Neighborhood Council Asks Candidates to Adopt ‘Racial Equity’ Model for Boston

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council is asking for the candidates in two major Boston political races to adopt a policy that would ensure “racial equity” in terms of opportunities for all Bostonians.

Benjamin Day, chair of the council, wrote that the model, if adopted, “requires every City Department to apply a racial equity impact analysis to its work in the community, and creates accountability for Department heads to report on equity outcomes from their work.”

The model is based on the Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative, which has been in effect in the city since 2009.

Here’s Day’s letter:

Dear [candidate], 

I write on behalf of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council to ask whether, if elected as Mayor of Boston, you would support the creation of a racial equity initiative that would guide every City Department, similar to Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative.

Boston is composed of an increasingly diverse population, and by the 2000 Census was composed of a majority of people of color. This diversity is one of our greatest strengths, but it also masks stark racial and ethnic inequities that characterize almost every area of life. From education and housing to development and health, Bostonians face different opportunities and futures depending on their skin color, language proficiency, country of origin, and neighborhood of residence.

We hope that the City of Boston will follow Seattle’s lead and take a systematic and intentional approach to reducing these inequities among residents, with the goal of creating equal opportunities for all Bostonians. The Seattle model, which has been endorsed by every elected official, requires every City Department to apply a racial equity impact analysis to its work in the community, and creates accountability for Department heads to report on equity outcomes from their work. The result has been a range of new policies and transformed practices focused on reducing “structural racism” and the reproduction of historical inequalities in areas as diverse as transportation, jobs creation, criminal justice, and the City’s contracting and workforce policy.

Boston has tremendous resources to take this next step. The Boston Public Health Commission’s Center for Health Equity and Social Justice offers a good model and starting point for other municipal agencies. In addition, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, in partnership with several area foundations, began in 2011 tracking the ‘State of Equity in Metropolitan Boston’ through a comprehensive report and a series of analysis tools for planning agencies.

We look forward to hearing your response, and wish you well on the campaign trail!

You can learn more about the Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative here:

http://www.seattle.gov/rsji/

Sincerely,

Benjamin Day

Chair, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council