The Racial Equity Team focuses on racial justice, racial equity, and Mount Olivet's role in systemic racism.
The Racial Equity Team devises plans and strategies to share with the Mount Olivet community and with our neighbors in Arlington and beyond.
Since the formation of this group, we have:
Virginia has two land grant universities initially funded through the Morrill Acts' mechanism of the sale of tribal land in the west. Virginia Tech did not admit its first Black undergraduate until 1953 and did not permit his participation in campus life, in contrast to foreign students decades earlier who were able to fully engage in college activities. Learn more about the founding of Virginia Tech, its desegregation, and its 21st century efforts to acknowledge its past.

Irving L Peddrew III Class of 2023 Ring Namesake
Virginia Tech to rename some dorms with ties to white supremacists | 13newsnow.com
Virginia Polytechnic Institute | Land Grab Universities
The Early Years / Campus Over Time Historical Marker
Land Acknowledgement and Labor Recognition | InclusiveVT | Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech Magazine Feature 1
Finding a home with the Hoge family – News Messenger
Virginia Tech Building Rename Writeup | flecks
Virginia Tech Pioneers from China – Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives
Consider walking in the footsteps of our neighbors by visiting a series of sites, memorials, and living testaments to the courage, resilience, and faith of our African American neighbors. There are two tours that seek to capture glimpses into the story of North and South Arlington. We pray they may serve as the first step in the long walk towards racial equity and justice in Arlington.
Read a short report by Jim Dake on the history of Mount Olivet and racism within Arlington and the United Methodist Church.
Read the reportStart here to learn more about the Racial Equity Team at Mount Olivet, or browse current events to see what's coming next.