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The State Government Community of Practice

Are you a state practitioner working to advance racial equity? The States Advancing Racial Equity Community of Practice is supporting leaders across the nation to create shared meaning, generate and generalize emerging and successful practices, deepen expertise, and build community. Click below for more info

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"Bigger We"

State of Equity and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) are working together to build a national states strategy for equity and a “Bigger We”

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State of Equity, Race Forward’s Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), and American Pride Rises are cultivating a community of state government racial equity practitioners, and developing a national strategy for advancing racial equity in state governments.

This is a critical time for state governments to strengthen their efforts to advance racial equity. States help funds and policies flow between federal and local jurisdictions, and can play a key role in supporting and elevating community solutions.

While racial justice advocates have primarily focused on local and federal governments, opponents of racial justice are increasingly targeting their attacks at the state level. Opponents are trying to ban racial equity work in government and education by pushing state legislative bills, turning to the courts, and attacking private businesses that work with governments on racial equity.

Our work is guided by input from state government practitioners and informed by other partners working to support states in their efforts to advance racial equity. We aim to advance a just multi-racial democracy by facilitating a collaborative and coordinated national strategy that unites state government, advocates, philanthropy, and others. One that supports a generative network of state government racial equity practitioners, advocates for comprehensive institutional change that centers racial equity, and shares emerging and successful practices.

Timeline

Since these efforts began, more than 300 state practitioners and several dozen non-government partners have helped to shape, define, and begin to move the national strategy to advance racial equity through state governments.

2021

State of Equity and GARE convened leaders from state government and non-governmental organizations. Participants requested a community for state-level racial equity practitioners, capacity building, and a states strategy.

2022

State government leaders gathered and identified three action areas for 2023: shared language of why this work is important, internal infrastructure for changing government, networked infrastructure for sustained capacity.

2023

State of Equity assessed the landscape of attempts to restrict and work to advance racial equity at the state government level. Here are initial recommendations for a national strategy for advancing racial equity through state governments.

2024

With Support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, State of Equity has teamed up with GARE and Race Forward to launch the States Advancing Racial Equity Community of Practice." The partners will host in-person convenings for connection, coordination, and alignment of efforts among state practitioners and other partners.

2025

The collaborative has identified a new name and logo: States Advancing Racial Equity (SARE). We added American Pride Rises to our SARE Steering Committee in 2025

This work is also guided by many partners.

Our SARE Steering Committee includes State of Equity at the Public Health Institute, Race Forward’s Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), and American Pride Rises

Click here to read about “The Bigger We”: How the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) and State of Equity are working together to build a national states strategy for racial equity!  

The Advisory Committee for convenings in 2021 and 2022 included representatives of Demos, Ford Foundation, Needle Strategies, PolicyLink, Race Forward, State of California, State Innovation Exchange, State of Vermont, Urban Institute, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Practitioners from California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Utah informed convenings and research in 2023.  

Support for this work is provided, in part, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 

“In a period of escalating federal retrenchment on racial equity, the role of states has become both indispensable and decisive. State of Equity is providing the state-level power, infrastructure, and coordination required for any credible whole-of-government equity agenda. Their work is central to whether racial equity in government is defended and advanced in this high-stakes movement.”