Mere acknowledgment of the historic injustices that have been perpetrated against African Americans and other people of color in the United States is happening slowly. There are still many in national leadership who are reluctant to take even that small step. On March 25, 2021, Republican Governor Bryan Kemp signed into law a bill that makes it more difficult for Black and Brown Georgians to vote. In fact, 43 states are considering over 250 laws that will restrict access to the ballot. Yet, the minority leader of the US Senate recently remarked, “States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever.” The need to address racial equity in suffrage is acute.
The ongoing police killings of unarmed Black men, the horrible treatment of a Black/Latino soldier at a “traffic stop,” and the recent release of several African Americans who have served decades in prison for crimes they did not commit highlight the need to address racial equity in America’s criminal justice system.
Employment discrimination, disparities in access to education and health care, housing discrimination, and environmental injustice—these issues and more are the reasons that WNDC and its Public Policy Committee have decided to establish the Racial Equity Task Force.