The City of Takoma Park is proud to partner with Docs in Progress, supporting emerging documentary filmmakers by teaching the skills and providing the tools they need to shape their stories.  By developing, encouraging, and celebrating new and diverse voices via documentary film, Docs in Progress also seeks to lessen the racial divide in storytelling.

Documentary Dialogues Takoma is a multi-year program that uses video as a vehicle for reflection, self-expression, and empowerment by engaging Takoma Park residents through hands-on video production activities and film screenings. This project educates, inspires, and transforms people’s interaction with documentary film. Activities include The Community Stories film festival, running from November 20-22.

Community Stories Film Festival, November 20-22

25 Films, 7 Live Q&A Sessions Over 3 Days. 

The 2020 Community Stories Film Festival, presented by Docs In Progress, showcases people, places and events from the Maryland, Washington DC, and Northern Virginia region. This year, COMMUNITY STORIES will be virtual and free via Eventive on November 20-22.

The City of Takoma Park’s Community “Quality of Life” Grant program provides financial support for projects that provide greater access and participation in the arts and sciences for predominantly low-and moderate-income Takoma Park residents.

The City of Takoma Park is proud to partner with Upwardly Global (UpGlo), an organization focused on integrating immigrant and refugee professionals into the U.S. workforce. With funding from the City’s Community “Quality of Life” Grants program, UpGlo has developed a program to serve Takoma Park residents with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) backgrounds who are underemployed in their professional fields. Watch this short video for an overview of Upglo’s program and impact.

Information Session for Takoma Park job seekers interested in applying for Upwardly Global’s free job searching services:

Session Info:

Date: Wednesday, November 18
Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Who should attend?
Eligible job seekers with STEM backgrounds

What:
Virtual session to learn about free job-searching services

RSVP:
Register here

The City of Takoma Park is excited to offer this program to residents because working with UpGlo can lead to life-changing individual success stories. UpGlo helps clients move from unemployment or “survival” jobs as rideshare drivers, cashiers, and nannies to careers as Data Scientists, Financial Analysts, and Software Engineers– jobs that can break the intergenerational poverty cycle and enable newcomers to realize their full potential in their newly-adopted home.  

More information on eligibility criteria and Upwardly Global’s Program is available online at www.upwardlyglobal.org.

Volunteers and Employers can also help Upwardly Global’s mission and work in Takoma Park. 

WHEREAS, the first enslaved Africans were brought as captives to what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1619; and

WHEREAS, Black people were bought and sold as slave labor for 250 years and suffered unspeakable acts of violence; and

WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation effective January 1, 1863, freeing the enslaved people in the South. However, southern slave owners ignored that order. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and enforced the president’s order, freeing the enslaved two and a half years after it was first decreed. This day has since come to be known as Juneteenth; and

WHEREAS, other systems of oppression, such as sharecropping, Jim Crow, redlining, and mass incarceration, and the police violence against Black bodies continued throughout our Country’s history and perpetuated the racist legal and social systems that persist to this day; and

WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the history of racism in our country and how it has led to many current-day disparities in education and job attainment, housing, and healthcare, as well as disproportionate incarceration rates for Black people.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, I, KATE STEWART, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND, on behalf of the City Council, staff, and residents do hereby recognize Friday, June 19, 2020, as Juneteenth to acknowledge the historical significance of the day and recommit the City to working toward the dismantling of institutionalized racism.

Date this 17th day of June 2020.

Kate Stewart
Mayor

Printable version of Proclamation

WHEREAS, World Refugee Day is an annual commemoration adopted by the United Nations in 2000 to honor and raise awareness of refugees; and

WHEREAS, the City of Takoma Park is a welcoming city that celebrates the growing diversity of its residents and acknowledges that refugees, immigrants, and all newcomers enhance the culture and the economy; and

WHEREAS, more than 70 million displaced people have been forced from their homes worldwide, more than any time in recorded history, including over 25 million refugees; and

WHEREAS, refugees are people who have fled their country because they have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group; and

WHEREAS, resettlement provides safe haven when refugees cannot return home and cannot rebuild their lives in the country they fled due to lack of access to safety, shelter, health care, education, or protection; and

WHEREAS, the City of Takoma Park is home to a diverse population of refugees and immigrants, adding to the economic strength and cultural richness of our community; and

WHEREAS, residents of Takoma Park aspire to live up to our highest societal values of acceptance and equity, and treat newcomers with decency and respect, creating a vibrant community for all to live in.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, KATE STEWART, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK, MARYLAND, on behalf of the Council, residents, and staff, proclaim June 20, 2020, as World Refugee Day.

