"Looking for solutions around racial equity and trying to influence policy felt like a collision of all of the worlds I’m passionate about.”

Meet Tracee Bruce. She is currently representing MillerKnoll as a CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellow. In that role, she  advocates for the acknowledgment of systemic racism as a public health crisis and the development of an action-oriented framework to support those interested in becoming involved.

Bruce joined Herman Miller, part of the MillerKnoll collective, in 2018 and has 20 years of working in marketing, project management, and leadership roles across a range of industries. Her experience includes time at Starbucks Corporate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Charter Communications, as well as the Michigan nonprofit Family Futures, where she learned more about racial equity and how to work toward that in a business setting.

A native of Muskegon Heights, a predominantly Black community in Michigan, Bruce is passionate about history, politics, and racial equity. She credits her equally passionate family, growing up participating in annual Black history programs at school and church, as well as the educational value of experiencing Black teachers throughout grades K-12, for helping instill pride in her culture and fondness for Black history.

We caught up with Bruce to learn more about her experience as she makes history in public health and policy.

What interested you in being a CEO Action Fellow?

Racial equity and politics are passions of mine; it's kind of a family trait. My dad was really into history and politics. When I was a little girl, he would sit my sisters and me down and talk to us for hours and hours about what was happening in the world. At the time I would grow weary while listening. But as I grew up, I became the same way. [As a Fellow], looking for solutions around racial equity and trying to influence policy felt like a collision of all the worlds I’m passionate about.

The Fellowship is focused on improving the lives of Black Americans, while also realizing Black communities won't be the only group to be positively impacted. As we were studying all these different disparities, we were organized into four different pillar groups: education, economic empowerment, healthcare, and public safety. I was placed in the healthcare group.

How did the policy idea of Racism as a Public Health Crisis originate?

The governor of Michigan had recently passed an executive order authorizing government employees to start studying the impacts of racism and how that impacts a person’s health. So, I suggested to my fellowship team partner that we tackle declaring racism a public health crisis.

We believe the root cause to be structural racism—meaning the biases, policies, and procedures that have been put in place resulting in certain groups being more successful versus another group. We consider this a root cause issue because it hits on healthcare and every other pillar that we had been studying in the Fellowship.

Why is this policy important to you?

My team was charged with studying disparities that exist in that field and kept running into a familiar theme; these disparities are all impacting Black people, regardless of socio-economic status.

We found that Black people are disproportionately affected by the social determinants of health (SDOH)—all the factors that impact a person's well-being, such as access to transportation, the kind of housing that's available in your community, the type of food available in your neighborhood, the quality of education offered, and so on—which is why my team decided to go after it. So not only will this impact health, but if these declarations of racism as a public health crisis pass, the government will be forced to look at funding for education, housing, transportation, and more. This one solution could touch on every area being studied in the Fellowship.

What has been the focus of this project?

In two and a half years, more than 230 government entities have made these declarations, as well as organizations like the CDC, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association. Our team is working to increase the number of declarations. With the help of racial equity experts, legislators, and community organizations, we're developing a racial equity implementation framework with a list of action steps that will assist government entities in their efforts to make a declaration.

What are those action steps?

We have a four-step approach. Right now, we are determining which states and cities to target. The second step is helping states and cities create action-oriented declarations. Step three is working with the Congressional SDOH Caucus to get federal legislation passed that considers the role of race in SDOH bills going forward. The fourth step is coming up with grassroots campaigns to educate the public on this initiative so that they can help get their legislators involved.

What have you learned about yourself in this process?

I feel like I've learned a new level of agility. Working on any federal government policy is a very slow process. They say it typically takes five to eight years to get a law passed at the federal level which is longer than the length of the Fellowship. So, we are attempting to do this work at lightning speed.

Also, I consider myself to be a very organized, structured person. I like to have my day laid out and that is just not my life right now. I don't know what's happening from moment to moment...even the Fellowship itself is a brand-new concept that’s never been done before. We always say within the Fellowship that it's like we’re building the plane while flying it. And with so many Fellows coming from different organizations, we've had to make our own company culture.

I’ve learned the importance of doing my research, trusting my gut, asking questions, and doing the best I can. Like many other Fellows, I'm new to this work. I've never worked on government policy. I'm not a legislator. I haven't worked in a mayor's office or anything like that. But I was able to pitch an idea that got selected out of nearly 400 ideas to be included in the Fellowship’s eight policy agenda.

What has your experience been like working with other Fellows?

I feel like I’m a part of a lifelong community. I wholeheartedly think that even after the Fellowship ends, the Fellows will find a way to continue working together to make a positive impact. MillerKnoll has done a lot of work in the DEI space around its values, and I think the Fellowship aligns with those values. I feel fortunate to be a part of this company as it’s moving in this direction and grateful for the opportunity to work with the other Fellows outside of and within this company.

What does it mean for you to be part of Black history in the making?

It’s unbelievable! I’m a history lover (in retrospect I probably should have been a history teacher). Growing up, I was always reading and learning about the Civil Rights Movement. My dad was originally from Arkansas, so he would tell us all these stories about growing up in the segregated South. It was just something I was always interested in…I always wondered what I would do [during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s]. Would I have helped Dr. Martin Luther King, or would I have just stood on the sidelines?

I don’t consider myself to be Black history in the making, but I’m very flattered that someone would even think I was a part of it and to have this opportunity. I never thought this generation would see a movement, so the idea of being history in the making…I’m very humbled, excited, and shocked.

What’s on the horizon for you?

As far as the Fellowship goes, we have our final agenda set and are currently working on our statewide policy. I am also in the process of writing a Black history book which will be released this month.

Back during the 2020 election, I noticed political conversations on social media were very divided. I was hearing people say they weren’t going to vote and that their vote didn’t matter and thought to myself, “You all don’t know history! So many people were killed just for the right to vote. Don’t take that for granted.”

I was so disturbed.

I decided to do a series of Black history flashcards with a few quick facts that people could learn on their own. While I was creating my flashcards, I felt like I wasn’t telling a complete story. Plus, after I joined the Fellowship, I was learning even more historical information from experts. My flashcards got longer and longer and eventually turned into my book titled, “Systems that Shape(d) Black America.” It’s a book of 40 mini lessons that takes you on a walk from slavery to modern day capturing defining moments in history that shaped the way Black people currently exist in America.

To learn more about the CEO Action Fellowship, visit ceoactionracialequity.com.