Local Government and Racial Equity: Strategies and Opportunities for Sustainable Institutional Change March 4, 2014 LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE.

Local Government and Racial Equity:

Strategies and Opportunities for Sustainable Institutional Change

March 4, 2014

LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY

Thanks to our co-hosts:• Local Progress and the Center for Popular

Democracy

Thanks to our panelists:• Seattle Councilmember Nick Licata,

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, Professor john powell, Glenn Harris and Dante James

Thanks to our participants



Glenn HarrisRace and Social Justice Initiative ManagerCity of Seattle

Q – What has been most important about Seattle’s work for racial equity? How has your initiative shifted the way that City employees do their jobs?



City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Vision:• Racial disparities have been eliminated and racial equity

achieved.

Mission:• End institutional racism in City government.

• Promote inclusion and full participation of all residents.

• Partner with the community and other institutions to create racial equity.



Individual racism:• Pre-judgment, bias, or discrimination by an individual

based on race.

structural

institutional

individual

Institutional racism:• Policies, practices and procedures

that work better for white people than for people of color, often unintentionally or inadvertently.

Structural racism:• A history and current reality of

institutional racism across all institutions. This combines to create a system that negatively impacts communities of color.



RACE AND SO CIALJUSTICE CO M M UNITY RO UNTABLE

CO RE TEAM

- In c lu s ive O u tre a c h a n d P u b lic E n g a g e m e nt- W o rk fo rc e E q u ity- C o n tra c tin g E q u ity- Im m ig ra n t a n d R e fu ge e A c c e s s to S e rv ic e s

D ire c t R e p o rtin g R e la tio n s h ipIn d ire c t R e p o rtin g R e la tio n s h ip

CHANG E TEAM S

CITY DEPARTM ENTS RSJI CO O RDINATING TEAM (S O C R )

RSJI SUB-CABINET

M AYO R - C ITY C O U N C IL

INTERDEPARTMENTAL TEAMS• Equity in Education• Equitable Development• Equity in Criminal Justice• Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement• Workforce Equity• Contracting Equity• Campaign for Racial Equity

GOVERNING FOR

RACIAL EQUITY

NETWORK

RSJI ORGANIZATION

RSJI STRATEGY TEAM

RSJI Working Groups

RSJI Strategy Team – The Initiative managing team from the Seattle Office of Civil Rights (SOCR)Change Team – A group of employees in each department that help implement RSJI activities and work plans.Core Team – A Citywide leadership development team of 25 people that work with IDT’s to implement RSJI activities.RSJI Sub-Cabinet – Department Directors or deputies who advise and review RSJI activities.Interdepartmental Teams – Convened by lead departments to develop and implement Citywide strategies and community partnerships to address racial inequity.RSJ Community Roundtable – A coalition of 25 government and community based organizations working for racial equity in King County.Governing for Racial Equity Network – A regional network of government agencies in Washington, Oregon and northern California working on issues of equity.



• Over 4,000 employees (86%) believe that it is valuable to examine the impact of race in our work and 70% said they can identify examples of institutional racism.

• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of employees stated they are actively involved in promoting RSJI changes in their workplace.

• Nearly 60% of employees believe their department and the City as a whole is making progress on Race and Social Justice.

RSJI Employee Survey



john powellDirectorHaas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive SocietyUCalifornia, Berkeley

Q – What is “targeted universalism” and how should if inform our thinking about metrics?



Background• Universal policies often fail to account for the fact

that different communities and populations possess unique resources and needs. (i.e. Health Insurance v. Access to a Health Care Provider)

• Universal programs may not fulfill their anticipated impact due to communities being constrained under multiple layers of disadvantage.

Given the interconnected nature of our structures, attempts to address singular issues in isolated ways will often fail.









