St. Pete 2.0: The state of racial equity in St. Pete in 2021 [Survey results part two]

The St. Petersburg renaissance has been in full swing for more than a decade. We’ve excelled in many areas and struggled in others. In our series St. Pete 2.0, we’re partnering with the St. Pete Catalyst to explore what lies on the other side of our potential – what will it take to move to the “next level” as a city? Through this series, we’ll dig into specific topics with the hope that you, our thoughtful citizens, will share your insight, experience and wisdom.

The past year has been turbulent as communities across the country – including St. Petersburg – have reckoned with systemic racism, inequity and injustice. While some meaningful actions have been taken to address these issues, such as a renewed emphasis on supporting Black-owned businesses and the introduction of body cameras for law enforcement officers, many residents agree that there’s still a long way to go in building a community that’s truly equitable for everyone. 

In part one of our St. Pete 2.0 survey results, we learned that the events of the past year have caused a number of people to reexamine their attitudes on race, with many gaining a new awareness of how Black residents are treated by police. We also found that, overall, respondents feel like the city is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly, in terms of creating a positive, inclusive environment for all residents. But for that progress to continue, the business community – especially white business leaders – needs to step up in terms of promoting diversity in their workforces and providing a welcoming environment for customers and clients.

The second part of our survey results asked respondents to consider what they’ve done personally to address racial inequity over the past year, as well as what the community can do in the future to ensure that St. Pete continues to make progress in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Click here to read what we discovered on the St. Pete Catalyst.

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