Page 4 - Race & Social Justice Initiative

1. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS
Implement a robust Community Engagement Process to ensure diverse, active, and authentic community representation and leadership on Village commissions, boards, and committees. Our Village government must expand its outreach and engagement so that the entire community can access public services, especially to marginalized communities, including communities of color, immigrants and refugees, low-income residents, people with disabilities, and other under-represesented, underserved communities. Community engagement can also include community education, capacity building, civic leadership development so that more communities are represented in shaping public affairs. Read the candidates’ Community Engagement Platform.
2. RACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE POLICY
Adopt a Village Race and Social Justice Policy that builds upon our Village Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement to make it actionable and focused on results. We need more than a symbolic statement to move us forward. By enacting an official policy, it would codify our commitment to these values, providing the Village government with a legal mandate and framework to develop goals, strategies, and plans to end racial disparities in local govern- ment and to provide equitable services to all residents.
3. RACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION PLAN
Develop an annual Race and Social Justice Action Plan with goals, benchmarks, timetables, public reporting, and defined accountability. A fully implemented Action Plan is the vehicle for turning goals into results. It would address race explicitly, but not exclusively, since there are multiple and intersecting inequities and identities. An Action Plan can include both village-wide and department-specific goals specifically focused on racial and social justice. The Action Plan is also a public document and commitment that can be monitored and measured, with built-in mechanisms for public reporting, input, and accountability.
4. RACIAL AND EQUITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TOOL
Implement a Racial Equity Impact Assessment Tool for public decision-making – a shared framework for engaging stakeholders, conducting root cause analysis of key issues, using demographic data to assess impacts, and designing equitable and transformative solutions. City governments make all kinds of decisions by multiple decision-makers for planning, program development, hiring, procurement and contracting, policymaking, budgeting, or service delivery. When decision-makers at every level use a Racial Equity Tool – with common steps and criteria for consciously centering equity and inclusion--better decisions will result. Widespread use of a Racial Equity Tool helps reduce unconscious bias, interrupt dominant patterns of power, and prevent unintended consequences.
5. PARTICIPATORY AND EQUITABLE BUDGETING
Initiate Participatory and Equitable Budgeting with diverse stakeholder input so our budget – including revenues and expenditures – reflects what and who we value. Participatory budgeting makes the budgeting process more democractic and creates a more equitable distribution of public resources. When the government hears new or disenfranchised voices, resident input fills gaps in knowledge and leads to practical, effective, and innova- tive solutions.
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