Our Committment
The City of Golden strives to be a diverse, inclusive community and a place for all people to feel valued, safe, and welcome. We acknowledge that the work is ongoing to become an anti-racist city and community. The iconic arch over Downtown Golden is a message we want all to know: YOU are welcome here. The strength and endurance behind the message come from the Golden 2030 Heart and Soul values of a city government that is responsive, approachable, good at listening, welcomes participation and involvement, is fair to all parts of the city, and is accountable. In the spirit of these values, the Golden City Council passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis on June 11, 2020.
The current pandemic has made clear the health disparities that have existed in America for more than 400 years. It is shining a stark light upon the long-running racial divide; COVID-19 is killing Black people at higher rates than the rate of White people, and Black people are disproportionately suffering in part due to long-standing, unaddressed health disparities as well as systematic racism and other socioeconomic inequities.
The dark and racist history of our city and our entire country has led to many current-day disparities in education, health and safety, job attainment, income and wealth; housing and healthcare; disproportionate incarceration rates for people of color; and other systems of injustice. City Council further recognizes the existence of White privilege, meaning the systemic advantages that White people have relative to people of color and the role it plays in our policies. The deadly police brutality against George Floyd in Minneapolis is one of the most recent examples of this culture of hate and racism that must change. But we can’t wait for change, we must be the change.
- Resolution 2736 – Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis
- City Council Study Session with Golden Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick on July 16, 2020
A Message from Golden Mayor Laura Weinberg
“I want to express my deep sadness and anger about racist incidents and Black lives cut short. People across the country, and here in Denver, are using peaceful protests and rallies to say enough is enough. Enough to ongoing racial prejudice, enough to unequal justice, enough to the killings. Marching, kneeling, or gathering together is a way to express the sadness, the impotence, the frustrations that nothing seems to change or get better. Americans have long used the power of protest in this country to affect changes, but more is needed then just showing up in the streets.”
Be the Change
The City of Golden is dedicated to listening, learning, and acting to advance racial equity. In light of current events and a loss of trust in law enforcement, we are sharing all of our police procedures and policies so that we can start a dialogue with the community about how we police, and what procedures can use improvement. Golden City Council met in study session with the heads of the Golden Police Department on Thursday, July 16 to get this discussion started. We also encourage our community to join us on GuidingGolden.com to help us find ways to make Golden a more inclusive community. We will also seek out trainings to make us more conscious of issues in our community and continue to find other ways to engage our community in a conversation.
In addition to engaging in the conversation, City Council highly encourages you to use your vote. With elections coming up, this is the time to stand for equality by voting for laws and lawmakers who will bring positive changes to our world. “It is not enough to vote in big races at the top of the ballot,” stated Mayor Weinberg. “If you want equity in the criminal justice system and improvements at a local level, you must vote for your county sheriff, local district attorney, and county and state representatives. We have a primary this month and an election in November. The people that we put in office at all levels of government will either support the changes that are needed or will be the barriers to that progress. Don’t march on the streets now and sit on the sidelines in November. VOTE!”
Demographics of Diversity in Golden
Race and Hispanic Origin
For people reporting one race alone, 92.1 percent were White; 1.4 percent were Black or African American; 0.6 percent were American Indian and Alaska Native; 3.0 percent were Asian; 0.0 percent were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0.8 percent were some other race. An estimated 2.2 percent reported two or more races.
An estimated 7.9 percent of the people in Golden were Hispanic. An estimated 85.2 percent of the people in Golden were White non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Golden’s Foreign-Born Population
In 2014-2018, an estimated 91.7 percent of the people living in Golden were U.S. natives and 36.4 percent were Colorado natives.
Approximately 8.3 percent of Golden residents in 2014-2018 were foreign-born. Of that number, 35.1 percent were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 49.8 percent entered the country before the year 2010.
Foreign-born residents of Golden come from different parts of the world. The bar graph to the right displays the percentage of foreign born from each world region of birth in 2014-2018 for Golden.
Languages Spoken in Golden
Among people at least five years old living in Golden in 2014-2018, 10.7 percent spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 4.5 percent of people at least five years old; 2.8 percent reported that they did not speak English “very well.”
