Dear Neighbor,

As many of you know, I have spent my time down at the Wilson Building trying to advance racial equity in the District of Columbia. More recently, in fall 2017, I introduced the Sense of the Council on Establishing Race, Equity, and Social Justice Resolution of 2017. My work continued through 2018 when I convened a Racial Equity Working Group, held racial equity trainings for Councilmembers and staff, and successfully led the effort to have the Council of the District of Columbia join the Government Alliance on Racial Equity — a national network of leaders working to achieve racial equity within and through government.

Building on that foundation, I am excited to invite you to a symposium I am hosting next week entitled, Race & Policy: Advancing Racial Equity and Economic Inclusion in the District of Columbia. We will have panels featuring academic, government, and advocacy leaders addressing major policy areas to create a path toward true racial equity in the District of Columbia.

The data illustrates the inequities in the District. I could list a dozen jaw-dropping statistics in education, employment, and public safety but I'll share just one. A 2016 Urban Institute study found that white households in D.C. have a net worth 81 times greater than Black households. That is the product of generations of racism and discriminatory policies, and I am committed to dismantling the systems that created and perpetuate these inequities.

In Service,

Kenyan

On Tuesday, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie introduced the Racial Equity Achieves Results Act of 2019 [B23-0038]. The legislation operationalizes racial equity in the District by requiring the Office of Budget and Planning to design and implement a racial equity tool, beginning in fiscal year 2020. Further, it requires the Mayor to include racial equity-related performance measures in the development of an agency’s annual performance plans and to require the Mayor to include an evaluation of the use of the racial equity tool in the annual performance accountability reports. Finally, it requires the development of a racial equity training for all District employees.

“Decades of structural and institutional racism in the District, and to be sure, in America, has created widespread racial inequities, which are pervasive and exist across all indicators for success, including in education, criminal justice, employment, housing, transportation, health, and in business,” Councilmember McDuffie said, “Only by building systems that are intentional in their design to account for implicit bias and systemic inequities, will every District resident truly have the same opportunities to prosper in our society.”

In response to residents concerns about rising D.C. Water bills, mostly attributable to the increasing Clean Rivers Impervious Area Charge (CRIAC), Councilmember McDuffie and his colleagues on the Council established a relief fund for qualified residents and non-profits. The program is now accepting applications. Consult the chart below to see if you qualify.