With the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic winding down, we are reminded by how our world has been marked by economic and personal loss, social unrest, and a shift in the American consciousness about who we are as people and as a nation. Right here in the Bay Area we have seen some of these issues play out in very difficult and sometimes tragic ways. Our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have experienced horrific violent hate crimes. Black Americans have continued to experience systemic racism from law enforcement locally and nationally. Our Latinx community has been trying to emerge not only from the shadow of the pandemic, but also trying to overcome escalating hostility and prejudice. And the Native American community continues to fight for social, environmental, and land justice. These and other Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals – who have been over-represented among the ranks of the "essential workers" and the owners of local-serving businesses providing critical goods and services – are also the ones who have been struggling the most to navigate the economy and labor market as it continues to evolve in real time. 

It was with this backdrop that the East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA) launched and published East Bay Forward, a regional economic analysis and blueprint for recovery. Released in September 2021, this economic profile of the region confirmed the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 for BIPOC business owners and workers. This is particularly true in industry sectors like tourism and hospitality, food service and nightlife, entertainment, and personal services, which employ high percentages of women, people of color, and immigrants, who in turn are among those who suffered the greatest losses during the pandemic. 

East Bay Forward identifies twelve critical priorities to ensure that the region succeeds in coordinating and mobilizing its assets and resources. The priorities respond to the findings from the report's analyses regarding the East Bay's future opportunities and challenges, as well as the input and recommendations from the many stakeholders that participated in the development of this blueprint. Together, the twelve priorities serve as a comprehensive framework for engaging and activating efforts by East Bay EDA's many stakeholders to ensure a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economic future for our businesses and residents. 

Now more than ever, the public and private sectors must work together even more closely to ensure that we align efforts and strategies to do more move the needle to support an equitable and sustainable economic recovery. Recognizing this, East Bay EDA will continue to work with leaders from across the region to ensure that equity centers our work as we try and surmount our region's pressing and rapidly growing economic and social divides. Just as we must confront the endemic of racism and other personal and systemic barriers, we also must continue to come together to combat the challenges of our past and imagine a future that creates new and better opportunities for our region's diverse population to realize economic security and stability.

With the East Bay Forward blueprint now complete, we are ready to begin. We invite you to join us in this important work.

For more information about East Bay EDA's work in the region, visit their web site at www.eastbayeda.org.