Community

Contra Costa County Declares Racism a Public Health Crisis

Published

4 years ago

November 25, 2020

Kiki

Contra Costa Board of Supervisors Screen Shot of Virtual Meeting

During a virtual meeting on Nov. 10, 2020, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared racism a health crisis and unanimously approved establishing an office of “racial equity and social justice.”

Board Chair Candace Anderson acknowledged that COVID-19 disproportionately affects Black and Latinx people and that these disparities existed prior to the pandemic.

Supervisor John Gioia said “[a] perfect example occurred to me. Many years ago, the health department found a higher rate of breast cancer among . . . {Black} women in various age groups. As a result of that, the health department initiated a program to address that and found it was really about earlier screenings.”

Gioia and Supervisor Federal Glover have raised $250,000 from community groups to help budget the “racial equity and social justice” office.

Glover said: “[t]he killings we have seen take place over the years – and the death of George Floyd – have brought to the attention of a nation the racism and inequities that take place within our – – – justice system.”

Glover added: “[i]t’s important we take a strong look at what’s taken place with our employment here at the county level, and to maybe be a light and to show people we are the leaders, that we are making a difference in society as a whole because it’s very reflective of our demographics here in Contra Costa.”

No date has been given when the office will launch with three staff members. The resolution states its mission is to “eliminate inequity, harm, discrimination and bias. The office will cultivate an “ecosystem rooted in belonging, mutuality, equity and justice.”

The resolution also states: [t]he need to change is urgent . . . . And the opportunity for change is now.”

The city of Oakland established a Dept. of Race and Equity in 2016. San Francisco established the Office of Racial Equity in 2019 and on November 4, the city of Martinez established the Anti-Racism and Discrimination and Pro-Inclusion and Diversity Task Force.

Resolution:

In the matter of: Resolution No. 2020/306
Declaring Racism as a Public Health Crisis.
WHEREAS, it is the mission of Contra Costa County to provide public services which improve the quality
of life of our residents and the economic viability of our businesses; and
WHEREAS, racism is a social system with multiple dimensions: individual racism that is internalized or
interpersonal and systemic racism that is institutional or structural; racism is a system of structuring
opportunity and assigning value based on the color of one’s skin that privileges white people; and
WHEREAS, throughout our nation’s history, racism has had lasting negative effects on groups including
Black/African-Americans, Latinx, indigenous, and people of color; and
WHEREAS, racism also intersects with other forms of prejudice and oppression to increase adverse
outcomes including discrimination based on immigration status, gender and sexual orientation, and mental
and physical abilities; and
WHEREAS, antiblack racism dehumanizes and marginalizes Black/African-American people and also
affects other communities of color by privileging those with lighter skin; and
WHEREAS, these lasting negative consequences such as economic instability and poverty, barriers to
educational attainment, and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system have a radical effect on the
lives of Black/African-Americans and other people of color living within Contra Costa County leading to
avoidable adverse health outcomes and unnecessary loss of life; and
WHEREAS, Black/African-Americans and other communities of color are disproportionally impacted by
health disparities and social and environmental conditions including increased exposure to lead, poor air
quality, lack of safe places to walk, bike, run, live, and play, and inadequate access to health services and
information; and
WHEREAS, disproportionately higher rates of chronic disease, shorter life expectancy, maternal and infant
mortality, and health inequities for Black/African Americans and other racial groups are widely recognized
and documented, yet continue to persist throughout Contra Costa County; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated racial and social inequities by disproportionately
impacting the Latinx community in particular as well as other communities of color; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa Health Services cares for and improves the health of all people in Contra Costa
County, and yet as a system has perpetuated racism and anti-black racism; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County has made efforts to address health and social inequities that exist,
through the work of various programs and initiatives, but it is not enough; and
WHEREAS, the continued and unnecessary loss of Black lives including Miles Hall, George Floyd,
Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others, calls upon the County to be visible in our outrage,
and, more importantly, in our resolve to work for change; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County recognizes that racism is a public health crisis that affects all members of
our community and deserves action from all levels of government and civil society;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County asserts
that racism is an urgent public health emergency affecting our entire community; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that Contra Costa County encourages other City, Local, State, and National entities to
recognize racism as a public health crisis; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health
Services commits to working to end racism and healing the harms that this organization has perpetuated;
and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health Services supports community efforts to
amplify and address issues of racism and engage actively and authentically with communities of color in
our county; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health Services commits to combating
both explicit and implicit bias, with an emphasis on evaluating personnel practices including recruitment,
hiring, retention and promotion to ensure diversity amongst all levels of staff; and BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health Services supports the adoption of the County’s Racial Equity
Action Plan and other efforts to address equity in internal policies, procedures and programs; and BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health Services will hire a Chief Equity Officer to align and
build on health equity efforts in our department and across the County; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,
that Contra Costa Health Services will develop a Health Equity Plan for Contra Costa Health Services
along with a measurement dashboard; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health
Services will participate as a host organization in the community planning process to establish a County
Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health
Services will support the development of a strategy for immigrant inclusion in partnership with the
Department of Employment and Human Services as part of the community planning process to establish an
Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Contra Costa Health
Services will launch Living Contra Costa, a strategic vision, with an emphasis on equity; and BE IT
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors does hereby support the
efforts to achieve health equity and a welcoming and just Contra Costa County.

