The Los Angeles City Council officially established the Office of Racial Equity on Nov. 1 as part of the L.A. Civil Rights Department, approving its framework and a 5-year action plan. The Office of Racial Equity, which began work in 2021, aims to achieve equitable outcomes by proactively addressing systemic oppression through culture, policies, practices and programs with an intersectional framework.

“There is no future for our city without equity and meaningful steps to recognize and repair the harms done to communities of color in Los Angeles. Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council, we are taking a bold step forward toward racial equity, community empowerment and a Los Angeles for all,” said Capri Maddox, executive director of the L.A. Civil Rights Department. “Our Office of Racial Equity, led by director David Price, has already launched programs that change lives and transform communities. We look forward to growing this work in partnership with the community.”

“Racial equity is not just a slogan here in Los Angeles, it is a standard to which we must be held,” Garcetti said. “I applaud the City Council and L.A. Civil Rights for taking the right steps to fight bigotry, racism and prejudice. We must drive hate and hurtful speech out of our city, ensuring future generations a more equitable and progressive environment for growth.”

The Office of Racial Equity has already launched programs focused on racial equity. The largest is L.A. REPAIR, or Los Angeles Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgment of Institutional Racism, created by Garcetti in his 2021-22 budget. Through L.A. REPAIR, L.A. Civil Rights’ Office of Racial Equity is launching an $8.5-million participatory budgeting program and a $2-million Peace and Healing Centers program in nine underserved and historically marginalized Los Angeles neighborhoods.

The Office of Racial Equity also operates the Racial Equity and Newly Empowered Workplaces program, or RENEW, which welcomed over 60 attendees to its quarterly launch event last week, and will continue to publish reports focused on equity in city policy. The office is currently working on a report on missing and murdered Black women and girls, and last week hosted an event on health care inequities with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

“At a time when our democracy is at stake, we need to take bold and deliberate steps to ensure every voice is heard. The Office of Racial Equity’s 5-year action plan under the purview of the L.A. Civil Rights Department will provide a platform for marginalized communities to have a say in ending the systemic oppression that has brought so much harm to communities of color,” said Robert Sausedo, president and CEO of Community Build. “We are at a critical precipice in this country and I’m proud to live in a city that is looking towards the future and embracing diversity, inclusion and racial equity.”

For information, visit civilandhumanrights.lacity.org/our-programs/office-racial-equity.