Government’s Role on Achieving Race Equity

Race, Poverty and Policy: Creating an Equitable Michigan

Michigan League for Public Policy Public Policy Forum

Jorge Zeballos Executive Director Center for Diversity and Innovation Kellogg Community College

Al Vanderberg Ottawa County Administrator

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes Community Relations Director Michigan Department of Civil Rights

Erika Geiss State Representative, 12th District Michigan House of Representatives

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

Jorge Zeballos

Executive Director

Center for Diversity and Innovation, Kellogg Community College

1600’s 2016

RE C

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1863-

1877

SLAVERY

CIVIL

RIGHTS

ACT

1964

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CROW

CULTURE

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• HOMESTEAD ACT 1862 • NATURALIZATION ACT 1790, INDIAN REMOVAL ACT 1830

• WAGNER ACT 1935

• GI BILL 1944 • $120 BILLION, LESS THAN 2% RECEIVED BY PEOPLE OF COLOR

• WAR ON DRUGS 1980’S • CRACK VS POWDER COCAINE SENTENCING

• EXPLOSION OF INCARCERATION RATES FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR

WHAT IS RACIAL EQUITY?

Racial equity is the condition that would be achieved if one's racial identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares.

When we use the term, we are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also include work to address root causes of inequities not just their manifestation.

This includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them.

CENTER FOR ASSESSMENT AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

KNOWLEDGE

APPLICATION

INTEGRATION

CHANGE MODEL

Alan G. Vanderberg,

Ottawa County Administrator

Very Conservative/Republican

1864 Presidential Election

Giving

Ottawa County was ranked as the most generous

county in Michigan and Kent County ranked 3rd

according to a study on charitable giving by The

Chronicle of Philanthropy. According to the study,

the typical American donates 4.5% of discretionary

income to charity, while people in Ottawa County

give away 9.1% and people in Kent County give away

7.5%. Ottawa County ranked 381 out of more than

3,100 counties nationwide. (Source: mlive article,

August 2012)

Ottawa County Facts

565 square miles

Michigan’s 8th(out of 83 counties) largest county by

population: 276,292

17 townships, 6 cities, 1 village

795 full-time employees, 1,167 total

32 offices, departments, agencies, courts

Triple A Credit Ratings from two rating agencies

Highest migrant worker population in Michigan

Why Government The Stereo Model

Input, Output, Feedback

Input

Output

Feedback

The Transformative Nature of Government

Slavery

Women’s Suffrage

Prohibition

Civil Rights

18 year old right to vote

How Major Issues Get Resolved…Over Time

1956 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education

1957 Civil Rights Act

1964 Civil Rights Act

1965 Voting Rights Act

1968 Civil Rights Act

The Continuous Loop

Ottawa County Leads Moving Ottawa County to the next

level…

“The Four C’s”

Customer Service

Culture

Creativity

Communication

The Disney Way

THE HARDEST PART IS GETTING STARTED

Vision Statement of Inclusion The people of West Michigan will work

together to foster mutual respect,

understanding, and trust in order to achieve

an environment where diversity is valued;

positions of influence are shared; justice

prevails; and economic, educational and civic

opportunities are accessible to all.

In 2003, Al Vandenberg became the new Ottawa County Administrator and joins the LEDA CEO Advisory Council.

CEO Advisory Council

James W.F. Brooks, Council Chair

Managing Partner, Brooks Capital

Management

Franco Bianchi

President/CEO, Haworth, Inc.

Jud Bradford

Chairman, Bradford Paper Company

Leslie Brown

Chairman, Metal Flow Corp.

Tony Castillo

Owner, Milagro Six, Inc

Noel Cuellar

CEO, Primera Plastics

Becca Dernberger

Vice President, Manpower

William Fettis

Partner, Investment Property Associates

Mike Goorhouse

President/CEO, Community Foundation of

the Holland/Zeeland Area

Thomas Haas, Ph.D

President, Grand Valley State University

Scott Huizenga

Partner, Varnum Law

Nelson Jacobson

President/CEO, JSJ Corporation

Dorothy A. Johnson

President Emeritus, Council of Michigan

Foundations

Holly Johnson

President, Grand Haven Area Community

Foundation

John C. Knapp, Ph.D

President, Hope College

Rodney Martin

Diversity Partner, Warner, Norcross & Judd

Dale Nesbary, Ph.D

President, Muskegon Community College

Mat Nguyen

President, Worksighted

Jeffrey Padnos

President, Louis Padnos Iron & Metal

Richard J. Pappas, Ed.D

President, Davenport University

Dale Sowders

President/CEO, Holland Hospital

Robert Vande Vusse

Mayor, City of Holland

Alan G. Vanderberg

County Administrator, Ottawa County

Brian Walker

President/CEO, Herman Miller

Talent Challenges – Top Employers

Difficult Recruiting for some classifications

Larger problem is retaining those who are recruited

and relocate to Ottawa County/West Michigan

Many times those who are different than the cultural

norm do not feel welcome and leave after a short

period of time.

