Race & Equity Initiative Final Report & Recommendations Version 2.0 Finalized June 26, 2018
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Race & Equity Initiative Final Report & Recommendations Version 2.0 Finalized June 26, 2018 City of Edina 4801 West 50th Street Edina, MN 55424 PREPARED BY Edina Race & Equity Task Force James Pierce, Co-Chair Jessica Kingston, Co-Chair Chris Smith Leonel Dorvil Ramla Hasanali Michelle Meek Katherine Bass Thuy Anh Fox City Staff MJ Lamon, Race & Equity Staff Liaison Consultant Citizens League 2 Table of Contents Report Forward ............................................................................................................................................. 4 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Five Themes .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Implementation Recommendation ........................................................................................................... 6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 8 The City of Edina Overview ....................................................................................................................... 8 Experiences ............................................................................................................................................. 12 Race and Equity Task Force ..................................................................................................................... 15 Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) .................................................................................. 18 The Approach .............................................................................................................................................. 19 The Orange Method ................................................................................................................................ 19 Research Methodologies ........................................................................................................................ 20 Timeline of Community Input & Data ..................................................................................................... 20 Summary Findings ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Overview of Community Data Collection ................................................................................................ 23 Demographic Information Collected ...................................................................................................... 23 Community Findings ................................................................................................................................... 25 Experiences, Observations, and Awareness of Race-Based Discrimination ........................................... 25 Summary of Community Reactions/Responses to Race-Based Discrimination...................................... 30 Where Do Community Members Feel and Not Feel a Sense of Belonging in Edina? ............................. 33 City Government Findings and Recommendations .................................................................................... 37 Recommendations Summary .................................................................................................................. 37 Twenty-One Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 37 Next Steps & Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 45 After the Final Report ............................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 46 3 Report Forward The following report contains more than 200 anonymous comments provided by community members who shared their experiences in Edina through a survey. The survey did not ask for any identifying information such as people’s names or dates and therefore likely includes recent experiences as well as incidents that occurred years or decades ago. The report also contains experiences captured through phone interviews, large community dialogue sessions and small gatherings hosted in people’s homes. In order to get the most feedback possible, confidentiality and/or anonymity was at the heart of the feedback tools used in the Race & Equity Task Force’s process. Living through the experiences shared in this report may feel frightening, isolating and traumatizing. Talking about them can stir up those same feelings again. Hearing about them may feel very uncomfortable and unsettling. And, yet, they must be considered in order to attend to the impacts on our community members and ensure that the circumstances and conditions under which they occurred are changed forever. The Task Force’s intent was not to gather information for individual response, and therefore the incidents reported have not been investigated. Acquiring confidential feedback was important because it helped the Task Force and working groups develop more specific recommendations. Regardless of any specific situation, the survey comments show that there are people in Edina who do not feel welcome because of their race. Further, because of the distress caused by incidents like the ones included in the report, it may be assumed that there are experiences yet unshared and invisible to the task force and the broader community. We are all accountable for creating a community where every person can contribute, thrive and enjoy the benefits of all our city has to offer. 4 Executive Summary Change happens when people recognize (i) why change is needed; (ii) understand that the proposed solutions are attainable; and (iii) have a shared vision of the challenges and opportunities in making lasting change. In 2016, Edina’s city council recognized long term racial inequities have manifested in our community for decades. These inequities have prevented Edina from realizing its vision and values for all community members. Change was needed in the city’s policies and procedures with respect to the operation of its facilities, institutions and services. The city wanted to take a proactive approach to identify, repair and prevent future disparate outcomes in our community. Thirty community members were appointed to serve on the Race and Equity Task Force and Working Groups to assess each of these areas and develop recommendations to address issues of race and inequity within the City. Over the past 18 months, we have worked to assess the City’s facilities, institutions and services. To assist in the framing content, we have categorized the recommendations into five themes; (i) Accountability; (ii) Building Relationships with Communities of Color; (iii) Gather Data; (iv) Belonging (community feeling); and (v) Policies. Each theme has a summary and is accompanied by a unique identifier of each specific recommendation. We have included each original recommendation submitted by the working groups and any data sources we felt were pertinent to understanding the original intent expressed within each recommendation. Five Themes Accountability We believe success requires a high degree of commitment and accountability from both City Council and City Staff. The recommendations which are associated with the accountability theme are generally related to ensuring we have the adequate resources to maintain the level of commitment we believe is required to achieve the desired outcomes. Associated Recommendations: TF-1, I-4, F-3, I-8, I-11, S-3, S-4 Building Relationships with Communities of Color The recommendations associated with this theme represent the most frequently mentioned pain points across all data sources. These tend to pertain to the most public-facing city functions. Associated Recommendations: I-5, I-6, S-8, S-2, F-2 Gather Data Many recommendations include a theme of 1) collecting new or different data and/or 2) analyzing and reporting on existing data in a way that helps us understand the difference in experiences of residents of color. Understanding those differences is critical first step to addressing them. Associated Recommendations: I-3, S-1, I-8, I-7, I-9, I-10, S-5, I-1, I-2, S-6, S-9, S-10, S-7, S-11 5 Belonging (community feeling) Again and again, community members talked about not feeling welcome or a sense of belonging in the City. Recommendations associated with this theme address this feeling by taking concrete steps to address – for example - inclusion in city staffing, communications and appointments. Associated Recommendations: TF-2, I-4, F-3, S-1, I-6, S-8, F-1, F-2, S-11 Policies Task Force and Working Group members understood that the City’s efforts have to focus on policy and institutional strategies that create and maintain inequities. This includes outward, public facing city business as well as the many invisible, behind the scenes ways that we conduct day-to-day work. Associated Recommendations: