DATE: September 15, 2021
TO: Community Service Commission
FROM: Acting Community Services Manager
SUBJECT
Title
Recommendation to Council to Adopt a Resolution Apologizing to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) on Behalf of the City of Hayward for Its Implicit and Explicit Role in Perpetuating Historical Institutional Racism in the City of Hayward and to Review the Attached Workplan to Address the City’s Historical Wrongdoings
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the Community Services Commission:
1) Reviews and approves the draft resolution apologizing to BIPOC on behalf of the City of Hayward for its implicit and explicit role in perpetuating historical institutional racism in the City of Hayward; and
2) Recommends that the Council adopt the resolution and review the attached workplan to address the City’s historical wrongdoings.
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SUMMARY
At the June 17, 2020 Community Services Commission (CSC) meeting, staff presented on the City’s Racial Equity Action Plan and the Government Alliance for Racial Equity (GARE) cohort details. At this meeting, the CSC provided feedback on the plan and a subset of the CSC requested to write a letter of support for the Racial Equity Action Plan and call for further action by the City of Hayward in its commitment to anti-racism. A subcommittee was formed to draft a letter of support for the Racial Equity Action Plan and call for further action by the City.
The letter of support was reviewed and approved by the full CSC at the July 15, 2020 meeting of the CSC. This letter and its attachments were shared with the full Council at the July 21, 2020 Hayward City Council meeting. Within this letter of support was a recommendation from the CSC for the current Council to issue an apology to the Black Community on behalf of the City for its complicity in institutional racism in the City of Hayward.
A CSC subcommittee was formed to draft this apology in the form of a resolution. As part of the resolution, the CSC subcommittee identified 11 tangible action steps that the City should undertake to address the City’s historical wrongdoings and complicity in institutional racism. Staff has created a workplan outlining these action steps, along with work that is currently being done to support these recommendations.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Draft Resolution
Attachment III Workplan