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.
1. Racial equity is the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares. When we use the term, we are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also include work to address root causes of inequities, not just their manifestation. This includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or that fail to eliminate them.
2. A mindset and method for solving problems that have endured for generations, seem intractable, harm people and communities of color most acutely, and ultimately affect people of all races. This will require seeing differently, thinking differently, and doing the work differently. Racial equity is about results that make a difference and last.
Sources: Center for Assessment & Policy Development and Open Source Leadership Strategies.
As stated in 'Resolution 20-R-16', The City of College Park must explicitly, directly, consciously, and painstakingly seek out and confront systemic racism and actively involve and learn from Black people so that we can collectively create policies and practices eliminating barriers to participation, equality, and opportunity.
INFO Kayla Aliese Carter, Racial Equity Officer 240.487.3519 Monday through Friday |