Dear John.
John, Black families need your support.
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
Move your mayor to adopt and advocate for a Guaranteed Basic Income.
[ [link removed] ]Take Action
[ [link removed] ]Black families in countless households need your support. We can use
our collective power to pressure local officials to support and adopt a
Guaranteed Basic Income.
Months following the onset of the coronavirus public health crisis turned
pandemic, millions of Black households are still facing economic anxiety
and uncertainty. State moratoriums on evictions loom and the wholly
insufficient one-time $1,200 economic stimulus payment is a thing of the
past.^1 The threat of additional unemployment payments ending on July 31
leaves many families unsure of how they will continue to make ends meet.
The bureaucratic process at the federal level has left Black households to
fend for themselves. A guaranteed income is a consistent emergency payment
to support and supplement one’s own income, and we must pressure local
elected officials to operate in solidarity to ensure the financial health
and well-being of our communities. Mayor Bill de Deblasio, Muriel Bowser,
and Lori Lightfoot govern the largest Black populations throughout the
country. As Black people are the most targeted racial group in the country
have had to begin these unprecedented times in a deficit due to historical
economic inequities and inequalities, these and other mayors can help do
something about it. Mayors of fourteen other cities across the country
have come together in solidarity to push for guaranteed basic income, but
we need your support to move these mayors to adopt and advocate for
cash-based policies at the state and federal level.
[ [link removed] ]SIGN THE PETITION: Demand your mayor adopt and advocate for a
Guaranteed Basic Income.
The economic gap continues to widen as June unemployment reports indicate
the current economic recovery still disproportionately affects Black
people, unlike our white counterparts.^2 Due to structural inequities and
systemic barriers, Black people earn less, are quicker to be laid off, and
are slower, and less likely, to be promoted.^3 The compounded effects of
coronavirus hit Black households the hardest as Black people are most
likely to hold essential jobs and less likely to take time off work or
have the option to due to harmful work-place policies.^4
According to research on consumer spending, economic stimulus payments
provided by the CARES ACT, a coronavirus relief law enacted in March, were
quickly used for household essentials such as food and rent.^5 In a
project known as the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, Mayor
Michael Tubbs of Stockton, CA, the city’s first Black mayor, began a pilot
program that provided residents of the city $500 monthly with no strings
attached.^6 Even though data is still being collected, the benefits of
guaranteed basic income being assessed lean toward increased income
sufficiency and reduced economic volatility, and decreased anxiety and
stress.^7 Anyone that has worried about making ends meet can confirm a
guaranteed basic income would provide all of these things along with
protection from predatory debt treadmills.
[ [link removed] ]John, demand your mayor adopt and advocate for a Guaranteed
Basic Income.
Color Of Change is steadfast in ensuring Black economic health and
reparations are a priority amongst our elected officials. With your
continued support, we are advocating for corporations to move beyond their
statements of solidarity and pay employees a living wage; we are
championing an end to negative credit reporting in the face of the current
public health crisis, and we will continue to pressure private equity
companies to end predatory consumption of retail businesses at the expense
of Black communities. Our elected officials have a responsibility to
ensure the well-being of the citizens who elect them and as unemployment
benefits exhaust and evictions loom, a guaranteed income is the clear path
forward.
[ [link removed] ]SIGN THE PETITION: Demand your mayor adopt and advocate for a
Guaranteed Basic Income.
Until justice is real,
--Jade, Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Jade, Amanda, Marie, Eesha,
Samantha, Marcus, FolaSade, Jennette, Cierra, Gabrielle and the rest of
the Color Of Change team
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
1. “Federal Eviction Moratorium Ends Friday. Millions Of Renters Are At
Risk,” CBSNews, July 22, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. “June Jobs Report Shows Uneven Recovery; Black Unemployment Still Tops
15 Percent,” Forbes, July 2, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. “The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus for People of Color,” Center
for American Progress, April 14, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
4. “As States Reopen, Black Workers Are At Greater Risk For COVID-19,”
CBSNews, June 16, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
5. “New Research: CARES Act Checks are Being Spent Quickly on
Essentials,” Columbia Business School, May 14, 2020,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
6. “3 Years Ago, Stockton, California, Was Bankrupt. Now It's Trying Out
A Basic Income,” Vox, October 18, 2017,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
7. “Pre-Analysis Plan,” Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, July
2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Please
help keep our movement strong.
[ [link removed] ]Make a Donation
<style type="text/css">
blockquote .original-only,
.WordSection1 .original-only
{
display: none !important;
}
</style>
<div class=".original-only">
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
</div>
