Dallas residents will have a few opportunities this month to weigh in on how to preserve the history and culture of their city.

The City of Dallas is hosting “Historic and Cultural Preservation Workshops” and is inviting members of the public to learn about its urban design plans. The events will be put on by the Office of Historic Preservation, which is responsible for making historic landmark designations, approving work on landmark structures, and administering tax incentive programs within Historic Districts.

“The preservation strategic plan will define a vision, mission, goals, recommendations, and priorities to implement the City of Dallas Racial Equity Plan,” reads the City event page. “The plan will list the steps necessary to achieve that vision, including necessary resources, updates to ordinances and processes, partnerships, and new tools.”

The City’s Racial Equity Plan (REP) is a strategic framework developed by the Office of Equity & Inclusion (OEI) and adopted by the City Council to “enhance current plans, policies and initiatives with measurable and aspirational goals addressing racial, ethnic and socioeconomic equity … to minimize inequities for Dallas residents and to inspire and sustain our commitment to economic inclusion and shared prosperity.”

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the proposed City budget for the next fiscal year allocates $3.84 million to the OEI. It accounts for 6% of the budget for all of the City’s “management services.”

OEI’s equity initiatives have spurred debate among council members during budget talks in recent months, with Council Member Carolyn King Arnold (District 4) likening any cuts to OEI’s budget to resurrecting Jim Crow.

Arnold was criticized for making the comparison by Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values.

“We are years past Jim Crow, and we have made gainful strides in our country,” she previously told The Dallas Express. “Not having an office of diversity, equity, and inclusion [DEI] would definitely not take us back to … [before the] Civil Rights Movement of 1964.”

The first of the preservation workshops will be held at Old City Park at 1515 S. Harwood St. on September 12 at 6 p.m. The next will be held at the Samuell-Grand Recreation Center at 6200 E. Grand Ave. on September 13 at 6 p.m. The final workshop will be held at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center at 2828 Fish Trap Rd. on September 16, starting at 10 a.m.

Residents are encouraged to RSVP to the specific event they wish to attend.