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Institutions across the United States are being tested by a reckoning over long-standing racial inequalities. Leaders in city and state governments are obligated to respond by addressing issues like systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system, the availability of quality medical treatment, and voting restrictions.

These problems extend throughout the country, and every locality confronts a unique set of circumstances rooted in its own demographics and history. Determining an appropriate path forward starts with researchers and policymakers asking questions like:

• What does quantitative analysis reveal about persistent racial disparities in areas like housing, economic opportunity, healthcare, and schooling?
• How should government agencies connect with members of the community and develop qualitative insights into their experiences?
• Do local governments have the resources to turn a stated diversity and justice commitment into actions that make a tangible difference in people’s lives?
• What internal policies and best practices are most effective to promote greater diversity and inclusion within government departments?

The faculty and students of the Northeastern University College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) delve into these challenges and collaborate on practical ideas to build a more just future. For example, Professor of Law, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs Shalanda Baker, currently a senior advisor in the office of the U.S. Secretary of Energy, co-founded the Initiative for Energy Justice to center the minority voices of frontline communities in decisions about renewable energy policy. That work involves ensuring access to power for rural areas and tribal nations as well as establishing new utility business structures that prioritize inclusivity for historically disenfranchised groups.

Leadership

Projects like this are just the start of addressing the inequities that persist in American communities. The director of CSSH’s School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs (SPPUA), Jennie Stephens, is the author of the book Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy. In a June 2020 statement, Stephens expressed the necessity and the difficulty of rooting out systemic racism from all areas of public life.

“Given the deep legacy of racial injustice embedded in our culture, our institutions, our communities, our economy, our educational systems, and many of our policies, we must acknowledge that when we are not actively resisting structural racism, we are inadvertently perpetuating it,” Stephens wrote. “We must reflect on how we, as individuals and with our institutional affiliations, may have played a role in shaping the injustices embedded within our society and on what we can do as we act in this moment. Antiracist leadership requires continual recognition and active resistance to racism in all its many forms and structures.”

A rigorously antiracist approach to leadership that’s informed by research can be a powerful force to transform how local governments serve residents from all racial backgrounds and bring about long-term improvements. According to Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Urban Affairs Ted Landsmark, who directs the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, now is our chance to tackle iniquities in both public policy and business practices.

“Looking forward, we need to engage as many people as possible in participating in census activities, in registering to vote and in actually participating in the kind of public change that will reduce and ultimately eliminate police brutality and lack of access to public resources,” he said.

Free Seminars

One way that Landsmark facilitates an exchange of ideas about meaningful progress in key policy areas is through the weekly meetings of the Myra Kraft Open Classroom seminar series, which are freely available to the public. The fall 2021 edition offers perspectives from multidisciplinary experts on achieving racial reconciliation and preventing hate crimes in a deeply divided nation. Past sessions have already demonstrated some of the ways that local decision makers can play a part in promoting racial equity:

• Budgeting decisions that are based on accurate data and prioritize equity can ensure that communities get the help they need to overcome historical disadvantages. 
• Urban planning and design influence whether neighborhoods have access to affordable housing, healthy food, public transit, and essential services.
• Efforts such as broadening the availability of enrichment activities may help to reduce achievement gaps in public schools.
• Encouraging dialogue among residents from different areas of a city enables greater understanding and cooperation.

Meeting the complex public policy demands of the current moment requires intensive research into how our institutions function, bold strategies for change, and a compassionate dedication to helping others. Fortunately, today’s leaders also have an unprecedented opportunity to create robust, well-targeted programs by applying resources like analytics and geographic information systems. Public administrators and policymakers can harness a diverse array of data-driven tools to make the most of this historic inflection point and build communities that are better, fairer places to live.

Learn about online public affairs master’s programs from Northeastern University.