Initiative improves access, policies and practices;
Envisions city without racial disparities

"It is time for all of us to have an honest conversation about race. The Race and Social Justice Initiative is not a project; it is an ongoing commitment to a new way of doing business. " -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels Resources: RSJI Overview - PDF RSJI 2008 Report: Looking Back, Moving Forward - PDF

When Greg Nickels campaigned for Mayor of Seattle in the summer of 2001, he asked thousands of Seattle residents for their perceptions about city services and government. The range of their responses surprised him. Some Seattle residents felt that the City served their interests well, while others saw the City as a remote institution that served their interests poorly, if at all.

There were a number of explanations for the chasm that seemed to divide people, but to future Mayor Nickels the single overriding factor was race. After Mayor Nickels took office, he directed his staff to address his concerns Citywide, and to collaborate across City departments to develop the Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI).

  A commitment to meaningful change

The Race and Social Justice Initiative builds on the work of the civil rights movement and the ongoing efforts of individuals and groups in Seattle to confront racism. RSJI is committed to meaningful change.  The mission of the initiative is to end institutionalized racism in City government and to promote multiculturalism and full participation by all residents. The Initiative’s long-term goal is to change the underlying system that creates race-based disparities in our community and to achieve racial equity.

When it comes to race, Seattle is no different than any other city in the United States.  Race influences where we live, where we work, how well we do in school, how long we will live, and the likelihood of our involvement in the criminal justice system. To this day, people of color experience discrimination in employment, housing, education and public places. Significant race-based disparities exist in economic equity, environmental justice, criminal justice, health and education.

The RSJ Initiative has focused on the City’s own programs and services as a necessary first step before engaging the community more broadly. There are no quick fixes. Institutionalized racism has been built into our systems for hundreds of years; it cannot be eliminated overnight. But by changing our institutions, we will achieve greater equity.

  Accomplishments so far

Since 2005, the Mayor has required City departments to implement RSJI work plans. Key elements of the plans also are part of department directors’ annual Accountability Agreements with the Mayor. City departments work together on common areas, including:

• Workforce equity (fair hiring and promotion).
• Contracting equity.
• Improved immigrant and refugee access to services.
• Inclusive outreach and public engagement.
• Capacity building (training and education for City employees).

Under RSJI, the City has implemented significant changes to its business operations, resulting in greater equity for City residents – for example:

• Translation and Interpretation Policy: Mayor Nickels created a comprehensive Translation and Interpretation Policy requiring departments to translate key service documents and to provide interpreters to allow customers with limited English skills to better access City services.
• Outreach and Public Engagement Policy: Mayor Nickels issued an Executive Order in March 2008 outlining new outreach and public engagement policies, and instructing departments to coordinate and implement inclusive public engagement processes and strategies.
• Budget and Policy Analysis: the Mayor’s Office introduced an RSJI policy and budget analysis and toolkit for all departments to use when drafting budget and policy proposals for Mayoral consideration. The analysis and toolkit requires departments to consider the racial impacts of budget and policy proposals.
• Workplace Equity: Overall, the City's racial diversity exceeds the diversity of Seattle's working age population and the City is developing policies to increase upward mobility and professional development opportunities for employees.
• Contracting equity: To increase opportunities for businesses owned by women and people of color to compete, the City has taken simple steps such as dividing larger bid requests into smaller contracts, making the contracts more accessible.
• Department of Neighborhoods: Neighborhoods created a new Race and Social Justice category as part of its Neighborhood Matching Grant program to support actions in the community geared towards achieving racial equity.
• Human Services Department: HSD revised its funding process for non-profit community agencies to make it more accessible for smaller organizations, including agencies that serve communities with limited English skills.
• Seattle Public Utilities: SPU created a new Environmental Justice and Service Equity division to ensure that all Utility customers receive equitable services, as well as have access to SPU decision-making processes.
• Office of Housing and Human Services Department: As the lead departments in the City’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness, these two departments crafted a fundamental shift in the City’s housing and shelter policies to acknowledge racial disproportionality in homelessness, and to focus efforts on people with the greatest housing needs.

  Looking to the future

The next phase of the RSJ Initiative will focus on three goals. First, the Initiative will continue to address racial disparities internally within City government as an organization. Second, we will strengthen the way City government engages the community and provides services. Finally, we will begin to address race-based disparities in our community in areas such as economic equity, environmental justice, criminal justice, health and education.

Many institutions and organizations – private and public, large and small – can play important roles to eliminate racial disparities. The City will work externally with community members, organizations, businesses, and public and private institutions to develop a shared vision and a collaborative action plan to achieve greater racial equity.

The City’s Race and Social Justice Initiative is coordinated by the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR). For more information, please contact RSJI Manager Glenn Harris at (206) 233-5199.