Certified Welcoming Place
By Justin Lyons and Arun Nair, CRC Members
In May 2022, Charlotte officially became a Certified Welcoming place. Welcoming America, a national nonprofit organization, bestows this recognition to local jurisdictions that have demonstrated their commitment to immigrant inclusion through their policies and programs. The City of Charlotte is the first city in North Carolina and in the southeastern U.S. region to receive this designation.
According to the 2020 U.S census, 17.2 percent of Charlotte’s residents were born outside of the United States. As Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s immigrant population has significantly grown over the last three decades in particular, it is critical for inclusion to be a priority in our community. While the work of equity and inclusion never ends, achieving the Welcoming Place certification highlights the City of Charlotte’s commitment in this ongoing pursuit.
In order to become #CertifiedWelcoming, communities must meet rigorous requirements around matters including education, government leadership, safety, civic engagement, equitable access and more. There are 15 Certified Welcoming places, including Charlotte, which joined Detroit, Michigan, and San Jose, California in receiving the recognition so far in 2022.
The announcement of the Certified Welcoming Place designation took place at the start of the annual Welcoming Interactive conference, where Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles attended and received the certification. Two leaders of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee’s (CRC) Intercultural Relations subcommittee, Arun Nair and Antony Foreman, joined more than 450 community leaders and elected officials at the event, which highlights successful practices and inspiring stories about immigrant inclusion.
Welcoming Interactive began with a special Welcoming Tour. Participants selected one of five Charlotte bus tours around the Power of Partnerships, Telling Our Story, Arts and Advocacy, Do It Together, and Place of Welcoming. Exceptionally qualified presenters, who successfully implemented community programs, provided invaluable information about Charlotte and its history. Staff from the Office of Equity Mobility and Immigrant Integration shared the importance of moving from language access to language justice.
The event provided great opportunities for participants to interact with fellow attendees from around the world. Nair reflected on a conversation with the Chief Inspector of Police in Gainesville, Florida, regarding gun violence as well as a conversation regarding the ongoing conflict with Ukraine with a Russian-origin attendee who is married to a Ukrainian.
“I felt like this was a great opportunity to listen and learn from people with such different perspectives. I look forward to finding ways we can bring back these lessons to the CRC in the coming year.”
The open conversations between the attendees, without feeling judged because of the national origin or other variants, felt truly special for Nair and that type of dialogue is what will help Charlotte continue to be a welcoming city.
