Title
To acknowledge racial inequities in the City of Columbus and declare Columbus City Council’s Commitment to advancing racial equity. Recognizing the systemic racism that adversely impacts the lives of residents of Color, Columbus City Council will continue to implement strategies and provide resources to alleviate racial inequities.
Body
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council defines racial equity as when race no longer statistically dictates, determines, or predicts socio-economic status or ability to thrive; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council acknowledges racial inequities brought on by a legacy of systemic racism, unjust practices, and institutional policies implemented over decades by various federal, state and local government entities, helped create the conditions that exist today; including but not limited to, segregation, redlining, inequitable zoning, mass incarceration, and discriminatory hiring practices; and
WHEREAS, Black, Latinx, and other non-white communities most impacted by racial injustice must be heard and centered in the process of reform and transformation; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council recognizes the need for both short and long-term reforms and remedies based on building racial justice, and that these remedies and reforms must consider the breadth of issues and the interconnected relationships between policy areas, including but not limited to budgetary, procurement, public safety, and personnel decisions; and
WHEREAS, Columbus City Council understands that government is uniquely positioned to address the pervasiveness of systemic racism in our society, and must play a major role in eradicating racial inequity in our society, first by acknowledging systemic inequity, second by confronting the injustice, and third by taking action; and
WHEREAS, equity is a critical factor in individual, family, neighborhood, and community success over a number of metrics - economic, housing, health, education, and access to essential services;...
Click here for full text