New York City Releases 1st Ever Racial Equity Plan

When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion, It’s easy to be discouraged with all the fuckery happening at the federal level in the dismantling of DEI policies — in education, the military, in government — you name it. Just this week, the Trump administration apparently made it a federal crime (well, your school can lose its tax-exempt status) if you’re Black and get a scholarship. 

However, in cities across the country — and states where the cost of living has skyrocketed — the Democratic Socialists are speaking a language that many are listening to — much to the chagrin of the clueless, paid-for, neoliberal Democratic Party leadership — yea, we looking at you, Hak. 

But back to the Democratic Socialists. One of the most prominent, the current Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, recently released New York City’s first-ever Racial Equity Plan that outlines eight wide-ranging goals across 45 city agencies.

On September 1, Mayor Mamdani’s Chief Equity Officer, Afua Atta-Mensah, a former Urban Justice Center organizer, noted that the 400-page-report is just the beginning. The next part is implementation—a multi-year plan to close stark racial disparities in everything from education to maternal mortality in the five boroughs of New York City. 

The Amsterdam News reports that the release follows a court ruling against the city for delaying the inaugural report, which advocates expected a year and a half ago.

The eight broad racial equity goals range from health and transportation to education and justice system contact. The plan also includes increasing internet access, improving workforce development, and reducing housing disparities.

The report, or “plan,” as preferred by the Mamdani administration, sets out 200 agency-specific goals and outcomes, and 600 indicators for measuring progress over the upcoming years, reports Gothamist. The Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice is expected to report back in two years with a progress report on each of the eight citywide goals outlined in the plan. 

“New Yorkers told us what mattered to them, and this plan is built around those demands,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement with the plan’s release. “For too long, the government has been willing to acknowledge inequality without setting goals for ending it. This plan changes that.”

Mamdani continued: “These commitments are specific, measurable, and public, and New Yorkers should hold us accountable for delivering on them. Whether it means narrowing disparities in unemployment, reducing Black maternal mortality or making sure every child has access to a great public education, this is what it looks like to govern with equity in mind.”

SEE ALSO:

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