Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)

Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)

• Joint project of the new Race Forward and the Othering and Belonging Institute formerly known as the Haas Institute for a Fair & Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley. It is a national network of government agencies focused on achieving racial equity.
• Equality (sameness) vs Equity (Justice). Equality provides the same resources and opportunities to all, whereas equity recognizes there are institutional and structural barriers and provides everyone with what they need to thrive. 

GARE defines racial equity to mean that “we eliminate racial disproportionalities so that race can no longer be used to predict success, and we increase the success of all communities.” 

GARE's focus is on normalizing conversations about race, operationalizing new policies, practices and organizational cultures, and organizing to achieve racial equity. 

Racial Equity for Richmond 

While Richmond believes that all people are created equal and racial makeup should not decide outcomes, we live in a society where race continues to determine life outcomes. The racial disparities that currently exist across all indicators of success arose due to both explicit and implicit racial discrimination on an institutional and structural level. In January 2016, Richmond joined the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Cohort. GARE provides a pathway for jurisdictions to begin racial equity work and Richmond is excited to partner with other jurisdictions in the Northern California cohort, including Contra Costa County, Berkeley, Marin, San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda County, the Public Utilities Commission and more. Government in general has the potential to leverage significant change in this area. Richmond envisions a city where life expectancies are not years lower than those of surrounding cities, where there is equitable access to resources, and where we, together, can achieve justice.

Richmond Racial Equity Statement

In an effort to improve quality of life and provide fair outcomes for all Richmond residents regardless of race, the City must hold itself accountable to acknowledge and correct disparities caused by a history of inequitable policy decisions. The goal is to integrate a racial equity lens into all city services to foster a healthy and inclusive community for all. 

City of Richmond Racial Equity Resolution

The City Council adopted Resolution 93-18 at the regular meeting of December 4, 2018 in support of systematically applying a racial equity lens in decision-making.

Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership

On October 1, 2020, Healthy Richmond and the City of Richmond Race and Equity team hosted over 60 members of various community based organizations, city government entities, school district leadership, and parent/resident leaders for a half-day online workshop focused on centering resident voice and community leadership for racial equity in the city of Richmond, California. Review the report here...

• Community Engagement Learning Pathway (PDF)
• Contract & Procurement Learning Pathway (PDF)
• Data Learning Pathway 3 (PDF)
• GARE Self-Guided New Member Orientation- Spanish Notes (PDF)
• Training Learning Pathway (PDF)

Additional information about Richmond's race and equity efforts is available via the Richmond GARE brochure and the Race and Equity Team's page on Transparent Richmond. 

There are four visions with actionable goals that guide the process of achieving racial equity in the City of Richmond. Click on the Vision tabs below to review the prioritized actionable goals that were identified by members of the community during community forums.

Questions? Phone 510-620-6581 or send an email to RichmondGARE@ci.richmond.ca.us