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About Us

Greater Buffalo is on the rise, and we believe all our residents should have the opportunity to take part in and achieve their greatest potential. Our region will see even greater growth when everyone can learn, work and further contribute to a healthy, thriving and prosperous community. This can be accomplished by bridging gaps in racial equity.

History of the Roundtable

Since its founding in 2015, the Roundtable and all of its community partners have reached many milestones that are bringing our community closer to achieving racial equity. Please use our interactive timeline below to see a snapshot of those milestones.

2015

March 2015

Initial meeting of the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable with the Cleveland Commission on Economic Inclusion.

November 2015

Priority issues and systems identified for Roundtable’s agenda. Final indicators for racial equity report selected.

2016

March 2016

The first Racial Equity Impact Analysis Training was held with City of Buffalo officials and Erie Community College’s executive team.

June 2016

The Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable convened the Business Leaders Task Force with eight major employers to advance inclusive workplace practices.

July 2016

Boys and Young Men of Color Alignment convening facilitated by Angela Glover Blackwell, president and CEO of PolicyLink, and her team to integrate the boys and young men of color (BMoC) lens into Say Yes.

July 2016

Reentry Coalition convened to discuss the development of a comprehensive, cohesive system for reentry in Erie County to strengthen justice involved with individual’s chances of success upon release.

November 2016

Public launch of Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable and The Racial Equity Dividend: Buffalo’s Great Opportunity. Standing room only at the history museum.

2017

January 2017

GBRER hosted the first annual National Day of Racial Healing Order of Worship at Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church, where more than 500 people attended.

March 2017

The Buffalo Niagara Regional Workforce Coalition rebrands itself as Employ Buffalo/Niagara.

June 2017

The Community Foundation was awarded a $2 Million W.K. Kellogg Truth, Racial Healing, Transformation Grant.

September 2017

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership launched the Diversity and Inclusion Council.

2018

May 2018

As part of our narrative change partnership with WNED/WBFO, WNED launched the first Racial Equity Facebook Live Town Hall, “Housing in Black and White,” which has been viewed by more than 5,000 people.

May 2018

The Diversity and Inclusion Council held a half-day conference, “Maximizing the Value of Diversity and Inclusion,” for businesses. 150 people registered.

2019

January 2019

First cohort Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council graduation.

February 2019

Business Leaders Task Force launches the Buffalo Purchasing Initiative, a two-year pilot program to increase wealth for businesses of color.

April 2019

Inter-congregational Racial Healing Circle event planned for approximately 120 people (seven Racial Healing Circles).

June 2019

The Opportunity Agenda’s Alan Jenkins comes to Buffalo to provide narrative change workshops for the Roundtable and its partners.

2020

January 2020

More than 500 community members attend the Roundtable’s National Day of Racial Healing service and keynote from Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law, at Elim Christian Fellowship.

November 2020

The Reentry Coalition announces opening of the Service Link Stop, a one-stop shop steps away from the Erie County Holding Center that provides programs and services for reentering citizens.

2021

January 2021

Due to the pandemic, the National Day of Racial Healing service took place virtually, with opening remarks from the Most Reverend Michael Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

June 2021

Roundtable members Senator Tim Kennedy and Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes push forward legislation in New York State Senate to create an Office of Racial Equity in the NYS Executive Branch.

September 2021

Juvenile Justice Works partners with the principals of five Buffalo Public Schools to implement restorative justice practices in the schools.

2022

April 2022

Employ Buffalo Niagara partnered with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to create an easy-to-use Benefits Cliff Calculator that our community can use for free to understand how a sudden increase in pay results in a sudden loss of support.

May 2022

The Greater Buffalo Racial Roundtable convenes immediately following the horrific 5/14 mass shooting to work together on ways to accelerate its work in the community to address racial equity gaps.

September 2022

An initiative of the Youth Employment Coalition, CareerWise Greater Buffalo, a modern apprentice program, launched at Say Yes Buffalo to connect Buffalo students to career paths.

The Racial Equity Dividend: Buffalo’s Great Opportunity

The Roundtable started by commissioning a report that documented how systemic disparities in the Greater Buffalo region create differential outcomes by race. The report titled The Racial Equity Dividend: Buffalo’s Great Opportunity was released to the public in late 2016 and quantifies the economic gains to be realized by all when we achieve racial equity. This launched the public phase of the work and the creation of working groups and coalitions to make change in specific systems.

The Dividend Report

Our Initiatives

The Roundtable has 10 strategies and works with over 350 partners who are currently working toward the end goal of creating an expanded, inclusive economy.

View Initiatives