As legal advisers to public servants and leaders in Texas local government, we understand and support the need for equality, equity, and justice. We further recognize that racism can be ingrained into the fabric of our institutions and our lives, and we commit to raising awareness of systemic racism wherever we find it.
To that end, as professional members of the Texas City Attorney’s Association:
We Stand Against:
- Systemic racism and any form of discrimination in our communities
- The use of excessive, unlawful force in any instance or form
- Any inequality and oppression that exists in our organizations and communities
We Stand With:
- Those who protest in peace and take a stand for positive change
- People of color, minority groups, and other individuals who are marginalized
- Our public safety colleagues in providing equitable services
We Will:
- Engage in professional dialogues within our membership and within our communities
- Continue to embrace new ideas, methods, and skills in support of equity and social justice and recognize the challenge of biases
- Continue to maintain the highest ideals of just and effective local government
- Actively embrace ideas of inclusion and work to build cultures of inclusion through improved training, recruitment, and other methods
As members of the TCAA, we are committed to being forces for good within the communities we represent, to avoid actions or statements which might be – or be perceived as – continuation of systemic racism, and to assist others in avoiding those same detrimental actions.
Where there is inequality , we must work for equality. Where there is injustice, we must work for justice. Where there is racism, we must work to end it.
Unanimously adopted by the TCAA Board of Directors on August 4, 2021.