FUTURE MANDATE

The ability to attract global TALENT (while still

developing local talent) is the future lifeblood for our

major private sector employers.

The inability to attract this talent could cause major

divisions or even entire operations to relocate to

places like Chicago, Atlanta, etc. where diverse talent

attraction is a given.

Ottawa County needs to work to ensure the future

prosperity of the County.

FUTURE PROSPERITY AND NOT BLAME & SHAME

Chosen Focus

OTTAWA COUNTY - LEDA

OTTAWA CO. – LEDA PARTNERSHIP

LEDA is the premier diversity & inclusion

organization in West Michigan

We had partnered in the past, i.e. Spanish language

classes

Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion

Cultural Intelligence (Racial Equity) Training for 900

Employees (nearly 600 completed)

Organizational Review – Unintentional Bias

Ottawa County capacity building

Ottawa County

Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion

Cultural Intelligence (Racial Equity) Training

Class Description

As the racial demographics of our country change,

how do we ensure that people from all cultural

backgrounds have a fair opportunity to participate

fully in the life of the community? Participants in this

session will gain an understanding of the racial

equity framework, explore barriers to inclusion that

are specific to their professional sector, and gain

knowledge and tools to create change.

© 2014 Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance. Not for reproduction without permission.

Cultural Intelligence in Ottawa County

• The Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance began training Ottawa County employees in October, 2013.

• Hundreds of employees, including law enforcement officers and judges, have received training.

Cultural Intelligence in Ottawa County 8-hour workshops provide ample opportunities for reflection, small and large group interaction and the exploration of strategies to create change.

internalized

Adapted from: Copyright 2000, Racial Justice Leadership, by Terry Keleher, Applied Research Center

interpersonal institutional

structural

Scope of Training – What Shapes a System with Advantages and Disadvantages

Source: Color Blind or Just Plain Blind? By John Dovidio

Internalized

Dimension of Racism

Personal beliefs and biases about race that reside inside our minds

Unconscious racial biases Unconscious racialized behavior

Hardwired to form bias

Racialized society

Mindless cognitive scripts impact

behavior

Interpersonal Dimension of Racism

Racial biases that influence

our behaviors and interactions with other people

90% say they are not racist

disparities persist in

spite of the stated

change in attitudes

Source: John F. Dovidio Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance Summit on Racial Healing 2003. Implicit Bias Still Persists, Yale Daily News, 2009.

Source: Color Blind or Just Plain Blind? by John Dovidio

institutional

racism how policies and practices of institutions routinely produce racially inequitable outcomes

Source: Terry Keleher, Applied Research Center

“In institutions, the bias of individuals is routinely replicated through collective decisions and actions.

It becomes compounded

unless it’s consciously counteracted.”

structural racism how history, public policies, institutional practices, and cultural representations interact to maintain racially inequitable outcomes

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Education

Jobs

Housing

Environment

Legal

Health

Culture

Values History Immigration Media

YOU ARE HERE

Ottawa County’s Next Steps Toward Inclusion

In 2016, the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance and

Ottawa County partnered to begin an organizational

system review of HR’s policies to address factors

conducive to:

Creating a culture of inclusion

Recruiting and hiring

Growing and advancing talent

Measuring, monitoring and evaluating progress

Ottawa County’s Next Steps Toward Inclusion

Creating a culture of inclusion

Organizational structural design: leadership endorses inclusion

Recruiting and hiring

Avenues utilize to advance talent: interviewers and cultural training

Growing and advancing talent

Strategies set in place: revising criteria for promotion

Measuring, monitoring and evaluating progress

Systems in place to understand progress

Organizational System Review – Goals

Customized report of findings through surveys and

interviews.

Identifying existing inclusive practices.

Recognize potential barriers and/or challenges.

Suggest strategies conducive to meeting desired

goals.

Eliminating Unintentional Bias

Review of policies, procedures and practices,

beginning with the County HR Department

Goal is completion of this review for all 33

departments, offices, courts and agencies that make

up Ottawa County.

