Two council members propose commission on racial equity in city

African Americans in Pittsburgh earn less, face higher rates of maternal mortality and cardiovascular disease, and will see their lives end sooner than their white counterparts within the same city limits, according to a recent city-commissioned report.

That’s why two Pittsburgh councilmen want to ensure that the city becomes “America’s most livable city for everyone” by passing legislation that puts racial equity front and center of the city’s decision-making.

Councilmen Ricky Burgess and Daniel Lavelle on Tuesday proposed the creation of a commission on racial equity that in part would “facilitate a conversation on reparations” and the adoption of 10 commitments to racial equity as a “blueprint that should guide the city and this council and the mayor going forward for how we should address racial equity,” Mr. Lavelle and Mr. Burgess said, respectively.

“We want to assure the African American community that we are taking racial reconciliation and racial equity seriously,” Mr. Burgess said.

Reparations would not necessarily take the form of a “government handing over a check,” but rather could be city partnerships with lending and educational institutions that provide African Americans the same opportunities as their white counterparts.

The proposed “10 commitments” include “deliberately and systemically applying a racial equity lens in all of [the city’s] decision-making henceforth” and furthering racial equity in all city authorities.

City council in December declared racism a public health crisis after Mr. Burgess and Mr. Lavelle championed the resolution, citing glaring racial disparities revealed by a city’s Gender Equity Commission study that found Pittsburgh’s African American population trailing behind those in nearly all comparable cities.

The proposals before council now are the next step to addressing the issues, they said.

“We need to ensure that [our] work lives on past us, when neither of us will be on council, when we have a new mayor. We need to ensure that government still has to focus on racial equity and right now there’s nothing embedded in government that says we have to continue this work,” Mr. Lavelle said.

Council will likely discuss the resolution to adopt the “10 commitments” proposal next Wednesday, but will need to wait to hear from Mayor Bill Peduto’s office on the creation of a new commission.

“We’re reviewing it as required by city law,” said Timothy McNulty, mayoral spokesman.

The legislation calls for the mayor to appoint anywhere from 13 to 17 commissioners to the body that would be comprised of community members, racial equity and public health experts, and council members whose districts have a predominant number of racial minorities.