GARE Launches Racial Equity Cohort in Northern California

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) is happy to announce the launch of a learning cohort of governmental jurisdictions in the Bay Area that will be working to advance racial equity.

The cohort will utilize a curriculum that builds on the growing field of governmental practices to tackle this challenge and will feature an “Advancing Racial Equity” speaker series that provides the opportunity for jurisdictions to learn and strategize with each other and their communities.

GARE focuses on normalizing conversations about race, operationalizing new behaviors and policies, and organizing to achieve racial equity. We are seeing more and more jurisdictions that are making this commitment, focusing on the power and influence of their own institutions, and working in partnership across sectors and with the community to maximize their impact. This important conversation sets the stage for the year-long program of jurisdictions working together across northern California to advance racial equity. 

GARE Submits Recommendations to UN Working Group on People of African Descent

GARE is excited to emerging best practices from our network of municipal governments with a growing audience. Over winter break, GARE submitted an issue paper to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on best practices for local government to disrupt structural inequalities for communities of color.
 
This January, the Working Group will be visiting a handful of major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Baltimore. The aim of the group is to identify gaps in human rights protections and identify best practices, as well as recommendations for improvement. One of the group’s mandates is to visit different countries to examine critically the situation of people of African descent in the country, identify problems, and make recommendations for resolution of the problems. More information on the group upcoming visit can be found here.

GARE is proud to contribute to the WG's efforts to eliminate structural racism. In the submission, we list three recommended actions for local governments: to clearly articulate a racial equity mission, vision and goals; to systemically consider the disparate racial impacts in government decision making; and to organize and participate in staff racial equity trainings.
 

Watch Workforce Equity Webinar

Engaging Local Government Leaders and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity joined together for a webinar on Workforce Equity on January 6, 2016.

The webinar featured policies, practices and real stories from jurisdictions focused on workforce equity.

Participants included:

• Angie Nalezny, HR Director, City of St. Paul, Minnesota
• Anna Kanwit, HR Director, City of Portland, Oregon
• Julie Nelson, Director, Government Alliance on Race and Equity

Recording now available!