Kiki

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City Government

San Pablo Appoints New Economic Development and Housing Manager

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo. Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

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Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo

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Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo.

Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Before that he was an associate planner in the City of Richmond’s Planning and Building Services Department from 2007-2015.

San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez lauded Slaughter’s extensive experience in economic development, housing and planning, saying he will add a “valuable perspective to the City Manager’s Office.”

Slaughter, a Berkeley resident, will start in his new role on Nov. 12, with a base annual salary of $164,928, according to the City of San Pablo.

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City Government

Aaron Osorio Rises Up Ranks to Become Richmond’s Fire Chief

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10. “I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.” Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Published

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Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo

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For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10.

“I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.”

Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Osorio is a San Francisco native who rose up the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief.

He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighters, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief. He said he truly loves working in this community.

While it isn’t common for a fire department to hire a chief that came up through its ranks, Osorio was credited by the city for serving Richmond well during uncommon times.

The city lauded him for developing internal policies and vaccination clinics during the initial COVID response, for supporting activation of the emergency operations center in response to a potential mudslide disaster in Seacliff last year, helping to draft mutual aid agreements and working to increase fire response capabilities for industrial incidents.

He’s also led departmental hiring and recruitment since 2018.

Osorio said it is an honor to be hired as chief and has big plans for the department moving forward. He said he wants to continue hiring and promoting for vacant positions, and also completing a strategic plan guiding the direction of the organization.

He also aims to replace and renovate a number of fire department facilities placed on the Capital Improvement Plan and create new ways to recruit that will enhance the diversity of the department.

Osorio said his experience within, and love for, the city of Richmond puts him in a good position to lead the department. He says he knows what is needed and also the challenges that are unique to the city.

“I look forward to utilizing that institutional knowledge to move the fire department forward in a positive direction and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the chief said.

Osorio holds a bachelor of science degree in Fire Administration and is also a California State Fire Marshal-certified chief officer, company officer, and state instructor.

He also holds numerous certifications in fire, rescue, hazardous material, and incident command.

The chief has been married to his wife, Maria, for 26 years and they have two sons, Roman and Mateo.

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Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Reflects on Historic Moment Less Than One Week from Election Day

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.

Published

10 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today released a piece on Medium reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic presidential campaign 50 years after Lee worked on the presidential campaign of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm:

“As Election Day approaches, I’m reflecting on a few dates and numbers that mean something to me.

Zero: the number of Black members in Congress 56 years ago. Next Congress, we hope to swear in over 60 members in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Three: The number of Black women to ever serve in the United States Senate since the first Congress in 1789.

Two: The number of Black women that will be elected to the Senate this year alone if we do our job.

1972: The first time a Black woman, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, ran for president in one of the major political parties of the United States.

Zero: the number of Black women to ever serve as president of the United States.

IF we do the work, we can change that with President Kamala Harris.

As I reflect on what would be Congresswoman Chisholm’s 100th birthday next month, I could not help but remember that my first official involvement in U.S. politics was working for her presidential campaign in 1972.

Over 50 years later, I have been involved in every single campaign since. Shirley was my mentor — she was a bold visionary, a progressive woman who understood that working together in coalitions was the only way to make life better for everyone, to build an equitable society and democracy that lived up to the creed of “liberty and justice for all.”

The historic moment we are in today is not lost on me. I have had the privilege to have known Vice President Kamala Harris for over three decades. She, after all, is a daughter of the East Bay. She, like Shirley, truly is a fighter for the people.

And I know she can move our country forward in a new way. As a member of her National Advisory Board, I have campaigned across our country to help take her message, her legacy of service, and her “to-do list,” as she says, to voters who were almost starting to feel hopeless, but are now feeling hopeful once again, captured by the politics joy and the bright possibilities brought upon by a possible Harris-Walz administration.

Recently, I visited churches in North Carolina with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. The chair of our CBC political action committee, Chairman Gregory Meeks from New York’s fifth district, eloquently and powerfully presented a vision of what Dr. Maya Angelou wrote in her famous poem, “And Still I Rise:” “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”

Meeks remarked that on Jan. 20, 2025, we will observe the birthday of our drum major for justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He also described that on Jan. 20, IF we do the work — if we knock on doors, if we make those phone calls, if we spread our message — standing on the podium at the U.S. Capitol will be the first Black speaker of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.

In the wings will be over 60 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Holding Frederick Douglass’ Bible will be the first African American woman appointed to the highest court of the land, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

She will be swearing-in the first Black woman to serve as president, Kamala Harris, in front of the shining white dome of the United States Capitol, built by enslaved Black people.

In front of her and beyond, the tens of millions of Black men and women who voted for her. The world will witness the hope and the dreams of our ancestors ushering in a new way forward.

As I sat in front of the stage this week at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Harris delivered remarks with the Oval Office behind her, I could not help but feel that our country was ready for this historic moment.

We are not only voting for a Black woman as Commander in Chief of the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world. We are definitively stating that we will not allow the clocks of freedom and justice to be turned back.

We are voting for our ancestors’ hopes and dreams. We are voting for the generations that will come after us, long after we are gone. We are voting for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Let’s get this done.