Race Forward is proud to announce the launch of the Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity. The program, a partnership with PolicyLink, is in direct response to President Biden’s Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government and will provide strategic support, learning opportunities, frameworks, and tools for change through ongoing dialogue with federal agencies. The goal of the program is to create sustainable change for racial equity in federal government structure, policy and practice.
“We are proud to partner with PolicyLink on this important work,” stated Glenn Harris, President of Race Forward and Publisher of Colorlines, who helped establish the first racial equity program in local government in Seattle decades ago. “This mandate from President Biden for a whole-of-government approach toward racial equity is a critical step in advancing a multiracial democracy that realizes our highest ideals.”
Federal agencies have begun the early stages of this monumental work and are assessing their state of equity. Additionally, the White House has published its first “Study to Identify Methods to Assess Equity.” Given the expressed commitment of the Administration and the critical need to advance this mission, Race Forward’s Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity program will support this work drawing from the wealth of experience developed within our GARE (Government Alliance on Race and Equity), a member driven network consisting of close to 400 jurisdictions and agencies that have been building a practice of racial equity in government, some for almost two decades.
As part of the launch, over the course of 10-12 weeks Race Forward and PolicyLink will build on the racial equity efforts of three to five agencies and/or major programs within agencies. This program is expected to create opportunities for other agencies and departments to participate in shared learning and understanding about racial equity policies and practices.
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