill has changed over the years and continues to evolve as new residents arrive each year, bringing diverse backgrounds, cultures and perspectives to our community.
These diverse viewpoints and voices have led to positive changes in the city, things I am proud to be a part of as a member of the City Council.
In response to the growth in Pleasant Hill, in 2021, the City Council examined ways in which the city could be more sensitive to all voices. This conversation led to the creation of the city’s first Diversity Commission on April 19, 2021.
The driving force behind the City Council’s decision was a desire to identify Pleasant Hill as a welcoming, inclusive and tolerant community, where everyone has a place. The council established the nine-member commission to advise on issues of accessibility, diversity and inclusion.
Everybody belongs
Since its creation, the commission has reached out to the community through campaigns like the Everybody Belongs Pledge. The pledge is a document residents can sign to do their part for inclusion. You can find it on the commission’s webpage, www.phillca.gov/diversity.
Further, the commission has taken steps to recognize and celebrate diversity in the community by holding events such as this summer’s 2nd annual Juneteenth Celebration and championing United Against Hate Week (Sept. 21-27).
With roots in the Bay Area, United Against Hate Week started off as a poster campaign in 2017 in response to white supremacist rallies in Berkeley and San Francisco. It has grown to become a week dedicated to local action to stop hate and the implicit biases that threaten the safety of marginalized groups.
Our Diversity Commission has been a leader in recognizing this week, and each year has worked to promote the message of inclusion in a variety of ways – including the pledge and poster campaigns, and last year’s inaugural United Against Hate Walk. Commissioners led more than 120 people carrying signs and banners on a walk that began at City Hall and wound its way out to Contra Costa Boulevard, through the downtown and back to City Hall.
The event spurred conversations on equity among the marchers and those encountered along the way and provided the community with a visible reminder that hate has no place here in Pleasant Hill.
United Against Hate
Currently, the Diversity Commission is hard at work planning a separate United Against Hate event to be held in November. Once the final details have been ironed out, we will post information to the Diversity Commission webpage, as well as city social media and communication channels.
I am proud to have been part of the formation of the Diversity Commission and applaud all of the efforts the city has undertaken to make our community a welcoming place. As our city continues to grow and change, I look forward to seeing and supporting even more work to continue fostering and reinforcing an atmosphere of inclusion and belonging here in Pleasant Hill.
Contact Matt Rinn at Mrinn@plesanthillca.org.