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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & 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.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & 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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
john powellDirectorHaas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive SocietyUCalifornia, Berkeley
Q – What is “targeted universalism” and how should if inform our thinking about metrics?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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? ·
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & 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?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
Proactively seeks to eliminate inequities and advance equity
Identifies clear goals and objectives, measurable outcomes
Develops mechanisms for successful implementation
Racial Equity Tools
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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 AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & 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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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? ·
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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/
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & 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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
Achieving Transformative Change
How do we ensure that our everyday work it is not hindering transformative change, but rather supporting it?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
Lessons learned from across the country:
1. Analysis
2. Capacity
3. Tools
4. Data and metrics
5. Partnering
6. Urgency
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
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/
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY
Contact information
Local and Regional Government Alliance
on Race and Equity
Julie Nelson
206-816-5104
Local Progress
Josie Duffy
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON RACE & EQUITY