Sacramento's new Racial Equity committee to publicly launch on Wednesday, Oct. 6

Councilmember Mai Vang will co-chair the new Racial Equity committee

Sacramento (Oct. 1, 2021) Members of the Sacramento City Council’s newly created Racial Equity Ad Hoc Committee will meet for the first time on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. The committee will serve as a public forum to advance the City’s commitment to racial equity in its policies, practices, and spending decisions.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced the creation of the ad hoc committee on Aug. 24. It will be co-chaired by the mayor and Councilmember Mai Vang. Members include Vice Mayor Jay Schenirer and Councilmember Eric Guerra.

At its first meeting, the committee will consider a motion authorizing the City Manager’s Office to use an interim racial equity rapid response tool to guide the City’s spending of the American Rescue Plan dollars it is receiving from the federal government. The City also plans to use the newly developed Sacramento Community Vulnerability Index to show the distribution of ARP resources and how they compare to indicators of need across the city.

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, City staff will present an overview of the City’s ongoing efforts to ensure a more equitable and inclusive City government, which accelerated in 2018 with the creation of the Office of Diversity and Equity headed by Aimee Barnes. Goals include increasing the equity and diversity within the City workforce itself and also fostering inclusivity and equity city-wide.

In 2017, the City Council adopted a policy and resolution to increase and diversify the city’s economic growth in an inclusive and equitable manner. The City has also embarked on a multi-year development of a racial equity resolution and tool to guide City decision making in all areas. The Racial Equity Ad Hoc will serve as a public forum for discussion of that work as it progresses, led by consultant Race Forward and the community at large.