“The collective trauma of this pandemic is exposing the sheer depth of inequality in this country and the consequences that has always presented for Black and brown communities. We hope that Florida election officials will stand on the right side of history..."
There have been devastating reports of disproportionate rates of death in Black communities as a result of COVID-19. Racial capitalism and structural racism are to blame.
The three sets of steps policymakers and election officials must take to ensure that Black and brown Americans—and all Americans—can exercise their fundamental right to vote in 2020 and beyond.
“The data is clear. 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.”
"The reforms we need in the midst of this pandemic are the same changes we’ve long needed to dismantle the structural barriers locking Black and brown voters out of full participation in our democracy."
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.
Private credit reporting companies should be replaced by a publicly run credit registry that operates in the public interest and that automatically corrects for events like natural disasters and global health crises.
“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.”
Over 100 community, civil rights, consumer, and student advocacy organizations urge House and Senate leadership to insist on student debt cancellation for all borrowers during negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package.
Congress must address how Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people confront both the worst health outcomes and the greatest threats to household financial stability as a result of the pandemic.
“The agreements we won in this case will protect Black and brown voters and all Floridians, ensuring they have multiple safe voting options and can be heard this November.”
"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.”