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September 29, 2022
Foundational Racial Equity Training
Council Study Session
Ideas + action for a better City
I’m very uncomfortable
and cannot move on
I’m uncomfortable and
need help before I can
move on
I’m a little uncomfortable but I
want to try and move on
FIST-TO-FIVE MOOD CHECK
I’m not sure how I’m
feeling
I’m comfortable enough
to move on
I’m ready to move on
22 HISTORIC
STRUCTURAL
INEQUITY IN
SAN JOSÉ
3 4
LOOKING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD: HISTORY OF SAN JOSÉ
1. Between 1950 - 1969 the city’s population grew from 95,280 to 495,000 and much of the city’s land was designated for single-family homes - many people became car dependent.
2. Construction of I-280 and Highway 101 destroyed many homes and businesses mostly occupied by black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).
3. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans Administration (VA) backed mortgages principally benefitted white middle- and upper-income residents, many of which purchased suburban homes.
4. Improved freeways enabled longer commutes from suburbs to the city, and those who could live farther away from work and services were advantaged most by highway improvements.
5. The communities surrounding the highways experienced decades of disinvestment beginning in the 1930’s due to “redlining.” leakytechpipeline.com
5 Redlining refers to local, state and federal housing policies that mandated segregation.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which was established in 1934, furthered segregation efforts of the time by refusing to insure mortgages in and near African-American neighborhoods and other communities of color.
At the same time, the FHA subsidized builders to mass-produce entire subdivisions for white communities—with the requirement that none of the homes be sold to African-Americans (or any other person of color).
WHAT’S REDLINING?
6 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SAN JOSÉ RESIDENTS TODAY?
Communities surrounding the I-680/I-280/US-101 interchange are at the highest risk of:
1. Displacement due to gentrification
2. Poor air quality due to localized air pollution
3. Vehicle related injuries and fatalities
Today, rising costs and exclusionary zoning exacerbates the housing crisis
1. 84% of the city’s residential land is zoned for single-family.
2. 6% of city residential land can be built for apartments, condos, duplexes, and triplexes.
3. Nearly half (47%) of San José’s renters live in housing that is considered unaffordable
4. One in four spend more than half their income on housing-related costs
5. Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islanders face disproportionately greater barriers to securing affordable housing.
7 UNDERSTANDING YOUR
ROLE IN R(EDI)
8 9
Activity
STEP 1 (5 min)
Review the Power Wheel and write in your notebooks:
1. Which identities do you hold?
2. Which identities are missing?
3. How do you feel when you look at the wheel?
STEP 2 (5 min)
In pairs, discuss your identities while considering the following questions:
1. What are your favorite aspects of your identity?
2. What do you wish others understood about your identities? 10 Demystifying Dominant
Culture
11 Activity
IN GROUPS OF 3:
Discuss the following questions:
1. Why are you passionate about your preferences?
2. How have societal norms shaped your preferences?
Write on 2 post-it’s:
1. Identify societal norms and write them
down on separate post it notes.
12 THE CULTURAL ICEBERG
01 02
03 04
05COMMUNICATION NORMS
NOTIONS OF
CONCEPTS OF
ATTITUDES TOWARD
APPROACHES TO
Courtesy & Manners, Friendship,
Leadership, Beauty
Time, Family, Self, Past & Future,
Fairness & Justice
Senior Citizens, Children, Rules, Work,
Cooperation vs. Competition, Authority
Religion, Courtship, Raising Children,
Marriage, Decision-Making, Prob Solving
Facial Expressions, Body Language, Eye
Contact, Personal Space, Gestures,
Handling & Displaying of Emotions
DEEP CULTURE:
SURFACE CULTURE:
Food, Music, Games, Holidays,
Fashion, Dances, Language, Festival,
Literature
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Best Practices for Leaders
15 Best Practices for Leaders to Mitigate Bias
1. EQ: Use Mindfulness to stop and identify your emotions in the moment. “Am I in the right state of mind to make this
decision?”
2. Take time and include the right people to accurately agree on the problem you are trying to solve. “Are we all on the same page here?”
3. Create systems with built-in checks and balances to ensure you are taking steps to get the right and enough information. “Are the right people in the room? Do we have enough time to do this?”
4. Assess the urgency and timing necessary to make the decision. “Can you take a break and address these other factors?” 16 REVIEW KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. r(EDI) is one effort to resolve a major social issue at work, and it pays off. We cannot discuss or address r(EDI) without a solid understanding of Racial Injustice.
2. r(EDI) and racial justice thrive - or stall - on multiple levels.
That creates LOTS of opportunity to move the needle.
3. Clear racial disparities exist because of historical and current systems of inequity.
4. There are important implications for the City of San José as a local leader, steward, and global citizen.
5. Anyone can use their power to perpetuate racial inequity, or to dismantle it - the choice is yours.
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