Sacramento Update: SB-17 Office of Racial Equity — Statement by John Kim

Los Angeles – Today, John Kim, the Executive Director of Advancement Project California, went to the state capital to share our public statement supporting SB 17.

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“Good morning Mr. Chair and members,

My name is John Kim, and I am the Executive Director of the Advancement Project California.

We are a proud co-sponsor of the bill.

Divide things equally. First come, first serve, following the long-standing rules and norms.

All things I taught my children when playing with friends at the playground.

But all too often – we’ve seen these seemingly benign approaches to policymaking and resource allocation in this state.

A fund to relieve overcrowding was distributed first-come, first-serve for years to school districts in California. Guess what – suburban districts with access to ample land and funding for consultants to file the paperwork were nearly always first in line. And voila – the minor overcrowded districts were getting the lion share of the overcrowding relief dollars.

That was not the intention. But that was the eventual outcome of playground policymaking.

With this bill – we have an opportunity to grow up a bit. This is not about creating a system to find and fight individual racist actors. This is about interrogating a system we have all inherited and breaking the bad habits that have gotten us here.

We are called at this moment not just to talk like we are the progressive future of America.

We are called at this moment to grow up as a state. To make decisions that account for history, respond to data, and respond to the voices of residents most harmed by our inaction.

With a fully resourced Office of Racial Equity – we can stop just talking a good game around racial equity and finally act on it.

I respectfully request your “Aye” vote.”

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We are proud to stand with our partners Greenlining, NextGen Policy, Public Health Advocates, CoCo, and the SEIU. To learn more about SB 17 Office of Racial Equity, go here.