Riverside City Council Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — The Riverside City Council Wednesday adopted a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis.
The unanimous vote came at the end of a meeting that started Tuesday evening and lasted more than nine hours. Councilman Chuck Conder was not in attendance.
The resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Gaby Plascencia, calls on the city to:
- Enhance diversity and ensure anti-racism principles across the city's leadership, staffing and contracting;
- Promote equity and enhance educational efforts aimed at understanding, addressing and dismantling racism and how it affects human and social services, economic development and public safety;
- Advocate locally and at the state and federal level for relevant policies that improve health in communities of color and support initiatives that try to dismantle systemic racism;
- Solidify alliances and partnerships with organizations confronting racism and encourage other local governments to recognize racism as a public health crisis;
- Support community efforts to amplify issues of racism and engage with communities of color;
- Promote and support policies that prioritize the health of all people;
- Institute mandatory racial equity and implicit bias training for all city leadership and staff;
- Encourage racial equity training for all community partners, grantees, vendors and contractors; and
- Identify goals and objectives to assess the city's progress.
"In light of recent worldwide events, it is imperative that the city of Riverside take a stand to declare racism as a public health crisis affecting our entire city," Plascencia said in her report to the council.
The resolution comes after a month of unrest following the death of George Floyd, a 42-year-old Black man, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.
The city of Riverside follows San Bernardino in declaring racism a public health crisis. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted their resolution June 23 following two meetings with faith leaders, activists and members of the Black community.
