Local Government and Racial Equity:

1. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Local Government and Racial Equity: Strategies and Opportunities for Sustainable Institutional Change March 4, 2014

2. 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

3. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Glenn Harris Race and Social Justice Initiative Manager City 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?

4. 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.

5. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity • Individual racism: • Pre-judgment, bias, or discrimination by an individual based on race. • 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.

6. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity RSJI ORGANIZATION RSJI STRATEGY TEAM • GOVERNING FOR RACIALEQUITY • NETWORK • INTERDEPARTMENTAL TEAMS • Equity in Education • Equitable Development • Equity in Criminal Justice • Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement • Workforce Equity • Contracting Equity • Campaign for Racial Equity 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.

7. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity RSJI Employee Survey • Over 4,000 employees (86%) believe that it is valuable to examine the impact of racein 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.

8. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity john powell Director Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society UCalifornia, Berkeley Q – What is “targeted universalism” and how should if inform our thinking about metrics?

9. 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 impactdue 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.

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13. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity • An interventionstrategy • Funders need to fund direct services and other programs to repair social cleavages • A communicationsstrategy • Funders also need employ strategic communications regarding universal goals and targeted approaches to inform the allocation of resources and policy approaches

14. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Betsy Hodges Mayor City 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? ·     

15. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Glenn Harris Race and Social Justice Initiative Manager City of Seattle Q – Seattle uses a Racial Equity Tool. Why was it developed and how is it used?

16. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Racial Equity Tools • Proactively seeks to eliminate inequities and advance equity • Identifies clear goals and objectives, measurable outcomes • Develops mechanisms for successful implementation

17. 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

18. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Nick Licata City Councilmember City of Seattle Chair, 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? ·     

19. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Local Progress – Anetwork 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

20. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Dante James Director, Office of Equity And Human Rights City 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? ·

21. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Governing for Racial Equity – Aregional 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/

22. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity john powell Director Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society UCalifornia, Berkeley Q – What do you see as the leverage possibilities of local government working on racial equity?

23. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity • 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 Framing the Conversation on Race • Annie E. Casey “Race Matters” Toolkit—How to Talk about Race. http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/howtotalkaboutrace.pdf • Linked Fate • The fates of all people are linked • We need to understand the effect that institutional arrangements have on all individuals

24. 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?

25. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity • Lessons learned from across the country: • Analysis • Capacity • Tools • Data and metrics • Partnering • Urgency

26. 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

27. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity • Resources: • Find at localprogress.org • City of Seattle Racial Equity Toolkit • http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/RSJI/RacialEquityToolkit_FINAL_August2012.pdf • A Baseline Report on the State of Racial Disparities in Dane County • http://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/

28. Local and Regional Government alliance on race & Equity Contact information • Local and Regional Government Alliance • on Race and Equity • Julie Nelson • Julie.nelson62@gmail.com • 206-816-5104 • Local Progress • Josie Duffy • jduffy@populardemocracy.org