“When we’re looking at the conditions of our folks and the ways in which the systems that govern and distribute resources are operating,” Johnson said. The goal, Ridley-Thomas said, is to dismantle policies that hurt Black people, including those in law enforcement that lead to disproportionate numbers of Black people being jailed, widens the wealth gap, and fuels disparities in education, housing and healthcare. The anti-racist agenda the Board of Supervisors passed last month, a first-of-its-kind proposal, is meant to strategically push against systemic racism and bias in LA County. Mark-Anthony Johnson, director of health and wellness at Dignity and Power Now, an organization that works with people who are incarcerated.Paul Ong, a professor and the director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge at UCLA and.Fesia Davenport, Los Angeles County’s chief operating officer.Manuel Pastor, a professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity, and the director of the Equity Research Institute at USC.The forum featured four panelists, who joined Ridley-Thomas, LA County’s Second District representative on the Board of Supervisors, to discuss what officials must do to ensure their new policy agenda is successful and enduring. 3, two weeks after he authored and his board colleagues approved an anti-racist policy agenda, to talk about what it will take to redefine government systems and institutions into ones that benefit Black people. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas held a virtual forum on Monday, Aug. Los Angeles County leaders must do a better job of understanding the various structures that have marginalized and red-taped Black people from achieving equity for generations and identify specific outcomes that will improve the community if their reforms to address systemic racism are to succeed, several community leaders, academics and county officials said recently.