Gov. Inslee Announces ‘Equity Proposals’ to “uproot systemic racism” in Washington State
On December 14, the Governor of Washington Jay Inslee announced new equity proposals for Washington state 2021-2023 budget.
On December 14, the Governor of Washington Jay Inslee announced new equity proposals for Washington state 2021-2023 budget.
The equity policy package for the upcoming 2021 legislative session will include $365 million dollars of “equity-related policies and budget items”, Governor Inslee said.
In the press conference, the governor discussed the “longstanding inequities in our society” which includes criminal justice, economy, environment, education, and healthcare.
Stating that “we have a moral mandate here in Washington state to acknowledge these hard truths and lay a solid foundation needed to correct these long-term injustices. As I previously said, black lives matter.”
Governor Inslee strongly exclaimed, “I firmly believe that Washington state is an anti-racist state.”
“We need our policies and our budget to reflect our dedication toward disrupting the harmful systemic cycle of racism and inequity.”
Continuing, “This COVID has exposed long-standing racial gaps in income, health status, occupation, housing, food accessibility, and other socio-economical factors, all of which have a common root cause, which is racism.”
After the announcement, Governor Inslee went to Twitter to explain the new equity proposals.
In a Tweet, Inslee wrote, “We have a moral mandate to uproot systemic racism in our society.”
Continuing, “2020 has yet again laid bare the cost of inaction. I believe WA can be an anti-racist state. Today, I’m announcing concrete actions we should take to rise to that essential challenge.”
In another Tweet, Inslee wrote, “We can and we must uproot systemic racism from our state. These proposals are a start.”.
“They will help dismantle inequities. They will invest directly in underserved communities. And they will increase access to opportunity to stop this insidious cycle of inequality.”
Some of the steps include making Juneteenth a legal holiday.