BPRC Announces "Agenda for Equity"

BPRC
July 7, 2020
Earlier today, members of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus unveiled "An Agenda for Equity," for the upcoming session.

Chair of the Connecticut Black and Puerto Rican Caucus (BPRC) Brandon McGee (D-Hartford) and myself, Vice Chair, stood with about a dozen members and unveiled the BPRC’s “Agenda for Equity” at a press conference this morning on the North Steps of the State Capitol.

Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill (D) and State House Majority Leader Matt Ritter were also in attendance.

“The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus supports a call to special session and recognizes that no single platform or bill can right centuries of wrongs, let alone a few summer days in the Capitol,” Chair McGee said. “Let the following proposals, our ‘Agenda for Equity’, serve as a table-setting moment for what we hope will be a renewed and years-spanning commitment to racial equity in Connecticut.”

Chair McGee also offered comment on the Senate Democratic Caucus’s “Juneteenth Agenda", expressing his appreciation for their “laudable and ambitious platform.”
 
“I stand in solidarity with their campaign for equality and do not believe that our proposals conflict with theirs, but rather together they emphasize a growing commitment to systemic change among members of the legislature,” he continued. 
 
I chose to speak on the environmental justice and voting rights planks of the BPRC’s “Agenda for Equity.” 
 
“Our communities of color continue to be disproportionately affected by poor air quality and industrial pollutants. This proposal would hold corporations responsible for proving positive community and health impacts of any proposed siting actions. Accountability measures like these are increasingly important in the COVID-19 era, as we have seen that individuals with underlying health conditions attributed to poor air quality and industrial pollution are more susceptible to the detrimental effects of the virus.”
 
“Voting access has been a perennial issue for persons of color and low-income individuals throughout the country, even in our own state where we take pride in our voting system. The pandemic has renewed the fight for no-excuse absentee voting which we stand behind unequivocally and have fought for for years…The right to vote has been one of the most sacred rights that an American have, and we want to ensure that no one is afraid or unable to cast their ballot.” 
 
“An Agenda for Equity” centers on the following areas:

  • Voting Rights: For communities of color especially, voting is a hard-fought fundamental right. As COVID-19 has taken thousands of lives in Connecticut, no one should have to risk their health and well-being to exercise their Constitutional right during any primary in August or during the general election in November. Every necessary accommodation must be made so that every resident has access to a ballot, including absentee and distance voting.
  • Police Accountability: Notions of public safety shouldn't have different meanings depending on to whom you speak or where you come from. We must end broken windows policing; expand the power of community oversight; and implement statewide independent investigations and prosecutions of police misconduct to allow for the just punishment of officers who break the law.
  • Economic Justice: True economic justice cannot be achieved until we end the criminalization of poverty and level the playing field. That means providing a workers compensation presumption, sick pay and increased access to PPE for those on the frontlines of the pandemic and commit to continued financial relief efforts for those most vulnerable. It also means that we provide sustainable supports to communities of color throughout this state.
  • Housing Equity: Home ownership is the foundation of wealth building. We must expand no-strings-attached homeownership opportunities for families in the communities in which they live. We must hold municipalities accountable if they continue to enact and enforce segregationist practices.
  • Education Equity: Access to technology is a necessity in the 21st century and not a luxury. So the state needs to address the digital divide and ensure that every child in a public school has a device and access to the internet. The state also must implement strong literacy solutions to close the reading gap; invest in students based on their need and give them the resources they need to success; and create the Opportunity Gap Taskforce that allows for a cross sector approach to come up with innovation solutions to close the opportunity gap and address greeter disparities caused by COVID-19. 
  • Environmental Justice: Environmental justice is racial justice. We must update existing environmental laws to account for their civil rights impacts. There are vast public health-related environmental inequalities that plague our lower income communities. Accountability measures such as this are increasingly necessary at a time when individuals with underlying health conditions, attributed to poor air quality and the prevalence of industrial pollution, are more susceptible to the detrimental effects of COVID-19.