Date this 17th day of June, 2020.

Kate Stewart
Mayor

Printable version of Proclamation

On June 16th, Mayor Kate Stewart and the Takoma Park City Council welcomed the District 20 Delegation for an overview of  state-level reform proposals regarding Maryland policing. State Senator Will Smith, and Delegates David Moon, Jheanelle Wilkins, and Lorig Charkoudian reviewed progress to date, specific reform goals for the 2020 session, and how Takoma Park residents and City officials can support these efforts.

Watch the video of the Town Hall.

View the Powerpoint presentation.

Everyone is Invited! The Community Patio and the Takoma Streetery on Laurel Avenue will be open tomorrow, Friday, June 12, with outside seating available. Please make note that all social distancing and mask requirements are in effect.

It’s supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow, get outside and enjoy!

Here is some information on the Laurel Avenue Closure!

Laurel Avenue Lane Closure Begins June 12
In support of Takoma Park’s small businesses and needed steps toward re-opening, the City Council authorized the closure of the northbound side of Laurel Avenue for outdoor seating, sales, and customer pick-up.  Beginning June 12, the side of Laurel Avenue where the businesses are located will be closed to allow for outdoor dining and enjoyment, curbside pickup and other public uses to assist Takoma Park’s businesses, employees, and residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barriers and signage will be installed to announce the lane closure and detour around the church.

Note:

• For larger views of Laurel Avenue Map
• The handicap parking space will be relocated across Laurel, on the southbound side
• The Takoma Park Post Office will not be impacted by the Laurel Avenue street closure. Hours and parking remain the same.
• The businesses will begin using the outdoor space in order to re-open the restaurants, as permitted by the reduction of State and County restrictions, beginning on Friday, June 12, 2020.

The City has developed a new webpage to address the use of public space for these purposes, with the opportunity for the public to give feedback:

Community Members,

We are aware of the #8CANTWAIT recommendations for Law Enforcement agency use of force policies. We currently have in place policies that cover to some degree all of the eight of the #8CANTWAIT recommendations.

We are currently in the process of reviewing our use of force policies. Specifically, the ban of chokeholds except where deadly force is needed and the language used in the section “exhaust all other means before shooting.”

We look forward to working with members of the community and our City Council, as we review this and other policies in our efforts to increase community policing and building trust across the community. We are also compiling information to provide to the public about the training provided to officers.

Background on the #8CANTWAIT Use of Force Policy Recommendations

#8CANTWAIT Use of Force policy Recommendations

• Eight recommendations made by #8CANTWAIT
• Duty to Intervene
• Require De-escalation
• Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles
• Ban Chokeholds & Strangleholds
• Require Comprehensive Reporting
• Require Use of Force Continuum
• Exhaust All Other Means Before Shooting
• Require Warning Before Shooting

Print an:  Overview of the #8CANTWAIT Document

Below is an overview of the #8CANTWAIT recommendations and our related policies.

Duty to Intervene: 

Each department member has the individual responsibility to intervene and attempt to stop any other member from committing an unlawful or improper act, including but not limited to, acts of brutality, abuses of process, abuses of authority, and any other criminal acts or major violations of department rules and procedures. Successful intervention does not negate a duty to report.

Require De-escalation:

Our current policies require all officers to use de-escalation techniques prior to using force.

Ban Shooting at Moving Vehicles: 

Our current policy prohibits officers from shooting at or from moving vehicles unless circumstances would authorize deadly force.

Officers are prohibited from intentionally placing themselves in the path of a moving vehicle where an officer’s use of deadly force would be the probable outcome. When confronted by an oncoming vehicle, officers will move out of its path, if possible, rather than fire at the vehicle.

Ban Chokeholds & Strangleholds:

Our current policy bans the use of chokeholds except where deadly force is needed.

Require Comprehensive Reporting:

Our department requires comprehensive reporting and review of all use of force incidents. The list of reporting requirements is extensive. They can be found on our website under general orders, Use of Force, General Order 617.

Require Use of Force Continuum:

Our department has a use of force continuum that officers are trained in and must follow.

Exhaust All Other Means Before Shooting:

Our current policy requires officers to use only that amount of force, which is reasonable and necessary. Officers are required at all times to exhaust every other reasonable means of apprehension before resorting to the use of deadly force. Officers may use deadly force to defend themselves or another person from what they reasonably believe is an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that any use of deadly force must be objectively reasonable. This standard will be applied to all uses of deadly force regardless of whether or not a suspect is fleeing when an officer employs deadly force.

Require Warning Before Shooting:

Our firearms training and policies require all officers to provide warnings before shooting.