Advancing Racial Equity: The Role of Government (LA)

The “Advancing Racial Equity: the Role of Government” workshop will provide an introduction to the role, responsibilities and opportunities for government to advance racial equity with a focus on national best practices.

Section I: 9 to 2:45 PM

The first part of the workshop will examine the opportunity for government transformation and the advancement of racial equity in our communities. How can we normalize racial equity as a key value, operationalize racial equity via new policies and institutional practice, and organize, both internally and in partnership with other institutions and the community? We will provide shared terminology and introduce a racial equity tool that can be used in decisions relating to policies, practices, programs and budget.

The workshop will be led by:

• Julie Nelson, Director, Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)
• Glenn Harris, President, Center for Social Inclusion (CSI)

Nelson and Harris were instrumental to the success of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative and the launching of the Governing for Racial Equity Network in the Northwest. GARE and CSI are currently working with cities and counties across the country to leverage the power of government to advance racial equity and increase success for all our communities.

Section II: 3 to 5 PM

The second part of the workshop will be a joint session with Local Progress, a network of hundreds of local elected officials from around the country committed to a strong economy, equal justice, livable cities, and effective government.

This joint session will feature a keynote presentation by Deepa Iyer on “Our Multiracial Future: Thoughts for Government.” Deepa’s first book, “We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future,” is forthcoming from The New Press in November 2015. The book is centered on how communities are resisting the forces of xenophobia, Islamophobia and racial anxiety as our nation undergoes a significant demographic transformation.

After Deepa’s keynote, she will facilitate a panel discussion with representatives of Local Progress and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity on changing demographics and the opportunity for elected and appointed officials and government staff to advance racial equity.

Panel participants:

• Karla Bruce, Director, Department of Neighborhood & Community Services, Fairfax County, Virginia
• Bill Henry, Councilmember, City of Baltimore
• Patricia Lally, Director, Office for Civil Rights, City of Seattle
• Marbre Stahly-Butts, Racial Equity Lead, Local Progress

If you work for government or with government, this is the workshop for you. Registration fee is $50 (includes light breakfast and lunch).

Register Now

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The Government Alliance on Race and Equity is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. When we work together, we know we will increase our collective success.

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Deepa Iyer Biography
Deepa is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for Social Inclusion, providing leadership and solution-oriented practices to achieve racial equity and solidarity. Deepa is an attorney who has worked on civil and immigrant rights issues in the non-profit and governmental sectors for 15 years, especially from the vantage point of new immigrant communities. Deepa served as Executive Director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) for a decade. While at SAALT, Deepa shaped the formation of the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO), a network of local South Asian groups, and served as Chair of the National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA). Deepa worked particularly on response efforts to the post 9/11 environment from the vantage point of policy and community building. Deepa has also worked at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice as Trial Attorney, where she assisted with efforts to conduct outreach to communities around national origin discrimination, and helped to shape the Division’s post 9/11 efforts.

Deepa’s opinion editorials on issues ranging from the post 9/11 backlash to immigration reform to anti-Black racism have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Al-Jazeera America, and The Nation. An immigrant who moved to Kentucky when she was twelve, Deepa graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School and Vanderbilt University. Deepa is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Race Forward.