L-R: Leon Andrews, Director – National League of Cities REAL Initiative; Rick Reinbold, Village President – Village of Richton Park; Cicely Fleming, Alderman – Evanston; and Kristi DeLaurentiis, Executive Director – South Suburban Mayors & Managers Association
Last week’s IML Annual Conference included the session “Learning About Race, Equity And Leadership,” moderated by Richton Park Mayor Rick Reinbold. It included speakers SSMMA Executive Director Kristi DeLaurentiis, National League of Cities Director Leon Andrews and Evanston Alderman Cicely Fleming. The session detailed goals and activities of the Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) initiative of the NLC and demonstrated how it is designed to assist municipalities in dealing with racial disparities.
NLC created REAL in 2015 in the aftermath of police-involved shootings that affected a number of U.S. cities. Those incidents exposed underlying elements of racial inequity that were identified as causes for much of the unrest. NLC REAL staff provides assistance to municipalities in identifying opportunities to address racial disparities, advance racial equity and support racial healing at the local level.
Stay tuned for an upcoming REAL workshop nearby, co-hosted by SSMMA, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and the Metropolitan Planning Council.
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