STAY AWAKE: "Racism and Policy"

"THE QUIET DANGER OF McCONNELL'S RACIST POLICIES"
By The Rev. Dr. William Barber,
Repairers of the Breach

There is no question that the president of this country is racist. His outbursts on social media illustrate that clearly, as do his policies at the border, attempts to end Medicaid expansion, Medicaid work requirements, travel bans, restriction of SNAP benefits, refusal to embrace living wages and judicial appointees. All of these policy positions have a disparate impact on people of color and poor and low wealth people, thereby hurting America and the promise to establish justice. However, anti-racists in this country have a bigger challenge than Trump, and that is his right-hand man, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. By not speaking out against the president’s racist rhetoric and policies and by consistently pursuing an extreme legislative agenda, McConnell is bolstering Trump’s white nationalism and must also be named as a racist.

McConnell has refused to vote on immigration reform, restoration of the Voting Rights Act, minimum wage and living wage increases, stopping the mistreatment of native Americans, and fully addressing climate change and gun control. He has attempted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would strip health care from millions of Americans and disproportionately impact people of color. He’s stacked the courts with dozens of controversial nominees and pushed for nominees like Thomas Farr, who have histories of voter suppression and racial gerrymandering, to be appointed to our nation’s top courts. By stacking the courts, McConnell is cementing this administration’s white nationalist agenda for decades to come. The Supreme Court votes on less than 100 cases per year, while appellate judges decide tens of thousands. And now we have a court system that has been loaded with right-wing extremists who harbor a white nationalist agenda.

We have witnessed over 300 mass shootings in America this year. The majority of Americans want some type of gun control measures put in place. The House of Representatives passed not one but two gun control bills in Congress in February. Senator McConnell has not allowed a Senate vote on either bill.

By not bringing the Raise the Wage Act to the Senate floor for a vote, McConnell is continuing the cycle of systemic poverty. While many states and companies have raised wages themselves, there are 25 states who have banned cities and counties from raising minimum wages. A federal minimum wage increase would bypass these restrictions and provide more opportunity for people of color — who are disproportionately impacted by poverty — to escape systemic poverty. An issue like living wages also highlights how racism hurts all of us, because the majority of people impacted in raw numbers are poor whites who have been sold the lie that McConnell’s obstructionism is somehow making America great.

McConnell has also consistently ignored congressional efforts to address the current crisis at our southern border and immigration reform. He is fueling the white nationalist ideology that has perpetrated this image that immigration is only good when the immigrants are white. Trump ignited his base with the phrase “Make America Great Again,” which really means take America back to the times when whites owned the country and were the solid majority. McConnell is continuing to stoke that belief by not speaking out against this administration’s abhorrent immigration policies and treatment of immigrants at the border.

In addition to blocked legislation, the Trump administration has been enacting its own rules and policies through its agencies to hurt people of color. Cost of living is rising, leading to a rise in homelessness throughout the country, but instead of allocating more money for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create affordable housing, the Trump administration is proposing cuts to its budget. This disproportionately impacts Black Americans who are already making lower wages than their white peers, and who also occupy 48 percent of public housing units. Rather than ensure oversight, as the Constitution requires, McConnell has offered Trump a rubber stamp.

All of these policies are preceded by blatant attacks on voter rights, which disproportionately impact Black voters. In 2013, the Supreme Court dismantled the Voting Rights Act by allowing states (mostly Southern) to make changes to their election laws without prior federal approval. This has led to a wave of modern voter suppression tactics in the South. From voter ID laws, closed polling locations, and voter roll purges, these new laws have been designed to specifically target the poor and people of color and keep them from voting. If they don’t vote, then the corrupt, immoral politicians who came up with the laws get to stay in power and enact their agenda. The result has been the terrible, racist policies we’ve seen coming out of this administration, a gridlocked Congress, and extreme partisan gerrymandering to hold it all in place.

Americans cannot afford the racism fueled by Trump and McConnell’s policies, because racism within American policies is an even bigger threat than racist words and angry tweets. McConnell is a direct threat to America’s promise of freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, is fighting back against this administration, McConnell, and their racist policies. We understand that this country elected a leader who is racist beyond words. We have had enough. We have had enough of McConnell stoking the fire and standing passively by while this country burns.

In order to heal this country and its racist rhetoric that has been coming out of the White House, we must challenge the occupant of the White House along with all of the immoral politicians and leaders who have not only stood by his side but also remained silent in the wake of his racism. We must march in the streets and take our voices to the polls where we will elect leaders who understand that our country must change if it is ever going to be a nation that is truly of, by, and for the people.

It’s time to raise your voice.

The Poor People’s Campaign is being led by Repairers of the Breach in partnership with national and local partners. To find out more about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, visit www.poorpeoplescampaign.org. You can also visit Twitter and follow Repairers of the Breach and Rev. Dr. William J Barber, II to stay engaged with the work of the moral movement.