Equity

Local studies have revealed that too many residents – including communities of color, immigrants and refugees, and people with disabilities – experience vast disparities in terms of access to publicly funded programs and services, including arts and culture. RACC and the City of Portland are committed to ensuring that all residents and diverse communities have equal access to publicly funded arts and culture programs.

Since 2010, RACC has been establishing new goals for reaching out to underserved populations and proactively providing RACC services in new communities. RACC is also working collaboratively with the arts organizations we fund to help identify strategies for increasing access to arts and culture in the City of Portland and throughout the region.

LATEST NEWS:

• April 4, 2013 RACC's Equity & Outreach Plan (Updated)

BACKGROUND/REFERENCE LINKS:

• Communities of Color in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile (PDF)
• RACC’s year one progress report on Equity and Diversity (November, 2011) (PDF)
• Mayor Sam Adams’s powerpoint on inequity in the City of Portland (January, 2012) (PDF)
• Article: Portland introduces new diversity goals for local arts and culture groups seeking public funds, by DK Row, The Oregonian, February 25, 2012
• Article: Miracle on 135th Avenue: A Portland high school where students speak 55 languages shows Oregon how to reform education, by Rachel Graham Cody, Willamette Week, February 13, 2013  
   

RACC RESOURCES:

• Diversity and Inclusion Strategies for Success – a powerpoint presentation delivered by Carmen Morgan on May 1, 2013 (PDF)
• Context for Diversity and Inclusion and other support materials from Carmen Morgan (May, 2013) (PDF)
   
• Summary of RACC’s panel discussion on Equity (7/25/12) (PDF) 
• Culturally specific media contact list (PDF)
• RACC’s demographic questionnaire template for staff, board and volunteers (PDF)
• RACC now provides printed translations of its materials upon request, and can provide in-person and over-the-phone language interpretation support as needed.
  o RACC’s language translation and information request line is 503-823-5071
  o View the press release on this topic
  o View RACC’s FY13 project grant advertisements in Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian
  o View the Arts for All program materials in Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian
   

OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES:

• Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights
• Multnomah County Office of Diversity and Equity
• Racial Equity Strategy Guide (PDF)
• Our United Villages resource page
• National Arts Marketing Project: Attracting Diverse Audiences (PDF)
• Population Research Center (PSU)
• Metropolitan Knowledge Network (PSU)
• Greater Portland Pulse
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Audience Development Manifesto  
   

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

• Say Hey / Partners in Diversity

WHAT OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING:

• Philadelphia -- Research to Action: Pathways to new Opportunities (PDF)
• Diversity within San Diego’s nonprofit arts and culture sector (PDF)