Media

Brenda Wright interviews with Fusion on voter fraud and voter suppression.

Wednesday, February 8 (NEW YORK, NY) – Heather McGhee, President of Demos, a New York-based public policy organization and think tank, issued the following statement in response to the introduction of the 2017 New York Votes Act by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman:

A new study trashes most of the conventional explanations—and solutions—for the wealth gap. It’s called The Asset Value of Whiteness: Understanding the Racial Wealth Gap. It’s by researchers at Brandeis University and a public policy group called Demos. [...]

A study released this week by the liberal-leaning think tank Demos offered new points of analysis on the disparity, one of which was particularly sobering. [...]

Doing “everything right” — making all the optimal life choices to build wealth and get ahead, despite obstacles — is still not enough for black and Latino households to accumulate as much wealth as their white counterparts.

Washington DC – In the closest confirmation vote for a Secretary of Education to date, Betsy DeVos was confirmed by the narrow margin of 51-50, with the historic tie-breaking vote coming from Vice President Mike Pence. Following the decision, Mark Huelsman, Senior Policy Analyst and higher education expert at Demos, issued the follow statement:

“The unprecedented level of uncertainty shown by both Democrats and Republicans surrounding Betsy DeVos’ ability to serve as Secretary of Education should have been enough to disqualify her from assuming this position.

New York, NY – Today, Brenda Wright, Vice President of Policy and Legal Strategies at Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy, calls upon the United States Senate to reject the confirmation of Senator Jefferson B. Sessions (R-AL) as Attorney General of the United States.

In a new report, “Asset Value of Whiteness,” Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy take a deep dive into the intrinsic link between racism and capitalism; specifically, how whiteness infests the so-called American dream and renders it inaccessible to anyone who doesn’t meet the pre-selected criteria.