In 2023, more than 70% of King County employees took the We Are Racially Just training, a wonderful achievement for a course that was only launched in August. At King County, we aim to reach our True North – to create a welcoming community where every person can thrive. To achieve this, we must be racially just and actively work toward dismantling racist systems, practices, and approaches. The training is one of the ways King County has worked toward this goal.

We are racially just is a core value of King County where we center anti-racism and pro-equity. This training helps to ensure each of us understands what it means to be racially just and what we can do in our own work to advance racial justice at King County.

“Anti-racism work is ongoing, and ensuring we all have a foundational understanding of what it means to be racially-just is crucial in advancing this work and our culture here at King County.” Whitney Abrams, Chief People Officer said. “The training is an important step in creating a work environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and racially-just where everyone can thrive. I am thankful that so many employees have already taken the training, and more are taking it every day. I am excited to see how we incorporate this training into our everyday work and delivery of service to King County residents.”

The goal is to have all King County employees complete the training. Employees without regular computer access have until September 2024 to complete the training, and new employees must take the training within 90 days of their date of hire.

The training incorporates five racially just behaviors:

Five behaviors:

1. We exercise deep listening and empathy when engaging in discussions about racial justice.
2. We describe how race, ethnicity, and/or tribal identity connects with other forms of identities.
3. We explain how structural racism contributes to where we are now in life based on each of our own racial, ethnic, and/or tribal identities.
4. We center Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color’s (BIPOC) experiences and voices in our work in King County.
5. We advance racial justice by continually educating ourselves and others on King County’s Pro-Equity and Anti-Racist Actions.

The we are racially just discussion guide is a helpful resource when centering the behaviors.

We look forward to continuing this journey with all of you and have listed additional King County resources below to continue your anti-racism journey.

King County trainings:

• ERSJ Fundamentals
• Building Gender Inclusive Spaces
• Equity and Leadership
• Antiracism: Challenging Inequity
• Building High Trust Cultures

Other King County resources:

• We are racially just discussion guide
• We are racially just toolkit
• Affinity groups