San Jose City Council members unanimously approved the city’s updated definition of racial equity Tuesday. The vote was preceded by discussion about the definition and how it will affect San Jose residents.
The approved definition is a revision from a Nov 9, 2021 meeting, where council members directed the Office of Racial Equity to revise the original definition with input from community stakeholders.
The original definition of racial equity was “when race no longer predicts life outcome and when outcomes for all groups are improved.”
Zulma Maciel, Director of the Office of Racial Equity, revised the definition, including language that was “bold and explicit in acknowledging the historical and continued injustices and trauma to communities of color”.
According to Maciel’s presentation, a key aspect of the approved definition for racial equity is that it requires goal setting, measures progress and uses strategies targeted to close the gaps.
“We can debate semantics and definitions all day. But if the work that we do doesn’t lead to tangible, measurable results, then what are we doing,” said District 7 Councilmember Maya Esparza. “This is what our communities are relying on us for and that component is absolutely critical because our residents don’t need rhetoric, they need action.”
Community stakeholders including the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet, the National Compadres Network and the Vietnamese American Roundtable were consulted on the new definition, according to the presentation.
“It’s a definition that centers race. It’s a definition that acknowledges that racial inequalities are deep and pervasive,” Maciel said.
During the meeting, Vice Mayor Charles Jones asked Maciel to highlight specific and measurable examples of how San Jose residents will benefit from the revised definition.
“If we, for example, think about an indicator around education and we all get behind this indicator about schools, city organizations and accounting, then there are things within our sphere of influence that we’re going to be able to do to change an indicator around education,” Maciel said. “Whether it’s policymaking, or investments, or programmatic pieces.”
District 10 Councilmember Matt Mahan echoed similar sentiments to Jones, hoping for a more concrete plan for how approving this definition of racial equity would lead to actionable change.
“I feel comfortable with the definition, which is inherently fairly high level and abstract, but depending on how we imagine using it, or what policy changes it would produce, I might be really supportive or not and I guess we’ll see how that plays out,” Mahan said..
Mahan asked if the Office of Racial Equity has determined specific, more important city services for Brown and Black neighborhoods to see improvements such as funding schools rather than general services like postal services.
Angel Rios, Deputy City Manager said council members should look at services that have been historically underinvested in communities.
“When you look at that from today's investments, what we're saying is good public administration will also step back and look at disproportionate impacts of past inequities,” Rios said. “And although we can't turn back the clock and correct every single inequity, what we can do is recognize those disproportional inequities from the past and form a bridge around how to prevent them from reoccurring?
Although several council members asked for clarification regarding the definition, District 8 Councilmember Sylvia Arenas said moving forward with it is “the only option.”
“It saddens me to hear my colleagues question how we’re going to implement this when we’ve had so many issues come up within our own administration,” she said. “We closed down the 51 community centers we have in the city of San Jose. We only have 11, those decisions were made based on the neighborhood that could actually pay for those services.”
Arenas said the city needs to prioritize underserved neighborhoods.
“We have to make sure that we're okay with giving more to those folks who need it and whose neighborhoods need it. That's part of racial equity,” Arenas said.
