COVID-19 has exposed longstanding racial and economic inequalities in American life, which is evident in the fact that communities of color are being hit the hardest by both the medical and the economic impacts of the virus.
The ongoing devaluing of Black life that’s now on full display forces us to confront America’s racist origins and to uproot our systems of racial violence, economic subordination, and hoarding of political power.
Many state officials are stubbornly clinging to outdated, unsafe election procedures. For the health of our communities and our democracy, they should commit themselves to the three pillars of our voting rights agenda.
It is time for colleges, states, and the federal government to prove their commitment to Black students with policy action—not just well-meaning statements and gestures.
D.C. statehood is a critical racial justice and democracy issue. To move us closer to an inclusive, multiracial democracy, the House must pass, and the Senate immediately take up and pass, H.R. 51.
Rather than cutting funds for public needs while allowing police budgets to swell, cities, states, and the federal government must shift funding to the real priorities of communities.
“The troubling gap in voter turnout among racial groups indicates an immediate need for lawmakers to address the issues, both historic and current, that continue to silence Black and Brown voters.”
Look to Haitian history for a blueprint of how to change our current reality, dream big, and unapologetically craft a new future that is a truly inclusive democracy.
We encourage states to update their procedures if they have not been providing voter registration opportunities as part of ex parte Medicaid renewals and SNAP benefit extensions.
"I think they will ultimately be able to get mail ballots delivered for this election as well, despite the efforts of the Trump administration to slow that down or impede it."
“Trump will instigate intimidation and violence—possibly even using the military or federal agents—to suppress the vote in Black and brown communities."
"To say that people post-crisis, as they try to rebuild their lives, have to carry the impact of this is just another round of disadvantage and discrimination.”
Besides, focusing narrowly on individual instances of discrimination often leaves in place workplace policies and the power structures that perpetuate systemic discrimination against Black and brown communities in particular.
On the superhighway to freedom, while we might be moving in different lanes and at different speeds, let’s ensure we’re all headed in the right direction to emancipation and justice.
The COVID-19 crisis has cast into stark relief what has always been true: the wealth and prosperity of the U.S. economy rests on the labor, and the lives, of black and brown communities.