MontgomeryCountyMD.GOV

The Mission

The Mission of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice is to reduce and eliminate racial disparities and inequities in Montgomery County.

Contact Us

Address: 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-777-5334
MPIA Contact: [email protected]

The Purpose

The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) is a county-wide office of the County Government. The ORESJ was created in December of 2019 by The Racial Equity and Social Justice Act to help reduce and ultimately eliminate racial and other disparities experienced by residents of color across Montgomery County. We achieve this by supporting County Departments in normalizing conversations on race and other equity issues, organizing staff to work together for transformational change, and operationalizing new practices, policies, and procedures that are equity centered.

We have been tasked with facilitating the Racial Equity and Social Justice Committee, training County staff and Equity Leads, and conducting department-wide Equity Assessments to support every department in creating Racial Equity Action Plans.

The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice recognizes that it will take transformational shifts within government to truly address disparities experienced by communities of color and low-income communities, and therefore we focus our efforts on building capacity within the government to understand what it takes to advance racial equity within every County Department. We believe that equity is everyone's job, and our office provides training, technical assistance and tools to all of our County Departments and the staff.The Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice acknowledges that transformative shifts within government are necessary to effectively address the disparities faced by communities of color and low-income communities. Therefore, we focus our efforts on building capacity within the government to understand what it takes to advance racial equity within every County Department. We believe that equity is everyone's job, and our office provides training, technical assistance, and tools to all of our County Departments and the staff.

Background

"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" – James Baldwin

At first glance, Montgomery County appears to be a bastion of wealth and opportunity. In fact, until very recently, Montgomery County was the richest county in Maryland. Upon closer examination, we found revealing disparities in education, housing, transportation, poverty, and income.

Data only partially helps us understand these disparities, both as a County government and in understanding these disparities. As a County government and a community, we need to center the lived experiences of members of communities of color. We must take an honest look at history, systems, and institutions to analyze how disproportionality exists across all sectors and issue areas.

We will take a systems approach to our analysis. Similarly, more white (73%) and Asian (74%) populations own their homes in Montgomery County compared to Black or African American (43%) and Hispanic or Latinx (49%) residents. Analysis, ridding ourselves of the myth that individual people are the problem. We must understand that people are not the problem; it is the systems and institutions (including government), and the policies and practices that they have created, perpetuated, and maintained that lead to these outcomes.