In 2018 COG created the Racial Equity Working Group to spearhead discussions on racial equity work in the region. Building off their work and following the national reckoning on race in the summer of 2020, leaders from across metropolitan Washington joined together to affirm racial equity as a fundamental COG value. As a result, several COG committees and programs have taken steps to address equity issues within their own projects and initiatives. And COG member governments continue to build their human capital, ensuring that staff members are better educated and equipped to advance equity.
The region has also seen a large uptick in equity officers and departments dedicated specifically to advancing equity. Today, there are eight chief equity officer positions in the region.
COG recently formed the Chief Equity Officers Committee (CEOC) to serve as a hub for these leaders to share information and coordinate racial equity initiatives regionally. The committee is comprised of the Chief Equity Officer or equity lead from each member jurisdiction and is chaired by the first equity officer to be hired in metropolitan Washington, Fairfax County Chief Equity Officer Karla Bruce. The committee’s vice chairs are Montgomery County Chief Equity Officer Tiffany Ward and District of Columbia Council Office of Racial Equity Director Brian McClure.
The committee’s focus areas for 2021 include development of regional trainings for local government staff and elected officials, establishing a regional definition of racial equity, enhancing public understanding and involvement on local government racial equity issues, and creating a framework for local governments to institutionalize and implement racial equity work.
"Cross-jurisdictional communication and collaboration will be extremely important as we create a more equitable region,” said Bruce. “As we build a deeper understanding of how inequity drives so many of the challenges facing our region, we will need to learn from and build off each other’s progress.”
The CEOC also plans to launch a second Advancing Racial Equity in Local Government Cohort, continuing COG’s partnership with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). The program brings local leaders together to learn the foundation of racial equity work and develop an action plan to advance more equitable policies and practices. The first cohort, made up of 100 local government staff from 11 jurisdictions, graduated from the yearlong program last summer. The second cohort will provide an opportunity for additional jurisdictions to participate.
The committee will make its first appearance to the COG Board of Directors at the upcoming April meeting. Chair Karla Bruce and Vice Chair Tiffany Ward will brief the board on the committee’s 2021 priorities and upcoming initiatives.
In addition, racial equity has been a principal consideration in several other recent initiatives at COG.
COVID-19 | Ensuring an equitable distribution of the COVID vaccine to disadvantaged populations has been a priority for several of the groups coordinating on the pandemic, including Health Officials, Emergency Managers, and Public Information Officers. Officials have shared various outreach strategies and best practices among their peers and coordinated on messaging and regional ads.
Housing | COG’s Homeless Services Committee is conducting a racial equity and systems analysis of Continuums of Care (CoC) in the region. The collaborative effort will review each of the nine jurisdictions’ CoC operations and provide guidance on how to center racial equity in efforts to end the experience of homelessness. COG is also currently developing a fair housing plan for the region to develop solutions to fight discrimination and ensure everyone has equal access to safe, affordable housing.
Transportation | Recent analyses by the Transportation Planning Board at COG have examined the different ways that racial groups and people with low-incomes are impacted by access to transportation options. And the TPB will be considering equity as a key factor in its update to the Visualize 2045 long-range plan, which recently commenced.
These projects and programs reflect COG’s mission to ensure a more prosperous, accessible, livable, and sustainable future for all area residents to shape and enjoy.