LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON
RACE & EQUITY
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 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?
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.
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.
individual
institutional
structural
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON
RACE & EQUITY
RSJI ORGANIZATION
RACE AND SOCIAL
JUSTICE COMMUNITY
ROUNTABLE
MAYOR - CITY COUNCIL
CITY DEPARTMENTS
RSJI
STRATEGY TEAM
RSJI
COORDINATING
TEAM
(SOCR)
CHANGE TEAMS
CORE TEAM
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
RSJI SUB-CABINET
- Inclusive
Outreach and Public Engagement
INTERDEPARTMENTAL
TEAMS
- Workforce
Equity
Equity
in Education
- Contracting
Equity
Equitable
Development
- Immigrant
and Refugee
Access to Services
Equity
in Criminal
Justice
Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement
Workforce Equity
Contracting Equity
Campaign for Racial Equity
GOVERNING FOR
RACIAL EQUITY
NETWORK
RSJI Working
Groups
Direct Reporting
Relationship
Indirect Reporting Relationship
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
RSJI Employee Survey
• 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.
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?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON
RACE & EQUITY
•
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 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?
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?
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

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 nonconstruction 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 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?
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 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?
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 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?
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON
RACE & EQUITY
Unity
Linked
Fate

• 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
Annie E. Casey “Race Matters” Toolkit—How to Talk about Race.
http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/howtotalkaboutrace.pdf
LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
ALLIANCE ON
RACE & EQUITY

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
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Resources:
RACE & EQUITY
Find at localprogress.org
City of Seattle Racial Equity Toolkit
http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/RSJI/RacialEq
uityToolkit_FINAL_August2012.pdf
A Baseline Report on the State of Racial Disparities in
Dane County
http://racetoequity.net/dev/wp-content/uploads/WCCF-R2EReport.pdf
“Supporting Equity in Employment in Minneapolis”
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@clerk/docu
ments/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
Julie.nelson62@gmail.com
206-816-5104
Local Progress
Josie Duffy
jduffy@populardemocracy.org