CSI’s core program, Government Alliance on Race and Equity, is partnering with Living Cities on Racial Equity Here, a project to advance racial equity in five cities (Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Louisville, Kentucky; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). The Racial Equity Here cohort just returned from a high energy, interactive and productive fourth convening in Austin! Each of the five cities is moving forward on game-changing work to advance racial equity:
- Power of Leadership: The Mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan is passionately leading with a racial equity vision and the City Manager is aligned to operationalize it.
- Strategic Planning: In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the team is strategically planning for this work to live on beyond the up-coming mayoral transition.
- Internal Infrastructure: In Louisville, Kentucky, the team has started training the entire 6,000-person staff, and the newly created Chief Equity Officer and Chief Resilience Officer will join Racial Equity Here leadership.
- Structural Change: One racial equity initiative in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania proposes to partner with trade unions to diversify their membership while renovating city-owned properties.
- Community Partnership: Austin, Texas’s new Chief Equity Office is convening community stakeholders to co-create their racial equity assessment tool.