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SiX's offices will be closed from the 21st until January 4th. We hope everyone has a safe and healthy holiday season.
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States Declared Racism a Public Health Crisis
This year, legislators addressed systemic racism in their states with a new tool: declaring that racism is a public health crisis. A growing number of states have passed or considered legislation, established task forces, or enacted executive orders. By doing so, states like Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and Colorado can give resources, attention, and legislative guidance to address the health disparities caused by systemic racism. While some of the declarations come with few, if any, definitive action steps, states have the opportunity to use the momentum to create bold, proactive, anti-racist state policies. See SiX’s analysis of racial data transparency and disparities in COVID-19 treatment.
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Legislators Responded to COVID
The entire world turned upside down this year and had to adjust to daily life in order to stay safe and deal with the impacts of COVID-19. The pandemic shone light on glaring inequalities within our country, and the impacts hit BIPOC communities especially hard. State legislators played an integral role in addressing the health care gaps, housing protections, and the resulting economic downturn. Several databases exist where you can see some of the incredible work legislators did to keep communities afloat—and check out SiX’s COVID-19 resources for legislators.
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State Legislatures and the Fight Against Police Brutality
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder by police and the renewed public attention on the fight to end police brutality and systemic racism in our nation, state legislators passed or introduced reforms to prohibit excessive force, ban chokeholds, increase reporting requirements and accountability measures, and end qualified immunity for officers. State legislatures must take bigger and bolder steps to end police brutality in 2021.
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Housing Policies Critical During Pandemic
With millions of Americans struggling to pay housing costs each month, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the housing crisis. Research suggests that about 31 percent of renters were unable to pay their rent on time in April, compared to 18 percent for the same time period in 2019. The threat of COVID-19 to housing stability is an issue of racial justice—Black and Brown families are disproportionately renters and employed in industries impacted by shutdowns and stay-at-home orders. A recent study shows the incredible impact eviction moratoriums have on keeping people safe from COVID-19, and the deadly impact lifting those moratoriums had on communities. As the pandemic rages on, states must minimize COVID cases and deaths by maintaining eviction and foreclosure moratoriums. You can see how your state scores and see SiX’s Housing Response to the Pandemic analysis here.
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2021 Will Bring More Representative State Legislatures
After a tumultuous and highly anticipated election, the nation is preparing for a federal transfer of power to the Biden administration and state legislatures are preparing to inaugurate a new class of legislators in the coming months. See SiX’s analysis to understand the 2021 landscape in the states. The pipeline of public leadership is starting to look more like America—the new class of legislators will include the country’s first openly nonbinary state legislator, numerous new transgender legislators, a number of first elected Muslim, Cambodian, Native Americans, and a record number of women to serve in their states’ general assemblies. These historic wins occurred despite the significant structural challenges, like gerrymandering, that continue to undermine our democracy and state legislators.
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See the latest from SiX's three programs: Agriculture and Food Systems, Democracy, and the Reproductive Rights.
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The Pandemic May Reform the U.S.'s Meat Processing Industry
The meat processing industry is broken in the United States—only four large corporations control almost the entirety of the market. This is not good for workers, farmers, animals, or rural communities. The system is inequitable and also unsustainable, resulting in bottlenecks and loss of business for small- and medium-sized processors and farmers. The system faced even more strain due to the pandemic, and Congress is likely to pass legislation. While farmers await federal action, states have taken innovative approaches to right the system—helping to feed communities and help keep small, rural businesses afloat.
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2020: A Year that Tested Our Democracy
Between the pandemic and the blatant attacks on the validity of our elections, our nation tested the bounds of our democracy—and in some ways, we may have come out stronger. States expanded access to voting in a variety of ways this year in response to the pandemic. Early voting, mail-in ballots, dropboxes, and corresponding policies allowed voters to keep their distance while still making their voices heard. Now election officials and voters alike are hopeful that states will make permanent the policies intended to address voting during a pandemic. Moreover, it’s critical we recognize and appreciate the work that local election officials and workers did to maintain our access to fair and accurate elections.
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A Year in Review for Reproductive Rights
Legislators made great strides in 2020 protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice, from passing comprehensive sex education to standing up for abortion as essential health care during this pandemic. See here for more successes and predictions for 2021.
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