Take action on executive orders.
Happy Thursday! And welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily. Executive orders are meant to spark confidence in a new administration. But that can be performative if they're not emulated in policies and practices, or simply become revoked when there's a new President. We can't decide that for our nation's leaders, but we can certainly influence it. Today is a recommendation to channel the hope you're feeling into change by organizing on the local level. I've included the hopes and visions of our writers to help spark your own.
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Nicole
TAKE ACTION
Get clear on your visions for this administration. What are you hoping this administration achieves in the next four years?
Read the executive orders published so far. All are available on whitehouse.gov.
Use our framework at the bottom of the article to start investigating how to take the executive orders you read into local action.
GET EDUCATED
By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)
Since his presidency began one week ago, President Biden has signed 26 executive orders to rewrite our political history and create a distinction between his and the previous administration. And in text, these statements are powerful. Four of them signed last Tuesday directly address racial equity, and cover topics you’ve seen in this newsletter: they stress the importance of land sovereignty for Indigenous communities, address anti-Asian sentiment due to COVID-19, reduce the use of private prisons, and acknowledge the role the federal government has played in discriminatory housing policy. The previous sentence links to previous newsletters. Read more about these orders on Politico.
Because our team has spent much of our newsletter’s history writing about these disparities, I wanted to hear from them about their hopes for the upcoming administration. Here are their thoughts:
While the abject cruelties of the last administration may pass, I think it’s important to hold on to the reality that racism, Islamophobia, and brutal state violence didn’t start with Trump and won’t end with him, either. Trump’s term was a time of repression and violence but of courageous resistance as well. My hope is that during the next four years, we can continue to manifest dignified, beautiful rebellion as we work together to craft a world that fits all of us.
I want to see student loan forgiveness, accessible healthcare for all, foundational criminal justice reform, the beginnings of reparations to the Black and Indigenous communities and more; I want to see it and not just hear about the possibility of it. And I want to see people continuously demanding more of their local, state and national representatives, even when it isn’t trending anymore.
I would like to see the Biden-Harris Administration combat drug addiction. As a recovering cocaine addict, my experience with prison-based rehab was very dispiriting, and didn't work for me. There isn't one shoe that fits all when it comes to combating drug addiction. And for Black people entering prison-based rehab, we are required to submit to the broken-self narrative. Even if it means saving a life, it can be a barrier getting Black people to admit to white authority figures that we are morally and emotionally broke and need white men to manage our lives.
I am looking forward to more BIPOC leadership at all levels of government from Madam Vice President to Senator-elect Raphael Warnock to take their rightful place in the White House and other areas of government. I am hopeful that as we see more diverse leadership, our policies will begin to reflect and prioritize the needs of communities in the U.S. including BIPOC, the LGBTQA, disability community, the elderly. Lastly, I am hopeful for a clear COVID-19 plan, a plan that was nonexistent prior to Biden's inauguration. Wishing for a new year of healing and invigoration.
On Twitter, writer Kim Tran (@but_im_kim_tran) said: "If the rights of the marginalized can be diminished and reestablished in the space of years/hours, they are not inalienable, they are subject to state power and the real work is to free ourselves from a framework that would treat our humanity as such." I thought that described the problem so well. My hope is that over the next four years we will not grow complacent under a Democratic administration, but use our collective power to dismantle this framework piece by piece.
I'll be honest: a Biden-Harris administration is both fearful and relieving to me. Even with a Democrat-controlled Congress and Executive branch, the battle for progressive policies like universal health care, erasing student loan debt, abolishing ICE and defunding the police seem so far off. But after an election with such a massive voter turnout, I am hopeful that all of the people who've joined this fight won't turn their backs on us and are in this for the long haul. Trump was a symptom of years of white supremacy and capitalism, so now more than ever, we must mobilize for a better future.
National organizers see these executive orders as just the beginning. Black Lives Matter Movement co-founder Patrisse Cullors sees President Biden’s executive orders on racial equity as “a nod,” but emphasizes that "there's so much more to do and we will push this administration to do it” (MSNBC).
And Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, emphasizes that all of this was because of organizers on the ground fighting for change. “This is not just because of his good graces, but movement made it possible that racial equity is prioritized in the executive branch of our government”. She notes that the work is a step forward, and that “this is the floor, not the ceiling” (Democracy Now).
As Jami said above, the worst thing that we can do is become complacent. So, in the spirit of Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, I encourage us all to put these executive orders into action in our own communities. As you continue to review the executive orders in the coming days and weeks, consider:
Who is exemplifying this work in my local community?
What policies and practices need to be implemented here to align with these national initiatives?
Where are the existing support services in my community already doing this work?
How can I contribute to this work? How can I cause unnecessary harm?
Why is this work so critical to move forward now, not tomorrow?
RELATED ISSUES
12/4/2020 | Repeal the Trump Equity Gag Order.
6/23/2020 | Know our racist presidential history.
7/6/2020 | Abolish qualified immunity.
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