Evaluation of County Services

Who is not receiving participating in services fully

and why?

Parks

Health

All Services

TRANSFORMING WHITE PRIVILEGE, A 21ST CENTURY

LEADERSHIP CAPACITY

A Joint Project of The Center for Assessment and

Policy Development (CAPD), MP Associates and

World Trust Educational Services, funded by The W.K.

Kellogg Foundation.

County Administration, Human Resources and

Sheriff’s Office leadership participated in one of two

pilots for this exciting new training resource.

GARE Government Alliance on Race & Equity

Hass Institute – UC Berkley

Ottawa first government in Michigan to join of first

15 nationwide

Working on partnerships with other governments to

achieve racial inclusion and equity

ALPACT Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust

Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office

Holland Police Department

Civil rights/responsibilities organizations

Minority community

ALPACT

Meets regularly to examine issues impacting police

and community relations

Builds positive relationships before incidents occur

Alan G. Vanderberg

Ottawa County Administrator 616-738-4068

avanderberg@miottawa.org

“Government’s Role Towards Achieving Racial Equity”

MLPP - October 2016

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes

Objectives

• Overview of Michigan Civil Rights Commission (MCRC)

• Quick overview of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) & Community Outreach/Public Affairs

• MDCR’s introduction and use of racial equity tools

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Michigan Civil Rights Commission

• The eight member Commission - the 1963 state constitution.

• The Commission focus on investigating discrimination based “on religion, race, color. . .” secures equal protections of civil rights.

• Role of MDCR as operational arm of MCRC.

• The members of the Civil Rights Commission are appointed by the Governor with advise and consent of the Senate.

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MDCR Programs and Services

• Enforcement & Investigation (largest component)

• Community Outreach/Public Affairs

Community Relations

Oversee Mandated Initiatives

Business Affairs

Media & Communications

• Policy & Legal Affairs

What We Do – Community Outreach/Public Affairs I. Community Liaison Activities

II. Department Initiatives & Special Assignments

III. Training & Educational Outreach

Liaisons I. Community Liaison Activities

African American

Arab American

Migrant Farmworker, Latino & Immigrant Communities

Native American

LGBTQ

Initiatives

II. Department Initiatives

Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust - ALPACT

West MI Leadership Collaborative & SE MI Disparities Report

Migrant Farmworker Civil Rights Initiative

Initiatives MI Indian Tuition Waiver (MITW)

MI Alliance Against Hate Crimes (MIAAHC)

Education Initiatives

• Teaching the Movement Curriculum Project (MDE)

• Youth Civil Rights Academy

• School Crisis Issues

• Relentless Tour (Anthony Ianni)

Initiatives

Emerging Areas

1. Environmental Justice

2. LGBTQ

3. Disability

Training

Training & Educational Outreach

Emerging Racial Equity Focus

MDCR’s 2016 exploration of Racial Equity systems work:

• Participation in Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) Chicago Midwest Convening (April 2016)

• Participation in Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) Summit on Race & Inclusion in Holland, MI (May 2016)

• Shadowing of GARE Racial Equity Training of Ottawa County staff (May 2016)

• GARE Membership processed for MDCR (September 2016)

• Participation in Membership Calls & Midwest Conference Calls (October 2016)

Emerging Racial Equity Focus

Next Steps for MDCR?

• Racial Equity Training for MDCR Staff & MCRC

• Creation of an Internal Racial Equity Workgroup

• Implement use of Racial Equity Toolkit (internal operations/policy & department initiatives)

• Leverage ongoing technical assistance & guidance from Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) and Network partners

Role of Racial Equity & Focus

Implications for MDCR future work?

• Training Expansion from Cultural Competency/Diversity focus to Racial Equity

• Re-imagining Community Consultation, Input, & Engagement

• Considerations/Challenges: Individual change to System change

• Incorporating Racial Equity tools in external department initiatives and stronger utilization on internal operations & policy

• 1-800-482-3604 to reach the Service Center

• Additional information and services are also

available on our web site: www.mi.gov/mdcr

• Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, Community Relations

Director (517) 335-0781 (direct dial) &

gonzalezcortesm@michigan.gov

How To Reach Us

Questions??? Jorge Zeballos ZeballosJ@kellogg.edu

Al Vanderberg avanderberg@miottawa.org

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes gonzalezcortesm@michigan.gov

Erika Geiss ErikaGeiss@house.mi.gov

Michigan League for Public Policy:

www.mlpp.org

GARE: http://racialequityalliance.org/