REMARKS
Council Member Williams opens hearing on the state of Black New York and racial equity planning
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Council Member Nantasha M. Williams opens the Committee on Civil and Human Rights hearing focused on the state of Black New York and updates on racial equity planning efforts. She highlights the ongoing systemic inequities faced by Black New Yorkers and emphasizes the importance of the racial equity planning process mandated by recent ballot measures.
- Williams discusses the need for updates on the implementation of racial justice initiatives, including the development of citywide racial equity plans.
- She mentions Local Law 91 of 2024 and Local Law 92 of 2024, which relate to studying slavery's impacts and creating a truth and reconciliation process.
- The council member stresses the importance of ongoing oversight and public disclosure of racial equity planning efforts.
Nantasha M. Williams
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Good morning everybody.
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My name is Nantasha Williams and I serve as chair to the Committee on Civil and Human Rights.
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Thank you to everyone joining us for this morning's hearing.
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I'd like to start off by wishing everyone a happy black history month.
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I'm so proud to be able to hold a hearing on the state of black New York and I look forward to honoring black history month with a meaningful and productive discussion surrounding the past and present reality faced by black New Yorkers.
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Defined as institutionally created and reinforced privilege for some groups of people and a lack of privilege and access to resources by others, systematic inequity also known as structural inequity has been a barrier to the success and advancement of marginalized groups for a long time and continues to have a negative impact even to this day.
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New Yorkers of color long experienced the negative impacts of systematic racial inequities with these disparities often affecting black New Yorkers acutely.
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Studies show that black New Yorkers are more than twice as likely to be impacted by material hardships in any given year compared to white New Yorkers and a more than three times as likely to be impacted by persistent material hardships over the course of four or more years.
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Redlining, educational disparities, housing and food insecurity, and equal access to adequate health care are just some of the issues that can still be linked back to the systemic inequity embedded into the foundation of this country, this state, and this city.
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At today's hearing, I'm hoping to really dive deep into the circumstances and systemic factors that contribute to the ongoing inequities that black New Yorkers face while also gaining insight on any recent advancements and efforts the administration made to rectify these injustices, including its own interagency work and its direct engagement with affected communities.
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This morning's hearing will also cover current status of racial equity planning.
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In 2022, New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted in favor to pass three ballot measures proposed by the Racial Justice Commission.
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As a result, the creation of a racial equity planning process and final plan is mandated.
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In June of twenty twenty four, this committee held an oversight hearing on the implementation of the racial justice commission's ballot measures and while I feel that we had an engaging and informative hearing, I must stress the importance of ongoing oversight and collaboration when it comes to this extremely, especially in today's climate, extremely important work.
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Not only does this committee look forward to updates and discussion of this work but its public disclosure is also a duty we owe to New Yorkers who should always be kept informed of the decisions and plans that will affect their lives.
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With the administration's new target dates for a preliminary and final plan quickly approaching, the time is ripe to discuss progress and hurdles.
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I also hope to receive updates on local law '91 of 2024 in relation to studying the impacts of slavery in New York City and recommending potential reparative measures for resulting harms and local law '92 of 2024 in relation to the creation of a truth healing and reconciliation process.
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Both of these laws were passed with the intent to aid in rectifying past injustices afflicted on black New Yorkers.
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The legacies of which we'll be discussing during today's hearing.
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Thank you to committee staff, finance staff in my office for their work on this hearing and thank you to my colleagues who have also joined us today.
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I'm joined by council member Marte, council member Joseph also has joined us, and then we're also joined by our public advocate.
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And I will now turn it to our public advocate for some opening remarks.