Tools & Resources

FEATUREDRacial Equity: Getting to Results

Racial inequities are not random; they have been created and sustained over time. Inequities will not disappear on their own. A growing field of practice is available so that local and regional government can proactively work to advance racial equity, focusing on eliminating inequities and increasing success for all.

This Tools and Resources page includes:

• Materials from our events, including national and regional convenings and webinars
• Issue papers that describe topics and approaches that have impact, as well as examples from cities and counties that provide the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others.
• Tools for racial equity, including a Racial Equity Tool from the Alliance that captures an overall approach to integrating racial equity into routine decision making, as well as examples from our cohort of jurisdictions at the forefront of racial equity
• Videos that tell the stories of our work

This research was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The California Endowment, and Northwest Area Foundation. We thank them for their support and acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect their opinions.

Resource Guides

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  Racial Equity Core Teams: The Engines of Institutional ChangeA Racial Equity Core Team is a primary leadership team responsible for designing, coordinating, and orga­nizing racial equity plans and activities across a government jurisdiction or institution that is committed to equitable systems change. The Core Team often serves as the engine for change, leading the way, pulling others along, chugging through sometimes challenging terrain,READ MORE >
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  Racial Equity: Getting to ResultsThe Government Alliance on Race and Equity announces a new tool, Racial Equity: Getting to Results, developed to assist jurisdictions use a racial equity lens to identify a set of metrics and implement a community process to have greater impact in their work. Racial Equity: Getting to Results connects a racial equity lens to theREAD MORE >
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  Racial Equity Action Plans: A How-to ManualWhile local governments may consider themselves fair and just, people of color fare worse than their white counterparts in every area: housing, employment, education, justice, and health. Current day disparities are just as bad and sometimes worse than they were before the Civil Rights era. Since then, most governments have not made significant changes inREAD MORE >
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  Racial Equity Toolkit: An Opportunity to Operationalize EquityRacial equity tools are designed to integrate explicit consideration of racial equity in decisions, including policies, practices, programs, and budgets. It is both a product and a process. Use of a racial equity tool can help to develop strategies and actions that reduce racial inequities and improve success for all groups. Too often, policies andREAD MORE >
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  Advancing Racial Equity and Transforming Government: A Resource Guide to Put Ideas Into Action (2015)Across the country, more and more cities and counties are making commitments to achieve racial equity. The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunity for all. When government focuses on the power and influence of their own institution and works inREAD MORE >

Issue Papers

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  Should local governments double down on their support of employee-owned worker models?With small and medium businesses supporting nearly half of the U.S. workforce, local and regional government actors are focused on alternative solutions to fluctuations in the economy—compounded by the effects of COVID-19—in underserved communities which are disproportionately of color (Small Business Trends, 2021). Amid ongoing uncertainty and their budget constraints, local communities and major stakeholdersREAD MORE >
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  Advancing Racial Equity in Public Libraries: Case Studies from the FieldOver the last decade, more than 50 cities and counties have partnered with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity to advance racial equity and opportunities for all. Together, these agencies have established a solid field of practice that aims to transform government, strengthen community partnerships and eliminate racial disparities. From Seattle to Saint Paul,READ MORE >
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  Racial Equity: Getting to ResultsThe Government Alliance on Race and Equity announces a new tool, Racial Equity: Getting to Results, developed to assist jurisdictions use a racial equity lens to identify a set of metrics and implement a community process to have greater impact in their work. Racial Equity: Getting to Results connects a racial equity lens to theREAD MORE >
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  Equitable Development as a Tool to Advance Racial EquityWhen we achieve equitable development, we increase the capacity of people of color to strengthen their communities and determine their own future and that of their neighborhoods. We distribute the benefits and burdens of growth equitably among people of all races, ethnic backgrounds, incomes, and geographies/neighborhoods. We encourage multicultural communities where tenured and newcomer residentsREAD MORE >
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  Contracting for Equity: Best Local Government Practices that Advance Racial Equity in Government Contracting and ProcurementA TRADITIONAL STRATEGY to address contracting equity has come through the establishment of mandated sub-contracting goals, beginning with the federal government in the early 1970s. In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled in the Croson case that the City of Richmond, Virginia, could continue its MWBE sub-contracting program if it was more narrowly tailored – basedREAD MORE >
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  Public Sector Jobs: Opportunities for Advancing Racial EquityYears of organizing within the Civil Rights Movement led to the eventual passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with Title VII containing prohibitions of discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race and other protected classes. This accomplishment provided tools for the enforcement of illegal discrimination laws and has reduced many explicitlyREAD MORE >

Resources from the Field

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  2022 Annual Membership Meeting In-ReviewClick here to check out the 2022 GARE Annual Membership In-Review  to get a flavor of the topics, issues, and solutions GARE member jurisdictions are advancing locally, as well as big ideas that are animating our movement for advancing racial equity in government! This compendium compiles letters from GARE and Race Forward leadership, plenary and breakout sessionREAD MORE >
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  Culture KitClick here to enjoy a curated list of music, readings, films, and more sourced from recent GARE Annual Membership Meetings and beyond.