When we launched our Racial Equity Governing Agenda earlier this year, we knew the most critical part of our work would be to not only demand that our federal government takes critical steps toward becoming antiracist but to provide a clear and actionable blueprint to meet those demands.

For months we’ve been hard at work on exactly that — the nation’s first comprehensive racial equity blueprint for federal agencies. Released today, For Love of Country: A Path for the Federal Government to Advance Racial Equity provides resources, tools, and a plan for federal agency leaders to implement President Biden’s historic executive order on advancing racial equity.

We know that the name For Love of Country may seem surprising to some, as we’ve seen the language of patriotism consistently co-opted and wielded as a tool to exclude, to ascribe false definitions of worthiness of Americans, and to ultimately maintain the inequitable distribution of power in our country. Long before we developed these tools, we knew that to do the work of equity in the federal government is the most patriotic thing one can do. We simply cannot imagine a more worthy patriotic pursuit than to love this country enough to demand that it work for everyone. As we endeavor to perfect our democracy and create a truly antiracist government, we will not shy away from language that reminds us to do the thing that has never been done: create a nation worthy of all its people. 

Geared toward staff working within federal agencies, For Love of Country: A Path for the Federal Government to Advance Racial Equity also includes tools that are applicable for equity advocates across the nation working inside and outside of government, including:

• Several key roles the federal government can use to shape racial equity.
• The transformative potential equity presents for key socioeconomic outcomes.
• Guiding principles that can serve as a common foundation for the work across the federal government.
• A starter tool for conducting and refining an initial equity assessment.
• A tool for agencies to develop a strategic vision and action plan to advance equity, and guidance on how to launch this journey.

You can learn more about the report in The Hill. This report and accompanying user guide are the first set of many tools that we will be sharing in the coming months to continue the journey to realize the promise of equity by creating an antiracist government.