Racial Equity and Impact | College Park, MD

Overview
Racial Equity Definition
Vision
Resources

In an effort to address racial inequity, the City of College Park's Mayor and Council passed ‘Resolution 20-R-16’ in 2020 which renounced systemic racism, declared support of Black Lives, and called for the ongoing explicit and conscious confrontation of racism. The directive mandated that all current policies and programs be examined for evidence of disparate impact, assessed for barriers to equal participation and opportunity for Black people in our community and called for the collective investment in creating new policies to eliminate the barriers identified. In 2022, the city of College Park hired a racial equity officer responsible for designing, coordinating, and organizing racial equity plans. The Racial Equity Officer began the evaluation of existing city policies and assembled a core team to execute the development of equity assessment tools that will be used across City departments to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity in decisions, including policies, practices, programs, and budgets.

Restorative Justice Commission

From the 1960s through the mid-1980s, the urban renewal process in Lakeland demolished many family homes, displaced 104 of 150 households, and replaced much of the neighborhood with a mix of subsidized townhouses, high-density apartments largely inhabited by students, and an older housing facility. The result was the decimation of a thriving community, the removal of generational wealth available through homeownership. Two-thirds of the families who made this once thriving community their homes were displaced. The depth of this loss continues to affect African American preservation in Lakeland today as the Lakeland Community Heritage Project has made clear. Current residents in the City of College Park and the surrounding area often have little to no knowledge of Lakeland and its unique history. The Mayor and City Council unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging the structural racism in the city, and the Restorative Justice Commission is charged with promoting reconciliation and restoration for the Lakeland Community of the City of College Park. The Commission is charged with the development and implementation of a successful process of restorative justice through community engagement, truth and reconciliation, and restorative measures.

The official commission approved by the city council is made up of 20 people, who will each serve three-year terms, according to city documents. Committees have been organized within the commission to facilitate different parts of the work. City of College Park stated that restorative plans will be carried out with the involvement of the current and displaced members of the Lakeland Community to ensure that Lakelanders and their descendants are engaged in the process The commissioners meet once a month and keep the council updated with their progress with at least one presentation a year, proposing concrete actions to address the lasting inequities of urban renewal.