We continue to let history repeat itself. Foreign tensions will repeat until terminally resolved. Pandemics will repeat themselves (more often) until substantial environmental and sanitation standards change. And especially, we will live in a constant race war until the government implements considerable policies aimed to equalize life for black and white people. Along with teaching younger generations about equality, implementing policies is vital. Because, and I cannot emphasize this enough, the black community still faces the effects of the Pre-Civil War Era. Slavery may be abolished, but black people are still discriminated against in career fields, education systems, housing markets, while jogging, while walking in parks, while sitting in Starbucks, and more. When slavery was abolished, it was extrmely difficult for the black community to find work as education was not provided, and employers were (and still are) simply racist. This is 400 years of racism in the making, and it has not slowed down for one second. Before you think, “the government cannot fix racism,” I would like to provide a list of achievable policies that would advance our country forward regarding equality, rather than push it back.
- “Under Harris’ proposal, homebuyers who rent or live in historically redlined communities can apply for a federal grant of up to $25,000 to assist with down payments or closing costs. Harris’ campaign estimates that this will help up to 4 million families.” – CNN on Kamala Harris’ plan
- “Biden will establish a national standard for housing appraisals that ensures appraisers have adequate training and a full appreciation for neighborhoods and do not hold implicit biases because of a lack of community understanding.” – Joe Biden’s campaign
- “Biden will implement the Obama-Biden Administration’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule requiring communities receiving certain federal funding to proactively examine housing patterns and identify and address policies that have a discriminatory effect. The Trump Administration suspended this rule in 2018. Biden will ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.” – Joe Biden’s campaign
- “He’ll triple funding for Title I, the federal program funding schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families. This will eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts.” – Joe Biden’s campaign
- “My plan for entrepreneurs of color will level the playing field by creating a new program with $7 billion in funding to provide grants to entrepreneurs of color.” – Elizabeth Warren
- “The Obama-Biden Administration created the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to support small businesses, driving $10 billion in new lending for each $1 billion in SSBCI funds. Biden will extend the program through 2025 and double its federal funding to $3 billion, driving close to $30 billion of private sector investments to small businesses all told, especially those owned by women and people of color.” – Joe Biden’s campaign
- “End cash bail that keeps people in jail for being poor, repeal the 1994 crime bill that exacerbated our mass incarceration crisis, get rid of private prisons so corporations can’t profit from people’s pain, fundamentally change how police work is done in America, and provide solutions by prioritizing prevention over punishment.” – Elizabeth Warren’s campaign
- “She can: (1) work with Congress and use her executive authority to change law and policy on the federal level; (2) investigate state and local actors through the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; (3) empower and incentivize behavior on the state and local level through federal funding; and (4) use her voice as president to advocate for change. And as president, Kamala will exercise every one of these levers to increase public safety, reduce our outsized criminal justice system, and make it fairer and more equitable for all.” – Kamala Harris’ campaign
- “I have committed to creating a national police oversight commission… We need each and every police department in the country to undertake a comprehensive review of their hiring, their training, and their de-escalation practices.” – Joe Biden
- “Strengthening fair housing law and enforcement, giving HUD the tools to take on modern-day redlining, securing tenants’ rights nationwide and fight exploitation by corporate landlords, investing $500 billion over the next ten years to build, preserve, and restore millions of units that will be affordable to lower-income families, reducing rent by 10%, creating 1.5 million new jobs in housing construction and rehabilitation, and promoting economic growth.” – Elizabeth Warren’s campaign
Change is possible, but it necessitates prioritization by both the American people and the government. Vote like the future of America depends on it and while protesting is beneficial, I don’t want the passion to ever cease. I hope that reading these ten policy ideas inspires you to investigate more laws that should be implemented sometime in the near future. I urge you to remember the racial biases that are so prevalent right now, in a year from now, in five years from now, in ten years from now, and indefinitely. People cannot only care when it is convenient for them to do so. I plan to keep fighting racism, spreading awareness, and discussing the advancement of equality for years to come. Will you?