SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Language for Sacramento to acknowledge its history of systemic racism and racial inequities is moving forward in council chambers.

A draft of an equity resolution passed unanimously by the city’s Racial Equity Committee Tuesday morning, which advances it to the City Council.

If passed, the resolution will establish a partnership between residents in the community and the city of Sacramento to come up with solutions to race-based inequities, said Jasmin Flores, who works with the Racial Equity Council, a resident-organized effort to improve the city’s policies.

Flores said this resolution is the first step in a “long game” toward achieving racial equity in Sacramento. The goal is to make racial equity a priority and to lay the groundwork for residents to trust the city, she said.

“We need to get to the point where we can see this as only a moment of where we need to be,” said Flores, who resides in south Sacramento. “This is going to continually change and grow and adapt to the needs of communities as we see them come up.”

The racial equity resolution was organized by the Racial Equity Alliance and Racial Equity Council, which are both made up of Sacramento residents. The work of the Racial Equity Alliance began around 2022, said Kim Williams, another member of the alliance.

In its current form, the resolution calls for the city to implement the following initiatives:

▪ Developing and applying racial equity assessment tools to analyze budgets, policies, planning documents and procedures.

▪ Encouraging racial equity policies and training among all city community partners, grantees, vendors and contractors.

▪ Supporting local, state, regional and federal initiatives that advance efforts to dismantle system racism and improve the health and safety in communities of color.

▪ Reviewing the Office of Diversity and Equity and make recommendations on the structure, position, and capacities to the city’s goals and commitment to racial equity annually.

▪ Continuing to advance the development of a Racial Equity Action Plan and present it to the city council by 2026. Provide quarterly status reports and updates to the city’s racial equity committee on the progress of the plan.

“This resolution is the hope that communities of color are hanging on to as they continue to provide their thought leadership about solutions, despite their historic disenfranchisement,” said Robynne Rose-Haymer, a member of the Racial Equity Alliance. “Investments in place are not always investments in the future.”

Overall, the resolution seeks to build upon and amplify the city’s current efforts and to include community narratives in city policy, Racial Equity Council representatives said during their presentation.

“This resolution, as beautiful as it might be on a piece of paper, becomes just a piece of paper if we don’t put action behind it,” Williams said. “The accountability that we’ve tried to drive into this resolution is extremely important, because if we’re not accountable to our communities with this work, we’re never going to see the change that we want to see.”

Racial disparities in Sacramento

The resolution highlights disparities like disproportionate homeowner rates, homelessness, incarceration and school discipline.

While Black residents make up 11% of Sacramento’s overall population, they represent 37% of the county jail population and around 30% of the state prison population in the county. The resolution states that Black residents are arrested at a rate more than twice as higher that of white residents, despite crimes being reported at a similar rate.

Indigenous, Native American and Alaskan Native people are more likely to face homelessness out of any ethnicity, the resolution states. This rate is five to six times higher. The resolution states that Black residents are also over represented in the homeless population.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg suggested that, moving forward, the city begin having racial sensitivity workshops when considering the impact of the city budget.

The draft resolution, which references suspension rates at Sacramento City Unified, states that Black students are suspended at a rate nearly four times higher than white students. Native American and Latino students are also suspended at a rate significantly higher than their white peers. Councilwoman Lisa Kaplan urged the integration of other school districts when considering the discipline rate of children across Sacramento.

Kaplan, who served in the Natomas Unified School district for 20 years, insisted the resolution include other students from across the city. She said that by only providing statistics for Sacramento City Unified and not suspension rates from Natomas Unified School District, Twin Rivers Unified School District and other school districts is an “error that is not acceptable” and continues to disenfranchise and separate.

In clarification, Councilwoman Mai Vang said this statistic was just used as an example for an issue occurring in multiple districts.

The resolution will come forth to the City Council on Nov. 12.

“This document has your heart in it, and I think it is outstanding,” Steinberg said.

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