Equity must be an ongoing process

It has been an honor serving Cedar Rapids and Marion as the executive director of their civil rights commissions. Although my role is changing, I always will be part of this community.

As I approach the end of my tenure as the executive director of the Cedar Rapids and Marion civil rights commissions, I look back with pride at the work we have done.

As we begin to wrap up the civil rights commissions' 50th anniversary celebration, I am reminded of the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 'Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable ...

. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

I believe in being deliberate and strategic in efforts to create inclusiveness - so as the center point of the commissions' 50-year celebration, we embarked on a multiyear Community-Based Participatory Research project designed to take a replicable snapshot of racial disproportionality in our great city.

We felt that we at the civil rights commissions have the unique vantage point, role and responsibility of holding a mirror to our communities so people who are traditionally underserved or underrepresented are not forgotten.

Our goal in this effort is to inform community leaders and policymakers so that together we, as a community, can ensure that our community welcomes and includes all people.

The State of Equity Report is an ongoing process that was designed with five repeating steps on a two-year cycle:

' Step 1 - Measure: In November and December 2013, six content expert subcommittees were convened to look at state and local data in order to identify areas or systems where racial disproportionality exists.

Each subcommittee worked with the civil rights commissions and its staff to develop 'focus areas” (based on the data).

In order to become a focus area, there needed to be strong agreement that there was a 'demonstrable disparity” and that we had the sufficient 'capacity” and 'will” to make it a community priority.

' Step 2 - Verify validity of measurement: On Feb. 4, two Community Reflection events were hosted. The goal of these events was to present draft data and to gather community input to be used in the development of the final report as it was presented in April.

Students from Coe College also gathered stories from event participants (qualitative research) in order to validate and humanize the data collected through the community reflections.

' Step 3 - Share and plan for change: The final report was released April 23 at the commissions' Fair Housing Summit, attended by about 450 people.

While at the summit, community members participated in an asset-based community conversation focused on discussing the shared disproportionality measures for our community, identifying who already is working on these issues in the community and gaining additional partners for the effort.

' Step 4 - Support change: (We are here now.) Coordinating, aligning and strengthening work with those groups that already are working on the identified issues and building capacity where there are gaps.

' Step 5 - Remeasure and restrategize: The second State of Equity Report process will begin in the fall of 2015 and be published in 2016.

While I am leaving before the full cycle of the process is completed, I am able to confirm that the commissions will carry the work forward into 2015.

Commissioners and staff are committed to making our great community a welcoming and inclusive place where discrimination is anathema to our values.

I wanted to thank all of you who have supported the work of the commissions for the last 50 years and all of you who supported me during my tenure.

I invite you and all your friends to join me today to watch the World Cup soccer finals at the Cedar Rapids Latino Festival starting at 2 p.m. in Greene Square Park.

I cannot think of a better way to say, 'I will see you soon.”

' John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas is the outgoing executive director of the Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission. Contact: 319-286-5036; j.Chaisson@cedar-rapids.org