A Blueprint for Dismantling Systemic Racism
An initiative of A Better Wake
About The Blueprint
To reimagine systems that create inequitable outcomes for Black and Brown residents, the DEI Alliance and its partners built on the longstanding work in the community to create a Blueprint to dismantle systemic racism in Wake County, North Carolina. The Blueprint is a living document comprising more than 40 goals and 150 near-term action items that organizations can take to address systemic racism. It was created by a group of more than 50 leaders from community-based organizations who met as working groups from June through November 2021. Working groups drafted goals and ideas to transform Wake County into a place where Black and Brown residents experience equity in every aspect of their lives. The work of this group—focused on economic mobility, criminal justice, education, and health equity—is designed to evolve over time through an ongoing and collaborative process. As a result, the Blueprint is the beginning of a long-term effort to create lasting change. Download the report, and more importantly, join us in creating an equitable Wake County!
Photo Credit: Peter Pencil, Getty Images
About The Blueprint
To reimagine systems that create inequitable outcomes for Black and Brown residents, the DEI Alliance and its partners built on the longstanding work in the community to create a Blueprint to dismantle systemic racism in Wake County, North Carolina. The Blueprint is a living document comprising more than 40 goals and 150 near-term action items that organizations can take to address systemic racism. It was created by a group of more than 50 leaders from community-based organizations who met as working groups from June through November 2021. Working groups drafted goals and ideas to transform Wake County into a place where Black and Brown residents experience equity in every aspect of their lives. The work of this group—focused on economic mobility, criminal justice, education, and health equity—is designed to evolve over time through an ongoing and collaborative process. As a result, the Blueprint is the beginning of a long-term effort to create lasting change. Download the report, and more importantly, join us in creating an equitable Wake County!
Photo Credit: Peter Pencil, Getty Images
Criminal Justice
A Wake County where Black and Brown residents do not have disproportionate contact with the criminal justice system, and all its institutions and organizations are coordinated to serve and support citizens equitably.
To achieve this long-term vision, the Criminal Justice working group developed targeted goals at several points on the continuum of the criminal justice system to pursue change that could impact Black and Brown residents from elementary school to adulthood. The long-term, anticipated results of these efforts are a reduced criminal justice presence in Wake County, accurate and accessible data about the criminal justice system, and increased trust between Black and Brown residents and local law enforcement and court representatives.
Education Equity
A Wake County with an equitable education system in which Black and Brown children have unfettered access to the experiences and environments that enable them to become their full and best selves without systemic barriers.
To achieve this long-term vision, the Education Equity Group set goals to comprehensively support Black and Brown students and make schools into safe and supportive learning environments. Examples of goals include strengthening the cultural competency of educators; improving the mental health services for students of color, teachers, and administrators; addressing the current pipeline from disciplinary actions in schools to prison; and increasing the voice and power of families within the school system. The long-term impacts of these goals are increased capacity within school administrators and teachers about youth development and racial equity, a reduction in disciplinary actions, and an elimination of the overrepresentation of Black and Brown students receiving disciplinary actions.
Economic Mobility
A Wake County where Black and Brown residents are free to choose and pursue their desired path of economic mobility and prosperity without hindrance.
To achieve this long-term vision, the Economic Mobility working group developed goals to support each aspect of Black and Brown residents’ path toward greater economic opportunity and stability. The goals range from affordable housing rental and ownership options and workforce skill development and employment, to small business contracting opportunities for business owners of color, and personal financial wellbeing. The intended result is a strengthened economic mobility ecosystem in which residents of color can define and achieve their personal vision of prosperity.
Health Equity
A Wake County with a healthcare system in which Black and Brown residents can attain their highest level of health and well-being.
To achieve this long-term vision, the Health Equity working group developed goals to increase healthcare access for Black and Brown residents, improved data to represent people of color accurately within the broader healthcare system, and strengthen data as a tool for greater accountability about healthcare accessibility in Wake County. The desired result of this work is healthy Black and Brown residents who have access to the healthcare they need to thrive.
Data Dashboard
The data dashboard is a tool to spark dialogue, track progress, and inform course corrections to adjust Blueprint priorities over time. The data dashboard includes metrics that are publicly available and local to Wake County. The data are imperfect, but they serve as proxies to measure progress towards change for Black and Brown residents in Wake County. To improve data tracking for the future, working group members propose aspirational data in the Blueprint document that can be included in future dashboards.
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Connect
The effort to reimagine a Wake County without systemic racism is significant, complicated, and requires a collection of the willing. Please get in touch to find out more, share your ideas, and collaborate with us.
Resources
Check out these additional resources that informed the Blueprint creation and development process.
