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, 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 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. 

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. 

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.

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,