An intervention strategy Funders need to fund direct

services and other programs to repair social cleavages

A communications strategy Funders also need employ

strategic communications regarding universal goals and targeted approaches to inform the allocation of resources and policy approaches



Betsy HodgesMayorCity of Minneapolis

Q – Why was racial equity central to your campaign? How do you plan to set expectations within city government and also work with other institutions and the community to get traction on racial equity? ·



Glenn HarrisRace and Social Justice Initiative ManagerCity of Seattle

Q – Seattle uses a Racial Equity Tool. Why was it developed and how is it used?



Proactively seeks to eliminate inequities and advance equity

Identifies clear goals and objectives, measurable outcomes

Develops mechanisms for successful implementation

Racial Equity Tools



Racial Equity Toolkit is used in budget proposals and policy and program decisions.

Examples:Enacted a Citywide policy of restricting

blanket criminal background checks for employment

More than tripled the use of WMBEs in non-construction goods and services

Stopped prosecuting people with suspended licenses

Changed street lamp replacement to insure equitable access



Nick LicataCity CouncilmemberCity of SeattleChair, Local Progress

Q – Can you tell us a bit about Local Progress and the opportunities for local government to work together on the issue of racial equity? ·



Local Progress – A network of hundreds of local elected officials from around the country committed to a strong economy, equal justice, livable cities, and effective government.·

http://localprogress.org



http://localprogress.org/

http://localprogress.org/

Dante JamesDirector, Office of Equity And Human RightsCity of Portland, OR

Q – Can you tell us about the Governing for Racial Equity Conference – what will be happening and why would it would be beneficial for elected officials and staff to attend? ·



Governing for Racial Equity – A regional partnership of government jurisdictions working to eliminate institutional and structural racism. Goals are to strengthen alliances, build skills and commitment, share promising practices and develop and implement policies that promote racial equity..·

http://grenetwork.org/wp/



john powellDirectorHaas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive SocietyUCalifornia, Berkeley

Q – What do you see as the leverage possibilities of local government working on racial equity?



Framing the Conversation on Race

Annie E. Casey “Race Matters” Toolkit—How to Talk about Race. http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/howtotalkaboutrace.pdf

Unity

• Focus on terms that bring people together rather than those that are divisive

• Focus on creating an expanded notion of “we.” A “we” perspective rather than an “us/them” mindset

• “We the people” recognizes all the people

• The fates of all people are linked• We need to understand the effect

that institutional arrangements have on all individuals

Linked Fate



Achieving Transformative Change

How do we ensure that our everyday work it is not hindering transformative change, but rather supporting it?



Lessons learned from across the country:

1. Analysis

2. Capacity

3. Tools

4. Data and metrics

5. Partnering

6. Urgency



Participate in a survey about:

• Support for local government's work on racial equity,

• Racial equity tools and resources, and

• Partnerships with academia, philanthropy, community based organizations, labor, business and faith based organizations.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WWCWV6S






Resources:

Find at localprogress.org

City of Seattle Racial Equity Toolkithttp://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/RSJI/RacialEquityToolkit_FINAL_August2012.pdf

A Baseline Report on the State of Racial Disparities in Dane Countyhttp://racetoequity.net/dev/wp-content/uploads/WCCF-R2E-Report.pdf

“Supporting Equity in Employment in Minneapolis” http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@clerk/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-097244.pdf

Governing for Racial Equity Conference http://grenetwork.org/wp/



http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/RSJI/RacialEquityToolkit_FINAL_August2012.pdf



http://racetoequity.net/dev/wp-content/uploads/WCCF-R2E-Report.pdf

http://racetoequity.net/dev/wp-content/uploads/WCCF-R2E-Report.pdf

http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@clerk/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-097244.pdf





Contact information

Local and Regional Government Alliance

on Race and Equity

Julie Nelson

[email protected]

206-816-5104

Local Progress

Josie Duffy

[email protected]



mailto:[email protected]



Local Government and Racial Equity: Strategies and Opportunities for Sustainable Institutional Change March 4, 2014 LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT ALLIANCE.

Documents

race equity slide

equity campaign

issues of equity

racial equity governing

local government

regional government

city government

city of seattle race