Fight or Flight: Responding to This Racial Equity Moment

November 28, 2034

On a cold Chicago night, MPC and our partners at the Office of Racial Equity and Justice filled the room at Adler University for an important conversation about this racial equity moment.

In a moment of attack on racial equity work across the country, how are we responding? Are we retreating from our commitments to racial equity, or are we fighting back by building structures and strategies that are strong enough to withstand the challenge?

Panelists included: Kendra Freeman of MPC, Veleda Simpson of Chicago Public Libraries, Xavier Ramey of Justice Informed, the city’s Chief Equity Officer Candace Moore, and our moderator, WBEZ’s Alden Loury.

Moore gave updates on the City of Chicago’s efforts to promote equity across departments, while Freeman put the moment in the context of MPC’s Our Equitable Futures report and progress we’ve seen since its release. Simpson argued strongly for city libraries as equitable spaces for learning and applauded the State of Illinois for action prohibiting book bans. Ramey provided insight on his organization’s work with the private sector to promote “beyond compliance”.

The panelists challenged the audience to build bridges, to work together to create a shared defintion of racial equity, and to “name the things we want to see.”