Across Ohio, members of our communities have been speaking out and organizing, raising their voices and raising awareness of long-existing challenges in order to achieve social justice and improve conditions in minority communities. Large urban cities and small rural villages alike have been experiencing peaceful protests, while some communities have suffered the destruction of both public and private property. Ohio's municipal leaders are being called upon to examine issues in their communities related to not only racial equity, but current procedures or practices that may challenge the ability of every person to feel included and heard. The League will be working hard to ensure our municipal leaders have the tools they need to respond to racial tension and promote healing in their communities.
Through these efforts, the League needs your input. We are asking our members to fill out this very brief survey HERE about how your community responds to, or is responding to, social justice issues, resources that have been dedicated to any response efforts and next steps that are being taken to address the issues that have been raised.
Additionally, the National League of Cities (NLC) continues its leadership role in providing resources to municipal officials across the country on identifying issues of race equity and the past, present and future challenges of race disparities in our communities. The Race, Equity and Leadership (REAL) initiative, created several years ago by NLC, is an important resource to help strengthen municipal leaders' knowledge and capacity to eliminate racial disparities, heal racial divisions and build more equitable communities. As our members will remember from the presentation by Mr. Leon Andrews at our annual conference last year, the REAL initiative provides Ohio's municipal leaders with the resources they need for this critical time in our nation's history.
Below are just a few resources NLC and the REAL initiative is providing for our members as guides for addressing issues related to social injustice:
- Municipal Action Guide. NLC interviewed several current and former municipal leaders who have been through similar moments of crisis with racial tension. This document provides important contextual and tactical information to support a municipality's efforts to respond effectively. (HERE)
- Advancing Racial Equity in Your City. This report provides six steps to help municipal leaders start improving outcomes for all residents. (HERE)
- REAL City Profiles. These profiles can help city leaders who are looking for cities they can model their programs after. (HERE)
In partnership with the NLC and others, the League will be providing more resources on how communities can work on issues related to race equity and social injustice.
