In January 2021, Sacramento City Council will be presented with a Racial Equity resolution. It’s significant because it is a start - an acknowledgement of the work that has not been completed by the City to support racial equity. It is also the start of the conversation, which truly hasn't begun.
Diversity & Racial Equity Manager Aimeé Barnes presented the Council with an update on the City’s Racial Equity Initiative at the December 8 meeting. Barnes defined what racial equity actually is, and the intentional process with which city government must partner with non-profits and grassroots organizations. Councilmember Schenirer urged the council to support the initiative. He shared that the process would be data-driven and he committed to ensuring that metrics were developed.
The resolution will acknowledge the history of systemic / recent racism that impacts Sacramento and develops a community supported definition of racial equity, identifies resources needed to support the goal, and outlines benchmarks.
Councilmembers Jennings, Carr, and Hansen discussed the resolution and were in a general consensus that it would prove helpful to correcting historical wrongs. In his comments, Carr said that
“articulating the injustices that occurred in communities of color by those who have executed them will be a critical part of this racial equity process.”
SJPC also appreciates the framing below from the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity and seeks to push our equity conversations like the one at the City, to be justice focused ones. That means building power within communities most impacted.
Special thanks to SJPC member Nia Moore Weathers from Youth Forward Sacramento for contributing to this article IG @youth.forward FB @YouthForwardSacramento