LYNN — Lynn is one of six Greater Boston communities selected to receive technical assistance to create and implement racial equity plans through the Racial Equity Municipal Action Plan (REMAP) program.
The city was selected from 22 applications received for the first round of the REMAP program, a collaboration among the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, according to Mayor Thomas M. McGee’s office.
The REMAP program is aimed at helping cities and towns transparently and effectively address racism and inequity, which has been highlighted in recent months following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer in May.
Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests against systemic racism and police brutality. Those protests still continue today after being reignited with subsequent incidents involving Black men and women and police officers.
“It is clear that we as a country, state, and city still have tremendous work to do in order to truly achieve racial equity,” said McGee. “My administration is committed to taking concrete steps to provide more equitable services and opportunities to all of our residents.”
The development of such a plan is important, said McGee’s office, as communities across the state and nation, including Lynn, are grappling with the daily concerns surrounding municipal hiring, funding priorities, the racial wealth divide, unequal law enforcement, and segregation.
The year-long program aims to help municipalities make tangible community-level economic and administration improvements and address institutional and structural policies and practices that contribute to racial inequity, according to McGee’s office.
In Lynn, the first four months will be devoted to preparing for the development of the plan, including a focus on training, reflection and self-assessment. The final eight months will be the development and implementation of certain aspects of the racial equity plan.
“It was important to me that Lynn be part of that initiative, and we’re grateful to be one of only six communities in the Greater Boston area who will receive the resources needed to develop a strong racial equity plan,” said McGee. “The REMAP program will allow us to engage in a difficult, but necessary community conversation that begins to chip away at the existing obstacles caused by systemic racism.
“I am confident that our core team of city officials, in collaboration with the MAPC, GARE and FRBB, and the public will be committed to taking a hard look at our policies to ensure they are inclusive for all.”
