GARE in Action, GARE in Place: Town of Carrboro

GARE in Action, GARE in Place is a series that highlights how the GARE Approach, tools and resources are being used in member jurisdictions across the country. Each installment features a portrait of a GARE jurisdiction actively grappling with what it means to govern for racial equity - to change the policies, practices and procedures of local, regional and state government so that all families and communities can live long, healthy lives no matter their race, class or zip code.

GARE in Action GARE in Place: Town of Carrboro (running time: 6:14) paints a portrait of a smaller jurisdiction and shows how a Mayor and Town Council that supports racial equity can set the groundwork for a racial equity core team to make impressive progress toward institutionalizing racial equity. From helping recruit diverse hires in the Town’s Fire Department to improving language access for immigrants and refugee communities, to hosting community engagement events like Carrboro in Motion, the Town of Carrboro illustrates how a small and mighty team can use GARE tools and resources – and connections to other jurisdictions in the region to create a ripple effect of County and regional-level organizing like in One Orange.

Carrboro Facts & Resources

Carrboro Fact Sheet

Population: 21,295 (2020)

Demographics: White (62.16%), Black or African American (10.06%), Native American (0.18%), Asian (8.83%), Pacific Islander (0.05%), Other/Mixed (5.93%), Hispanic or Latino (12.79%)

Jurisdiction Type: Town

GARE Member since: 2018

OneOrange Racial Equity Dashboard

Carrboro is building regional power to advance racial equity. Four jurisdictions across Orange County have developed an at-a-glance dashboard for tracking and informing their collective work toward equity and includes data on public health, education, infrastructure, economic opportunity, voting, and more.

Go to the dashboard

Carroboro's Race & Equity Action Plan (REAP)

Weaving Equity into Carrboro Town Governance

Carrboro's Race and Equity Action Plan provides an overview of the town's racial equity journey as well as a blueprint for how they are advancing racial equity and reducing disparities.

Read the Action Plan!

Leaning into Change: Mayor Barbara Foushee

Local and regional governments are powered by the public servants who work across elected administrations to keep communities safe and thriving. Practitioners in Carrboro shared that when local leadership understands and supports racial equity as essential to good governance, it is an opportunities to strengthen and advance government’s responsibility to ensure all communities can live long, healthy lives, regardless of race, class, or zip code.

Featured GARE Resources

How to Build a Path for People to Follow

Carrboro, a small North Carolina town shares how they build enduring racial equity infrastructure by embedding racial equity analysis in local governance.