At their June 9, 2020 meeting, the Ingham County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted Resolution #20-254 to declare racism as a public health crisis in Ingham County and recommitted its full attention to improving the quality of life and health of Black Ingham County residents.

To achieve community-centered solutions to address racial injustices faced by Black communities, the Board of Commissioners established the Ingham County Racial Equity Taskforce. The Taskforce will work toward achieving equitable outcomes in wealth accumulation and income, education, safety, health and other measures of well-being among all County residents and County employees. With the input of County residents, the Taskforce will identify and track metrics pertaining to areas involving criminal justice, social capital, environmental, voter suppression, education and transportation.

The Taskforce is a broadly representative advisory board made up of Ingham County leaders, employees, and the community. The Board of Commissioners will appoint fifteen Ingham County residents to the Taskforce, which will include three members of the Board of Commissioners, one representing the Human Services Committee and at least one Ingham County employee. In addition to the fifteen members, the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners will serve as an ex-officio member and one representative from each of the following Ingham County advisory boards/committees will serve as non-voting members: Ingham County Equal Opportunity Committee, Ingham County Board of Health, Ingham County Community Health Center Board, Health in All Policies Committee, and the Ingham County Women’s Commission.

Commissioner Derrell Slaughter stated “The formation of Ingham County's Racial Equity Taskforce is an incredibly proud moment in our County's history. I'm looking forward to working with all of the talented, passionate Ingham County residents who will help Ingham County stay true to our commitment”. Chairperson Bryan Crenshaw added “Ingham County is showing its commitment to address racism in the County. By declaring Racism as a Public Health Crisis and establishing the taskforce, we are looking to hear voices of our employees and County residents on how we can move forward and address this creating as equal playing field for all residents”.