Racial Equity Committee Meeting - April 26, 2022: Updates on IRRT and Race Forward/SCORE Initiative

The Sacramento Racial Equity Committee met on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, from 10:01 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. via teleconference. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, two oral reports on the Interim Rapid Response Tool (IRRT) and the Race Forward/SCORE initiative, public comments, and a staff report. Committee members present: Co-chair Mai Vang, Jay Schenirer, Rick Jennings (until 11:20 a.m.), and Mayor Darrell Steinberg (joined at 10:08 a.m.).

Consent Calendar

• Item 1 – Meeting Minutes (January 25, 2022): Approved by a vote of 3-0 (Mayor absent) with a motion by Jennings and second by Vang. One public comment requested the minutes be read into the record, but the committee proceeded with standard approval after staff noted the meetings are archived online.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Daphne (on Consent Calendar): Requested the minutes be pulled for full discussion, citing details needing to be added to the record.
• Lambert Davis (on Item 3 – Race Forward): Expressed strong distrust in the city’s racial equity work, stating it has been “intentional” to hold meetings at 10 a.m. to limit participation. He criticized the $250,000 spent on equity studies that yield the same results, and called for termination of staff leading the Office of Diversity and Equity if they fail a grading system.
• Daphne (on Item 3): Echoed Davis’s concerns, urging adherence to the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene Act, and called for more representation from historically underserved districts (2, 6, and 8) on the Racial Equity Council. She highlighted lack of grocery stores, financial institutions, and transportation access in District 8.
• Nia Mooreweathers (on Item 3): A community organizer with Youth Forward and member of the Racial Equity Leadership Network, she expressed support for the process but emphasized the need to keep it accessible and to build trust with communities that have been historically unheard.
• Daphne (on Item 2 – IRRT): Encouraged the committee to avoid overlap with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and the Capital Collaborative on Race and Equity, and asked for a diagram showing how the city’s efforts align with state and county resources.
• Lambert Davis (on Item 2): Accused the Office of Diversity and Equity of using “trigonometry” (art of deception) and called for grading the office’s performance, stating that his black-owned cheesecake business faced resistance despite BBB recognition.
• Lambert Davis (on Matters Not on Agenda): Reiterated distrust, noting the city’s racial equity studies are arrogant, and proposed directing ARPA/CARES funds exclusively to communities of color as a solution.

Discussion Items

• Item 3 – Race Forward and Racial Equity Council Update (Oral Report): Presented by Kelly Rivas (Mayor’s Chief of Staff), Nora Liu (Race Forward), and D’Angelo Mack (Racial Equity Leadership Network).

  • The contract with Race Forward is nearly final; a team of consultants is assembled. The Racial Equity Leadership Network (formed in 2019) has designed a Racial Equity Council of 11–15 members to work directly with the City Council on the SCORE (Sacramento Centered on Racial Equity) initiative.
  • Councilmembers discussed parameters: the council will meet about 10 hours per month, with a year-long engagement. Application deadline is June 30, 2022. Councilmember Jennings asked if each district would have at least one representative; D’Angelo Mack said that is a goal but depends on the applicant pool. Councilmember Schenirer emphasized the need for members with knowledge of city government alongside lived experience.
  • Mayor Steinberg asked how the Racial Equity Council will coordinate with related efforts like participatory budgeting and reparations; Kelly Rivas replied that the SCORE initiative is the umbrella, and other efforts (e.g., truth and reconciliation via the Office of Public Safety Accountability) will be linked. Co-chair Vang confirmed the council will work on the city’s racial equity resolution.
  • The application link will be distributed via council offices, the mayor’s blog (engaged.sac.org), and city social media.

• Item 2 – Interim Rapid Response Tool (IRRT) Update (Oral Report): Presented by Aimee Z. Barnes (Diversity and Equity Manager) and Megan (Office of Arts and Culture).

  • The IRRT has been applied to ARPA-funded programs in four of five priority areas: small business/commercial revitalization, youth/gun prevention/social services (including guaranteed income program DIPS and digital equity partnership), homelessness/housing, and arts/creative economy. Some projects (e.g., workforce development) are still developing success indicators due to complexity.
  • Key learning takeaways: (1) Real-time embedding of racial equity expectations into contractor agreements. (2) Common root causes identified across projects: data collection inconsistency, racial wealth gaps, health inequities, language access, unemployment. (3) Improved cross-departmental data sharing (de-siloing). (4) Need for clearer stakeholder engagement definitions (informing vs. co-partnering). (5) For predetermined funding, the tool serves as an assessment.
  • Megan presented disaggregated data from $2 million in CARES-funded individual artist grants (325 applicants). Success rates varied by race: Native American/Alaska Native 50% (lowest) vs. overall 71%. Average awards also varied (highest for white/Caucasian/European artists at ~$9,800). The Office of Arts and Culture is using this data to design a new $500,000 NEA subgrant program, with changes including a flat award amount, application mentors, simplified rubrics weighted for community impact, and explicit panel diversity goals.
  • Mayor Steinberg and Councilmember Schenirer emphasized the need to set proactive benchmarks and grade performance, not just assess after the fact. Co-chair Vang noted the importance of parallel work while the Racial Equity Council forms and suggested using the IRRT for upcoming budget decisions. Aimee Barnes advocated for ensuring community voices are in the room for rapid decisions.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Calendar: Approved minutes of January 25, 2022 (3-0).
• Item 3 (Race Forward Update): Received and filed; no vote required. Next steps: application period for Racial Equity Council open until June 30; council to be finalized by that date; phase one (truth‑telling/trust‑building) to begin with joint sessions; racial equity resolution work to start in fall 2022.
• Item 2 (IRRT Update): Received and filed; no vote required. Staff will continue applying the tool to ARPA programs and share further learnings. Mayor and Councilmembers expressed interest in using the tool for budget decisions and setting measurable equity targets.
• Staff Report: Kelly Rivas and Aimee Barnes reported on the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) conference in Portland where Sacramento presented, and on a racial equity training (DELTA) held for council staff on April 8, 2022 (attended by 23–24 staff, all districts represented). Co-chair Vang thanked them for their work.
• Meeting Adjourned at 11:59 a.m.