Press Release: Councilmember McDuffie’s Landmark REACH Act Begins Implementation with Launch of the Council Office of Racial Equity

News Release — Ward 5 DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie

Creates racial equity impact assessments that will be required for new legislation and research tools to help Council ensure someone’s race no longer predicts their success

For Release: Monday, January 18th, 2021

Contact: Jonathan McNair

Washington, DC – Today, the Council of the District of Columbia celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day by officially launching the Council Office of Racial Equity (CORE). This new office comes from Councilmember McDuffie’s Racial Equity Achieves Results (REACH) Act, which seeks to dismantle the institutional barriers that prevent many Black residents from succeeding in Washington, DC. CORE will advance racial equity across the District, provide equity impact scores for future Council legislation, create equity tools to eliminate racial disparities in government as well as the budget, and ensure all Council staff undergoes equity training. The REACH Act also creates a commission on racial equity to recommend additional measures District government should take.

“For every District resident to have meaningful opportunities to prosper, we must intentionally design policies that account for the history of government-sanctioned discrimination against Black people,” said Councilmember McDuffie. “Dr. King once said, ‘true compassion is more than flipping a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice, which produces beggars needs restructuring.’ CORE will hold DC government accountable as we break down the barriers of systemic racism and build a more inclusive city. Now we must ensure the REACH Act is fully implemented and continue fighting for Dr. King’s dream.”

Systematic racism drives inequities in every issue from COVID relief, health care and housing to economic opportunities, education, and criminal justice. These issues require comprehensive solutions, like the REACH Act, and cannot be fully addressed with standalone measures. Councilmember McDuffie will continue working to make the nation’s capital a national model for using government to address longstanding racial inequities.

Go to https://www.dcracialequity.org to learn more about CORE and it’s mission.

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