History

2024 Seattle Channel video on the 20th anniversary of the Race & Social Justice Initiative

The Race & Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) was born from organizing in the community and inside the City of Seattle workplace. Over the years, that grassroots organizing became the first municipal government initiative in the United States that focused on race and social justice.

RSJI was made a permanent part of the City Code in 2023 through the RSJI Ordinance. In 2024, the Initiative celebrated its 20th anniversary.

A summary of RSJI’s history is below. For a deep dive, visit the RSJI Online Exhibit created by Seattle Municipal Archives, which includes more details on the people, departments, and work that defined RSJI over the years.

Beginnings

Prior to RSJI becoming an initiative, departments such as the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, Seattle Public Utilities, Department of Neighborhoods, and more developed programs that touched on racial justice within their workplace and services. In the 1990s, Human Services Department staff members were encouraged to take an Undoing Racism Workshop from the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.

Through the 90s and 2000s, many more City of Seattle employees took the Undoing Racism Workshop. The framework became a foundational part of RSJI’s approach, and RSJI adopted the People’s Institute values for almost twenty years.

In 2002, Mayor Greg Nickels began creating infrastructure to address racism and in Seattle. He gave the first RSJI Manager, Mickey Fearn, the task of building an actionable program. By 2004, the Race & Social Justice Initiative was officially installed in the Seattle Office for Civil Rights under the leadership of Mickey Fearn and SOCR Director Germaine Covington.

Growth

Former RSJI Manager Glenn Harris (left) and former Seattle Office for Civil Rights Director Julie Nelson (right) sit with john a. powell (middle) during an RSJI Summit event in 2011. A "City of Seattle" sign is in the background.

Former RSJI Manager Glenn Harris (left) and former Seattle Office for Civil Rights Director Julie Nelson (right) sit with john a. powell (middle) during an RSJI Summit event in 2011.

Over the years, RSJI strengthened the City of Seattle’s commitment to ending institutional racism through education, consultation, evaluation, and policy. The RSJI team provided race and social justice consultation to countless City of Seattle executives, staff, and departments.

Racial justice principles became embedded within departments, budgets, and minds across the City. Today, new employee orientations at the City include an introduction to the City’s race and social justice commitment. Most departments have Change Teams, made of staff who are committed to advocating for race and social justice in their workplace.

Other Accomplishments

  • The RSJI team and SOCR provided trainings for thousands of employees in the City. A foundational training based in Race: The Power of an Illusion was made available to all City employees. Other trainings included internalized racism and technical assistance for equity-based tools.
  • RSJI convened Core Teams of dedicated City staff members, who received intensive training in racial equity organizing. These staff members were given the tools to become anti-racist leaders in their own departments.
  • The annual RSJI Summit event convened hundreds of City employees to celebrate racial justice organizing and build racial equity practices. Keynote speakers over the years have included Angela Davis, john a. powell, and Dr. Ben Danielson. Many Summits were hosted in partnership with Seattle Center.
  • Early collaborations with the City Budget Office led to budget analysis tools, which inspired the Racial Equity Toolkit, which has been used by City of Seattle departments since 2012. RSJI’s partnership with the Budget Office continues to this day.
  • In addition to the work above, RSJI hosted community roundtables, conducted community surveys and employee surveys, developed an arts-based racial equity activity guide, and much more.

View past RSJI reports, surveys, and more on the Resource Library Page.

Ordinance and Beyond

Seattle Office for Civil Rights staff, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong stand for a photo at the RSJI 20th Anniversary Reception in August 2024. On the left, people are holding a sign: "20th Anniversary)". On the right is another held sign with the RSJI logo.

Seattle Office for Civil Rights staff, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong at the RSJI 20th Anniversary Reception in August 2024.

As with many justice movements, the pandemic was a time of great change for the Race & Social Justice Initiative. The rise in hybrid work fundamentally shifted the way that RSJI worked within the City of Seattle.

After the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent movement in support of race and social justice work, more City employees called for policy, budget decisions, and cultural norms that centered racial justice. Around the United States, more equity-based initiatives began to appear in government agencies, many of them reaching out to RSJI for advice.

Despite being a vital part of the City of Seattle for almost twenty years, RSJI remained an impermanent initiative until 2023. After years of work behind the scenes by RSJI, SOCR, Council Central staff, and many other City stakeholders, an ordinance was passed in April 2023 to make RSJI a permanent part of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights. The Council Bill was sponsored by Councilmember Tammy Morales, and Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the final ordinance in May 2023.

"AN ORDINANCE establishing the Race and Social Justice Initiative as City policy; establishing governance of the Race and Social Justice Initiative within the Office for Civil Rights; authorizing the Office for Civil Rights to lead the Race and Social Justice Initiative; and adding new Sections 3.14.941 through 3.14.945 to the Seattle Municipal Code." - Council Bill 120525

To learn more about the Ordinance, visit the RSJI Ordinance page.

Today, RSJI’s work is centered around implementing the institutional change laid out in the RSJI Ordinance. To learn more about RSJI’s ongoing work, visit the What We Do page.

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the Race and Social Justice Initiative! For a detailed account of RSJI history, visit the Seattle Municipal Archives online exhibit about the Initiative.

Executive and Legislative Actions Over the Years