TULSA, Okla. — A coalition made up of 40 community organizations that are asking the City of Tulsa to consider using a portion of American Rescue Act funding towards fighting racial inequities in the city.
At Wednesday’s city council meeting, Christy Emig, project manager for ACTION Tulsa, teamed up with city councilor, Vanessa Hall Harper and other community leaders to promote the initiative.
Emig, says the excess money from ARPA funding is the perfect opportunity to address racial inequities in the city.
The coalition also pointed out the city’s most recent score on its equality report. The report tracks disparities among subgroups of Tulsans over time. The city scored 39.6 out of 100 according to its 2020 report.
The coalition sees this as a strong indicator that racial inequity exists and should be addressed with the help of ARPA funding.
“We recognize this is a once in a generation opportunity. It’s an opportunity for Tulsa to recover from the pandemic while re-imagining a more engaged and more equitable Tulsa,” Emig said.
The city’s equity report tracks the data from six different categories including public health, education, and housing. They’re asking the city to team up with IMPACT Tulsa to identify specific needs of the community.
The coalition is asking for about $15 million out of $88 million towards their initiative.
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