CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION endorsing a vision for The City of Seattle to become a city with zero use of detention for youth, and establishing a path forward to develop policies that eliminate the need for youth detention.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle has developed a Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) to implement its longstanding commitments to social justice and ending racism; and
WHEREAS, Seattle's Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) works to advance civil rights and end barriers to equity, and leads the RSJI; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the RSJI is to end institutional racism within City government, working towards a vision where racial disparities will be eliminated and racial equity achieved; and
WHEREAS, institutional racism is present when organizational programs or policies create inequity along racial lines; and
WHEREAS, confronting institutional racism is a fundamental step towards addressing racial disparities in criminal justice, education, housing, and health indicators, among others; and
WHEREAS, Seattle's history of racism and the current impact of institutional racism and structural racism combine to restrict opportunities for people of color; and
WHEREAS, on April 3, 2014, Mayor Ed Murray issued Executive Order 2014-02, reaffirming the RSJI and directing SOCR to prioritize racial equity work in criminal justice, education, and equitable development, identified by community members as their top three priorities; and
WHEREAS, race and social equity is one of the four core values of the Seattle Comprehensive Plan and these core values are intended to guide decision making in City government; and
WHEREAS the City Council approved funding in the SOCR 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 budgets to build capacity in the community to address structural racism, and the funding has supported technical assistance in anti-racism training, organizational assessment, and implementation of anti-racism strat...
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