Equity: When neither your race nor your zip code can predict your outcomes in life.
Intentional intervention is necessary to disrupt institutional
& structural inequities.
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Since the beginning of U.S. history, laws, policies, and Supreme Court decisions have created uneven access to opportunity by making important decisions along racial lines.
Some of these decisions determined who:
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This video highlights inequities community residents face.
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Segregation in the housing market created an unequal geography of opportunity. People of color were excluded from neighborhoods with access to quality education, safe and affordable housing, employment and more. As a result, opportunity became linked to both race and place. Unfortunately, barriers to opportunity have inter-generational impacts, and both past and present injustices impact every stage of a person's life.
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, explicit racism in policy became illegal. However, laws persisted that appeared racially neutral but had disproportionate effects depending on a person's race. Today, racial bias
is still ingrained in the laws, policies, and procedures that shape our lives.
Racial bias has sustained a system of policies, practices, and procedures that benefit white people more than people of color - this is structural racism. To eliminate structural racism in our community, Washtenaw County government must be proactive about dismantling this inequitable system.
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, explicit racism in policy became illegal. However, laws persisted that appeared racially neutral but had disproportionate effects depending on a person's race. Today, racial bias
is still ingrained in the laws, policies, and procedures that shape our lives.
Racial bias has sustained a system of policies, practices, and procedures that benefit white people more than people of color - this is structural racism. To eliminate structural racism in our community, Washtenaw County government must be proactive about dismantling this inequitable system.
Equity in Washtenaw County
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It is generally good to live in Washtenaw County, where high-level analysis reflects a healthy, wealthy, and thriving populace compared to other counties in the state and nation.
Key prosperity markers are on the rise, including: wealth, median incomes, housing prices, educational attainment, and job growth. However, looking more closely, opportunity indicators are not equitably distributed. While significant portions of the county are thriving, other parts are struggling - specifically communities of color. Fortunately, this geography of opportunity has the possibility to be changed by enhancing opportunities in areas disproportionately impacted by structural racism. |
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