Dear John.
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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.
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.
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.
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:
- “Federal Eviction Moratorium Ends Friday. Millions Of Renters Are At Risk,” CBSNews, July 22, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256151?t=10&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “June Jobs Report Shows Uneven Recovery; Black Unemployment Still Tops 15 Percent,” Forbes, July 2, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256017?t=12&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “The Economic Fallout of the Coronavirus for People of Color,” Center for American Progress, April 14, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256018?t=14&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “As States Reopen, Black Workers Are At Greater Risk For COVID-19,” CBSNews, June 16, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256019?t=16&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “New Research: CARES Act Checks are Being Spent Quickly on Essentials,” Columbia Business School, May 14, 2020, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256020?t=18&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “3 Years Ago, Stockton, California, Was Bankrupt. Now It's Trying Out A Basic Income,” Vox, October 18, 2017, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256021?t=20&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
- “Pre-Analysis Plan,” Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, July 2019, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/256022?t=22&akid=44591%2E4731121%2E9W9ihg.
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.
