No Time for Excuses: It’s Time for Action Report of the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE) Prepared for the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity by the Center for Governmental Research i Letter of Transmittal March 12, 2021 Mayor Lovely A. Warren County Executive Adam J. Bello City Hall County Office Building 30 Church Street 39 West Main Street Rochester NY 14614 Rochester, NY 14614 Dear Mayor Warren and County Executive Bello, You will find enclosed the final report of the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE). We have completed a thorough analysis of laws, policies, practices and programs that have supported and sustained systemic and institutional racial inequities, and perpetuated systems that consistently exclude or constrain African-Americans, Latinx and other people of color from full and unfettered participation in all aspects of society. We have conducted research into the ways to design and implement more equitable and inclusive systems and approaches, and we have set forth a list of transformative recommendations which can be implemented by your respective governments. While we found hardly any laws in the City and County which created and sustained racist policies, we have found practices and conditions where diversity of race, ethnicity and gender are nearly non-existent; where people of color are unable to fully participate and are implicitly or explicitly excluded from opportunities that could enhance their economic, social and mental health; and where people of color are denied the opportunity to participate in the rule-making and decision-making that shapes our lives, from birth to death. Racism is deeply embedded in the culture and practices of Rochester and Monroe County. This declaration may shock some people, but it affirms what many others have been saying: the entire County of Monroe has a racial problem, one that is not contained within its largest municipality, Rochester. And it is a problem that must be fixed. That is why this report is submitted under the title, NO TIME FOR EXCUSES: IT’S TIME FOR ACTION. Your initial charge to the Commission was to focus our examination on the City and County, and what you and your legislative bodies could accomplish within your respective powers. As the work evolved, it could not be contained within those prescribed confines. We found too many issues that cut across institutional and geographic lines, and affecting many sectors beyond the reach of government. We discovered many points of intersection, and ii the inter-connectivity of these issues clearly require a broader systemic approach to solving these issues. We will stipulate that we have not addressed every racial inequity and instance of racial bias that exists in our community, although we are confident that we have addressed the most blatant. We were given six months to complete our engagement, and we have identified enough problems to engage community resources for the foreseeable future. The work does not end with the submission of this report; it is only just beginning. We urge a careful examination of the nine Working Group reports that make up Part 3 of the report. There are many details in the prioritized findings, as well as a discussion of issues needing more community attention that could not be addressed in this report. We urge you to carefully consider the Recommendations that are found in Part 2 that evolve from the Working Groups. They set forth aggressive and creative remedies to problems previously unacknowledged or ignored. We especially direct your attention to the Implementation Strategies, also discussed in Part 2. These strategies lay out a roadmap of the steps that must be taken, if the words in this report are translated into meaningful action. Several hundred people were engaged in this work during the past six months, including over 160 citizens who volunteered their time to work with one of the nine working groups. These groups have labored scores of hours. Even under the severe coronavirus restrictions imposed on large public gatherings, they found ways to share and discuss their work with citizens who have been adversely impacted by discriminatory systems, other interested citizens, and advocates and practitioners in the field. The feedback from these meetings has been most helpful in the development of our findings and recommendations. The efforts of all who worked on this project must be commended: the twenty-one (21) Commissioners who excellently facilitated the work of the nine Working Groups, which added many hours to their already busy work schedules; the City and County staff who so brilliantly supported this work while doing their regular jobs; the six (6) Interns from area colleges who contributed greatly to our efforts while balancing their school work; the excellent work of our consultant who answered every inquiry and compiled the input from every source to write this incisive report; and the large number of volunteers who participated for numerous hours. All are listed by name in the Acknowledgments section. All of this human energy and ingenuity would be rendered null and void, if this report suffered the fate of so many preceding Commissions and Task Forces, disregarded and forgotten. We are determined that this Commission’s work will not be ignored. The Implementation Strategy is an integral part of this work, and it will be the roadmap to the future, which begins now. Two commissioners have dissented from this report, citing recommendations that did not come through the Working Group process. We have included their statement of dissent in Part 2 of this report. iii We are most appreciative for the opportunity to chair this important work, and we look forward to discussing these findings and follow-up strategies with you in person, in the company of the full commission; and to work with you as you consider the next steps on our journey toward a more just and inclusive, and less racist, community. Sincerely, William A Johnson, Jr. Muhammed Shafiq William A Johnson, Jr. Arline Bayó Santiago Muhammed Shafiq, Ph.D. Co-Chair Co-Chair Co-Chair iv Executive Summary ochester is a city with a unique and roles in local governance and law conflicting history. We are proud of enforcement, and 13 of whom were selected R our rich racial and social justice through a community-led process described legacy as the home of Frederick Douglass, in the body of this report. The Commission’s Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony. Yet work was carried out through nine Working today, half of Black children in the Monroe Groups, each facilitated by two to three County live in poverty, compared to 12% of Commissioners, and complemented by White children. The homeownership rate citizens who volunteered to serve. The focus among White residents of our County is 71% areas for Working Groups represent the and less than half that for Black and Latinx broad spectrum residents. And, most recently, Rochester has • • • been the focus of national attention as the community responded to the death of a Making our community mentally distressed Black man after being restrained by police. Making our community more equitable and just, more equitable and just for all of its residents for all of its residents, has been the focus of the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE). has been the focus of the Commission on Racial The Commission was created on June 18, 2020 by Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and Structural Equity and Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, (RASE). with a charge to: of sectors and areas where racial 1. Inventory and assess current local laws discrimination has produced inequity: and policies that either promote or are Business Development, Criminal Justice, intended to eliminate institutional and Education, Healthcare, Human Services, structural biases, racism and inequities in Housing, Job Creation, Mental Health and the City of Rochester and Monroe County. Addiction Services, and Policing. 2. Provide recommendations to enhance Working Groups engaged in a six-month current local laws/policies to increase process of working to uncover and prioritize effectiveness, and/or “sunset” local key issues of racial and structural inequity in laws/policies that are ineffective or no Monroe County. Working Groups analyzed longer applicable. local laws and policies, collected and analyzed data and engaged the community 3. Provide recommendations on any new to understand how structural racism local laws/policies to address identified operates and how it can be dismantled. gaps. Hearing directly from the affected The Commission was organized with three communities was a top priority of the co-chairs and 21 members, eight of whom Commission. Community engagement was were pre-designated by the Mayor and the conducted via virtual town hall meetings, County Executive because of leadership surveys and interviews of community ii members impacted by the focus areas, as Structures and personnel lack well as tours of affected neighborhoods to cultural/linguistic competencies speak with residents and business owners. critical for effective engagement. Sessions were mostly held virtually because Cultural competence exists when of the COVID-19 pandemic using a variety individuals and organizations are able to of platforms, and some were streamed live effectively interact with diverse populations on Facebook. But in addition to those, one since they possess information about group conducted a bus tour to gather different cultural value systems, beliefs and perspectives from small business owners, knowledge.1 Similarly, linguistic while another held discussions with competence exists when community incarcerated youth, high school students members are able to access interpreters, and formerly incarcerated men. In all, translation services and materials in their hundreds of community residents native language.2 Systems ranging from connected with the Commission and courts to 911 to health providers to schools to offered input into this report.