The City of Bloomington, MN. is a changing community. As local demographics continue to shift, the City acknowledges the importance of taking leadership in advancing racial equity within Bloomington. This will increase the cultural competency of the community and also ensure that local government is diverse and inclusive.
As a result of Bloomington’s commitment to racial equity, residents will be authentically engaged in their civic processes, their workforce will be more reflective of the community, and Bloomington will sustain itself as a welcoming, vibrant, stable, healthy, safe and desirable place to live, play and do business.
In order to advance this commitment, equity and disparities must be considered when reviewing or adopting City practices, policies and ordinances. There is also a need to invest in resources, training, time and safe spaces for dialogue and healthy conversations on race within city government. Trust is the foundation for building and maintaining a healthy community and once there is a better understand of who Bloomington is as a community, they can begin to work toward building an organization that equitably serves all residents.
The City’s strategic plan reflects the importance of equity and inclusion by naming the following desired outcomes:
- More diverse advisory boards
- More diverse workforce
- More diverse program participation
You can learn more about how Bloomington is advancing racial equity efforts in this video.
Bloomington participated in the 2016 Minnesota Advancing Racial Equity cohort, and has assembled another team for the introductory 2017 Minnesota cohort, as well as an advanced, implementation team.