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Dear Friend,
Our movement for equity made history last month when the White House and
90 federal agencies rolled out the first-ever racial equity action plans
in our country's history. In response to the directive of President
Biden's day-one executive order
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, the plans represent further acceptance of racial equity as a priority
for the federal government.
Race Forward President Glenn Harris joined fellow equity leaders and
administration officials at the inaugural White House Convening on
Equity
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to discuss the significance of the plans and what's required to redesign
the legal and regulatory structures of this nation so it works for
all––starting with people of color.
"We believe it's essential that we create change in the national
narrative about race. How we talk about race matters," said Race Forward
President Glenn Harris. "(It is essential) that we create change in how
our institutions literally function, and that we move policy that's
specific to addressing systemic racism; all three (of these) are
essential and interlocking."
You can watch the full convening here
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.
This moment was never a given––it's a marker of progress that our
movement at large made happen. We know that the federal government has
been an architect and arbiter of the structural racism and exploitation
steeped into the founding of our nation. Racist and exclusionary
policies have left 100 million Americans––over half of whom are people
of color–struggling to make ends meet, and locked out of shared
prosperity. It will take generations more of our collective work to
build a flourishing multiracial democracy that honors the struggle and
sacrifices of our ancestors.
This rollout of racial equity action plans is a significant step toward
that future. We're particularly energized by the fact that of the 90
federal agencies that published racial equity plans, 50 were not
required to do so. This represents a powerful opening for our movement
to change the course of history.
"Seeing senior officials normalize a conversation about racial equity
was not something I had the opportunity to witness during my tenure as a
federal employee," Carlton Eley, Senior Director of Federal Strategies
at Race Forward recalled. "The White House Convening on Equity created
an aperture as senior officials of the administration sent clear signals
that racial equity is within the purview of the federal government, and
it is critical to the mission of public institutions." Eley leads Race
Forward's Federal Initiative to Govern for Racial Equity (FIRE), a
partnership with PolicyLink.
During the convening, Race Forward's and PolicyLink's partnership
working with two HUD offices was acknowledged.
Race Forward has been at the forefront of addressing systemic and
structural racism for over 40 years. We believe it is essential: to
create change in our national narrative about race; to change how our
institutions function; and to move policy in order to address this
long-standing challenge for our country.
To do those three things, it's important to keep these three points in
mind:
This is the work of the moment. It represents the third reconstruction
for this country–the first one was of basic freedom with emancipation;
the second was of formal equality culminating in our country's civil
rights laws; and the third is focused on equity as it seeks to finally
ensure we can create a democracy that works for all and that race is not
the determinant of life outcomes.
Encouraging racial equity does not distract from good governance. For
this reason, Race Forward's FIRE and its Government Alliance on Race and
Equity (GARE) remain committed to supporting government partners as they
embed equity across the breadth and depth of government.
As agencies begin the demanding, but rewarding work of implementation,
they will be shaping the future of our country into the country we know
we can become.
As we celebrate the historic nature of these first federal racial equity
action plans, Race Forward and PolicyLink released a report: Partnering
with Federal Agencies to Advance Equity
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.
This report describes the work that commenced in partnership with agency
offices, considers observations and lessons learned along the way, and
discusses efforts that must continue at the federal level to fully
realize the intentions of the executive order and move this country
toward a more racially just future.
Download Report
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We recognize the enormity of the transformation that is ahead of us. At
Race Forward, we are excited to be a bridge for accountable partnership
between government and our movement to deliver on the promise of equity
for all of our communities.
In solidarity,
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