Washoe County is commemorating Black History Month with an informational exhibit at the County Complex. The exhibit is the first of its kind since the county launched a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Employee Knowledge Series. Washoe County comprises more than 24 departments and divisions and 2,700 employees.
“We are becoming an increasingly diverse workforce serving an increasingly diverse county, and it’s important to me that we learn from one another and celebrate the ways we’re alike as well as the ways we’re unique,” County Manager Eric Brown said. “Through exploring diversity and engendering inclusion, we can create an organizational culture of belonging.”
Currently on display in the atrium of Building A at the County Complex is a series of panels depicting notable historical figures and facts about the African American community in Washoe County.
One panel is dedicated to telling the story of Black Springs, one of the only local areas in the 1950s where Black residents could own a home or property. The area received few public services, and residents were forced to provide many services for themselves. The area six miles north of downtown will soon boast a museum dedicated to the Black Springs Volunteer Fire Department housed in the original fire station.
Another panel describes the racist and discriminatory language included in many covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) of older properties in Washoe County. People of color were precluded from owning property or living in certain neighborhoods until the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 made it illegal to enforce these CC&Rs. However, the language is still in the codes, and in 2019, County Recorder Kalie Work advocated for Senate Bill 117, which allows homeowners to file a form with their county recorder that formally disavows this racist language.
This display for Black History Month is the first of what will be a series celebrating diversity in Washoe County. The public is invited to view the exhibit at the County Complex located at 1001 E. 9th Street, Reno.
Washoe County Library System is also installing an exhibit called “Community Voices” at the Sierra View Library, and in the month of February will display first-person accounts of local residents and their experience with racial discrimination. Visit the Washoe County Library website for more information about this exhibit.
