FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday March 9, 2021
Media Contact
Lenée Richards
(213) 709-9334
lrichards@bos.lacounty.gov
LA County’s Groundbreaking Anti-Racism Initiative Moves Forward
Supervisor Mitchell lauds progress and notes ambitious work ahead
The newly-formed Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative has launched its critical work in developing foundational strategies and solutions to create a more equitable and just Los Angeles County.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who called for a public briefing on the Initiative’s progress during today’s Board of Supervisors meeting, underscored the urgent need for a sustained focus on addressing systemic racism and pervasive inequities.
“Los Angeles County is committed to being a national leader in tackling systematic racism. This starts with changing policies and practices in concrete ways that will improve the lives of our residents, and—as one of the region’s largest employers—of our workforce as well,” Supervisor Mitchell said. “We are making critical progress as the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative moves forward with its groundbreaking work. Clearly, there is a long road ahead, but we are beginning to build a framework and foundation to make L.A. County a more equitable and inclusive place to live, work and enjoy.”
The Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative’s work to date includes the following:
Appointment of Los Angeles County’s first Executive Director of Racial Equity, D’Artagnan Scorza, Ph.D. (Read his statement here.)
Expanded collaboration with key stakeholders—including the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the County’s Homeless Initiative and others—to implement a unified strategy that addresses the racial disparities of Black people experiencing homelessness. Research shows that Black residents experience homelessness at a much higher rate than others.
Foundational work toward developing a strategic plan that will provide in-depth guidance to move the County and its departments toward more equitable, inclusive and just policies, processes and practices. Once that plan is created, the Initiative will develop a policy framework which the County’s 88 cities and 80 school districts can adopt to advance equity in their jurisdictions.
In partnership with the County’s Department of Human Resources, assessing Los Angeles County’s policies, processes and practices to ensure the County is a model employer when it comes to equity and diversity.
Creating a framework to establish a proposed Academic Research Consortium consisting of academic partners and subject matter experts to advise and collaborate with the Initiative on several aspects of its strategic direction as well as evaluate data, national best practices, and funding opportunities to more broadly support the County’s work and the Board of Supervisors’ priorities.
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