Creating a more equitable nation is the goal of many policymakers — but to actually realize that vision takes something more than good intentions. Organizations like PolicyLink, which works to create quality jobs, affordable housing, good schools, and healthy communities for low-income people and people of color, can provide some guidance to the budding idealists looking to foster a better world. Equity is at the heart of PolicyLink's work, and, in the words of its president, Michael McAfee, it encourages policymakers to be "irascible" as they challenge oppressive systems and structures.
In this episode of Walking the Talk, Domonic Rollins talks with McAfee, a longtime leader in community development and affordable housing, about how policymakers and education leaders can help dismantle these structural barriers — and about the mindset and determination needed to make it happen.
Walking the Talk is a series of video conversations streamed live on Facebook, exploring challenging questions of diversity, inclusion, and identity as they are lived and expressed in the real world. See previous episodes here.