Affirming the REI Lens — and Explaining Why
In 2017, the Board of Baltimore’s Promise affirmed a Race Equity and Inclusion (REI) Statement that commits the organization to “a rigorous and sustained focus on eliminating systemic and institutional race-based barriers to opportunity … from cradle to career.” As the statement affirms:
Through this intentional approach, we can better shape targeted strategies that meet specific needs of our vulnerable children and youth while improving conditions and outcomes for all populations we serve, creating new pathways for opportunities for children, youth and families to thrive in Baltimore.
Five years after the adoption of this statement, it remains a lodestar for Baltimore’s Promise, guiding the organization's values and its unique approach to all aspects of its work.
In a recent video created as part of a grant application, CEO Julia Baez and Chief Impact Officer Bridget Blount shared how Baltimore’s history demands an REI approach to the organization’s work, and how that work looks in practice. A few clips from that conversation are featured below:
Baltimore’s history of racial segregation and selective underinvestment shaped the city’s geography – and the organization’s responses.
Baltimore’s Promise shapes its advocacy efforts in ways that leverage community strengths and respond directly to the current and legacy effects of underinvestment.
Baltimore’s Promise’s focus on data is not just about metrics. It’s about using data to discover and expose gaps and disparities in funding, services and opportunities.
Effective use of that data – qualitative and quantitative – can shine a light not just on the disparities, but on the extraordinary potential of Baltimore’s young people.
The video conversation focused specifically on the collective commitment to centering equity throughout the Baltimore City Youth Data Hub, a partnership of Baltimore’s Promise, Baltimore City, and Baltimore City Public Schools. But the Data Hub is just one example of this essential work. Baltimore’s Promise continues to operationalize the REI commitment through each of its initiatives, deploying various approaches along the way.