For more than 30 years, Alabama Arise has worked to make life better for struggling Alabamians through better public policy. It’s impossible to do that work effectively without acknowledging and challenging our state’s historical and ongoing racial inequities. There can be no economic or social justice without racial justice. As scholar Ibram X. Kendi said, policy cannot be merely non-racist; it must be anti-racist. That’s why we’re committed to placing racial equity and inclusion at the core of our work. And that's why we've identified numerous policy solutions that would undermine white supremacy and promote dignity, equity and justice for everyone. Black Alabamians have battled generation after generation of discriminatory barriers to education, jobs, housing and voting. Compounding those barriers is a criminal justice system that polices black people more heavily, arrests them more often and condemns them to harsher sentences in dangerously overcrowded prisons and jails. For centuries, black people have suffered from police brutality and unequal treatment from law enforcement. This history has fueled protests across the country and around the world over the last week. Arise stands in solidarity with calls to stop killing black people and start building a world that’s safe for everyone. All of these systemic failures have added together to produce a series of terrible, ongoing disparities. Black people in our state face higher rates of poverty and hunger, lower life expectancies and lower rates of employment and health insurance coverage. These are institutional failures that require policy solutions. Read our full post on how Alabama can break down centuries-old structural barriers and ensure all Alabamians have an opportunity to reach their full potential. | 
