Year-Long Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan Program In City Of Framingham

Press release from the City of Framingham:

December 28, 2021

Framingham Completes Year-long Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan Program to Examine Policies, Practices and Systemic Inequities to Improve Equitability Across Demographic Groups within the City

FRAMINGHAM, MA – In December 2020, Framingham was chosen along with Bedford, Lynn, Revere, Natick, and Stoughton to be in the first cohort of the Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan (REMAP) Program (a partnership between the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston). The program’s goal is to advance racial equity through municipal action.

After a year, the City presented its first-ever Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan as part of the program.

Since January 2021, a core team - Dr. Yvonne M. Spicer, Mayor; Dr. Maritsa Barros, former Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, Mayor’s Office, Co-Lead; Judy Caron, Human Resources Generalist, Human Resources Department; Kelly Joseph, Community Health Manager, Public Health Department; Erika Oliver Jerram, Acting Director of Planning and Community Development Division; Deputy Chief Sean Riley, Police Department; and Hannah Woit, Senior Advisor for External Affairs, Mayor’s Office, Co-Lead -- has been leading this effort within Framingham. Their year-long peer-to-peer learning/action experience resulted in the City’s first Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan. The Plan’s objective is to create a community where “every person in Framingham has a chance to thrive.”
The vision of racial equity in Framingham is centered around four areas:

1. Sense of belonging,
2. Engagement,
3. Representation, and
4. Neighborhood services and resiliency.

The Plan includes fourteen goals with respective action items. For example, one goal is “sustained community engagement and outreach” with a corresponding action item of “Communicate regular dedicated data reports with the community on a webpage dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

“When I hear people talk about why they love Framingham, I most often hear them say they ‘love the diversity.’ If we truly value that diversity, we have to lead this community towards a vision of racial equity. We have seen protests and activism focused on this, but we must transform those protests and activism into real change. REMAP has been one way that our City has helped chart a course toward a more equitable future,” said Mayor Spicer. “With the leadership of our core team, REMAP partners, and other municipalities, we have created a tangible roadmap to bring us closer to equity. I hope that the next administration uses it to continue this work and support every municipal employee and resident in doing their own work so that we can create a Framingham where everyone can reach their potential, regardless of their background.”

The report can be viewed here.

This press release was produced by the City of Framingham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.