Racial and social equity policy approved by county Supervisors

The initiative is part of an effort to acknowledge Loudoun’s racist past which included the board in 1956 voting to defund any public schools the federal government ordered to be integrated. Loudoun didn’t integrate schools until 1968, which was 14 years after segregation was ruled illegal.

“The county seeks meaningful and thoughtful ways to heal the wounds of our past, reconcile the differences of our present, and unify around the path forward toward a future of a more equitable and inclusive community,” the equity resolution reads. “The Board of Supervisors envision a unified approach where Loudoun County government and community partners commit to intentionally and collectively advancing equity in a manner that reduces disparities and works collaboratively to bring the county’s vision to complete fruition.”

As part of the policy, County Administrator Tim Hemstreet will provide an annual equity report on how county departments are operating through an “equity lens.” That lens will be used in several initiatives including:

• Developing the county budget as well as in procurement, personnel decisions, plans, policies, programs and services.
• Data collection to determine where disparities and service gaps exist.
• Designing a framework to eliminate disparities and fairly distribute resources.

About 20 public speakers discussed the policy before it was approved, with about 15 supporting it. Proponents were a multi-racial group that included clergy, leaders of community organizations and individuals speaking for themselves. They said the policy will not be discriminatory. Proponent Mikaeel Martinez Jaka said equity is not a pie and won’t mean some getting less so that others get more.

“By lifting each other up, you do not have to put yourself down. Equity only adds to the strength of our community and the fabric of our nation,” he said. “Whether it’s racism, bigotry, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, in any case, by countering these [prejudices] with equity and support for our fellow humans, we are simply strengthening our nation and the promise of a more perfect union.”

Speaker George Lambert said the policy could be transformational and end “built-in biases” and “longstanding patterns of discrimination” in Loudoun.

“Every Black person in America spends a career fighting racism. Every facet of Black life is touched by systemic racism; from being shutout of the economy, to being over-policed, to an election system that has been weaponized attacking our democracy through voter suppression,” said Lambert, who’s Black. “This is a defining moment. I urge you to take the journey unpacking what equity should look like. More importantly, what it can and should look like for Loudoun County.”

The mostly white opponents of the measure said that rather than level the playing field it would tilt it toward mediocrity over meritocracy. They said it would be divisive rather than inclusive.

“Often it is used to put in what’s sometimes called ‘the soft racism of low expectations,’” Mike Taylor said. “You’re putting a burden on people who do succeed because everybody wonders how they did it.”

Mackie Christenson said the policy would create doubt, resentment, and unintended consequences. She said deserving contractors and county employees might be denied contracts or promotions and those that get them will be seen as undeserving.

“It is an absolute injustice to those who do work their way to the top on their merit, no matter their ethnic background or disability,” she said. “This is so embarrassingly racist and insulting to imply that some people aren’t competitive and need this protection from the equity police.”

The resolution was approved by 6-1-1 vote. Supervisors Juli E. Briskman, D-Algonkian, Sylvia R. Glass, D-Broad Run, Board Chairman Phyllis J. Randall, D-At Large, Vice Chairman Koran T. Saines, D-Sterling, Michael R. Turner, D-Ashburn, and Kristen C. Umstattd, D-Leesburg, voted yes. Caleb A. Kershner, R-Catoctin, voted no. Tony R. Buffington, R-Blue Ridge, abstained. Matthew F. Letourneau, R-Dulles, was absent.

Randall, who sponsored the resolution, said systemic racism continues to plague the nation. She noted just last week, the Department of Justice reached a $31 million settlement with City National Bank in Los Angeles over redlining, the practice of not lending money or selling homes to people because of their race or where they live. Randall also cited a litany of racial disparities between Black and white people in criminal prosecutions, education, health, and housing.

Randall noted the board never had a person of color as chairperson until she took office in 2016 and she was the first in Virginia. There was one person of color in senior management in county government when she took office. Randall said it wasn’t because county administrators were racist, but because they needed to cast a wider net in job searches such as recruiting at historically Black colleges and universities.

“Once that net was cast wider, we got much more diversity in people applying,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that somebody who’s qualified doesn’t get the job. It means you have the ability to interview more people. And you better believe that everyone who sits in senior management right now, and we have much more diversity, are very well qualified.”

Turner said the statistics Randall cited were examples of why a policy defining equity is needed.

“It’s going to be very precise and very specific about the way we expect citizens of this community to treat each other. It’s really that simple,” he said. “And I’ve got to tell you, some of the comments I heard in this room tonight absolutely verify for me why we so desperately need this resolution.”

Buffington said the policy is well-intentioned, but too controversial and doesn’t clearly define justice. He said it will be “overly burdensome” on Hemstreet and there is also uncertainly about its impact on the county budget and county projects.

“Does that mean certain parts of the county where certain racial or other type of person lives are going to get more of those projects?” Buffington asked. “That’s another part that I’m unsure about and I don’t feel comfortable voting on this.”

Kershner said there were a lot of “great statements” in the resolution, but it no evidence of the discrimination in the county that the policy seeks to end. He also said it was wrong to have government make racially-based decisions.

“We’re actually as a government beginning to inject this stuff back in which is what I thought we had fought forever to get rid of. And that is the idea that we favor any sort of racial inequality,” Kershner said. “I hope I’m wrong. But I really fear we’re beginning to drift in this direction.”