This is our moment to win on equity. Over the past few years, a historic groundswell of activism in communities across the country has energized people who have taken to the streets to resist injustice and demand that leaders be accountable for serving the ALL in our equity definition. This movement fueled a shift in the political winds across the country from Washington to Georgia to Arizona, and more than ever a new world is possible.
But certain electoral outcomes were never the end goal. We must remain steadfast in our fight to advance racial and economic justice, continue to invest in building people power, and hold new leadership accountable. We need the new Congress and administration to be bold and act swiftly to put our country on a better path. In the words of our Founder in Residence, Angela Glover Blackwell, “As the challenges mount and the opposition stiffens, the ambitions of the equity movement must soar, not shrink.”
Over the first 100 days of the Biden Administration, we are calling on executive and Congressional leaders to advance a new vision for justice, housing as a basic need, guaranteed jobs, water as a human right, and
begin transforming our institutions to create a more equitable government. In the days and weeks ahead, we will be working with our partners across the country to advance this platform, and ensure our country is living up to its highest ideals. But there are also actions that can be taken immediately. On day one, the Biden Administration must:
Issue a formal apology over the federal government’s role in creating a crisis of criminalization and incarceration, and commit to transforming federal investment priorities away from law enforcement toward community.
Establish a nationwide moratorium on evictions, foreclosures, and water shutoffs through the end of the public health crisis.
Restore the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule to address health disparities associated with housing and neighborhood exposures.
Restore housing security for those currently under attack from living in public and other subsidized housing, including “mixed-status families,” LGBTQIA individuals, and people with criminal records.
Issue executive order codifying the human right to water in the US.
The critical work of our generation is to reshape our democracy and economy to serve a multiracial democracy. The key to a government that works for all is ensuring all people in America — particularly those who face the burdens of structural racism — participate in a just society, live in a healthy community of opportunity, and prosper in an equitable economy. This is how we win on equity.
