KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Members of the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council will have an opportunity next week to consider expanding the city’s focus on racial equity and reconciliation.
Legislation introduced late last month by Councilwoman Melissa Robinson will be reviewed by the council’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee at its next hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 20.
The legislation would establish the Office of Racial Equity and Reconciliation, create an Equity Task Force and allow the city to accept a $131,600 grant to help fund the office.
Under the proposal, the new office would be led by the city’s new Chief Equity Officer. A city spokesperson said Friday the city is still accepting applications for the position. The spokesperson said the position came out of a partnership between City Manager Brian Platte and the city's Human Resources Director, Teri Casey.
The proposal would call for an at-least eight-member Equity Task Force that would be appointed by the mayor and include at least one member from each council district, at least three members with expertise or lived experience in social equity/racial justice and at least four members that represent historically impacted racial groups, including African Americans, Hispanic and Indigenous people.
Overall, the new office would be responsible for overseeing the task force, creating a framework to review current and past city policies through a racial equity lens, engage in community outreach, redesign budget sessions for greater community input and establish benchmarks from other jurisdictions for equitable policy-making.
The cost of funding the office would initially be partially provided by a grant from the Kansas City, Missouri-based Health Forward Foundation.
