Slavery may have ended 155 years ago, but Black people still aren't free.
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Juneteenth 2020: Still Fighting for Freedom
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery. It's been 155 years since June 19, 1865, but Black people still aren't free. They are still fighting for equal rights, equal treatment, and full access to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Whether it's the coronavirus, the racial wealth gap, or the killing of Black people at the hands of law enforcement, the call to action this Juneteenth must be focused on structural reform. Not only has this pandemic highlighted structural problems in our health care and economic system; it has also exacerbated racial and ethnic disparities that have long been pushed aside.

The recent killings of Black people have done the same, further showcasing the need to reform the criminal justice system as a whole rather than merely focusing on "bad apples." To effectively dismantle systematic racism, we must be unafraid to change our country's economic, social, and civic intuitions.

Here's one action you can take this Juneteenth to help change this reality »

[More CAP Resources on Structural Racism and Reform]

In the Spotlight
Celebrating Steps Toward Freedom
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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two monumental rulings that are cause for both celebration and perseverance in the fight for freedom for all.

On Monday, June 15, 2020, the court ruled in favor of millions of LGBTQ workers in its determination that Title VII also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, ensuring that LGBTQ individuals cannot be fired simply for being who they are. Then, on Thursday, June 18, 2020, the court ruled to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, saving hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from President Donald Trump's cruel and arbitrary attempts to end the program.

While it still stands that there is much more work to be done to ensure that everyone in this country has access to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," these victories are of significant consequence to the trajectory of American history and the lives of thousands of young immigrants, LGBTQ people, and members of the Black community at the intersections of these communities. These victories should further invigorate both the fight for a path to citizenship and the passage of the Equality Act, which would comprehensively ban discrimination against LGBTQ people.

CAP Welcomes U.S. Supreme Court Decision To Protect DACA Recipients and Urges Congress To Provide a Path to Citizenship

CAP's Winnie Stachelberg On Supreme Court Ruling On Federal Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBTQ People

Shrinking the Criminal Justice System
Innovations Conference, June 23 - 25

The current moment has the potential to rapidly accelerate the movement to make the criminal justice system smaller, smarter, more equitable, and more just. Join us online on June 23-25 for the 2020 Innovations Conference as criminal justice reform experts and advocates from around the country discuss how we can achieve bold transformative change and #ShrinkTheSystem.

Taking Action for Black Lives
State-sanctioned violence against Black Americans has been a reality in this country since before its founding. This violence manifests in different ways, but the common thread that links these violent incidents together is the racism that pervades and upholds the U.S. criminal legal system. Use this resource toolkit from our sister organization, Generation Progress, to demand justice and take action this Juneteenth.

Systemic Inequality: Displacement, Exclusion, and Segregation
For centuries, structural racism in the U.S. housing system has contributed to stark and persistent racial disparities in wealth and financial well-being, especially between Black and white households. In fact, these differences are so entrenched that if current trends continue, it could take more than 200 years for the average Black family to accumulate the same amount of wealth as its white counterparts.

Mass Incarceration, Stress, and Black Infant Mortality
Infant mortality and mass incarceration are major issues affecting the black community. But while they are often thought of and dealt with on separate tracks, structural racism firmly connects these critical issues. Structural racism exposes black women to distinct stressors—such as contact with the criminal justice system—that ultimately undermine their health and the health of their children.
Facts From CAP Experts

Emily Gee Breaks Down Reopening

Darya Nicol

CAP's advocacy associate for Early Childhood Policy, Darya Nicol, explains how COVID-19 contributes to issues of racial and economic inequity for parents who need child care as well as those who provide this essential service.
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Darya's read of the week:
"Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?, a book of essays by organizers, legal activists and progressive journalists
Resources on Dismantling Structural Racism
Race to Lead
Race to Lead
An initiative of the Building Movement Project, Race to Lead is dedicated to helping organizations identify and close the racial leadership gap and align their social justice principles with their operating practices.

Race to Lead
Working at the Intersections: LGBTQ Nonprofit Staff and the Racial Leadership Gap
This report reveals the findings of a survey of staff at nonprofits who self-identified as LGBTQ, which indicates that the nonprofit sector needs to address the structural barriers to leadership based on race while simultaneously considering the additional impact of sexuality.

Smithsonian
158 Resources To Understand Racism in America
These articles, videos, podcasts, and websites from the Smithsonian chronicle the history of anti-Black violence and inequality in the United States.

Columbia University
A Brief History of Environmental Justice and Definitions
This primer provides information on the movement as well as examples of approaches to both environmental justice and environmental racism.

National Musem of African American History and Culture
Our American Story Online Series
ThisAn online series that showcases individuals and events in the African American experience and places them in the context of a larger story—our American story.

Movement Advancement Project and Center for American Progress
Unjust: How the Broken Criminal Justice System Fails LGBT People of Color
This report examines how racism and anti-LGBT discrimination combine to make LGBT people of color uniquely vulnerable to entering the criminal justice system as well as facing unfair and abusive treatment once they are in it.

Center for American Progress
Why Distressed Communities Are Distressed
Certain communities did not become distressed by some invisible hand, but rather as the result of intentional policies including, for example, forced displacement under urban renewal and institutional structures such as redlining.

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