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Race – January 26, 2021
TRUENEWSBLOG- TNB
Race – Racism – Racial Inequity
By: Nathaniel Ballantyne
(TrueNewsBlog) – Continuing an opening salvo of executive actions intended to fight the coronavirus and nullify many of his predecessor’s policies, President Biden on Tuesday outlined a series of policy plans pointed at a central campaign pledge: advancing the cause of racial equity.
At a signing ceremony at the White House,
Mr. Biden pointed to the killing of George Floyd by the police last May, which led to national protests against police brutality and systemic racism, as “a turning point in this country’s attitude toward racial justice.”
He also suggested his executive actions were made more urgent by the attack at the Capitol earlier this month, which involved people associated with white supremacist groups.
“It’s time to act now, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because if we do, we’ll all be better off for it,” Mr. Biden said at the White House.
Mr. Biden signed executive actions directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development to take steps to address racially discriminatory federal housing policies and ordered the Department of Justice to end its use of private prisons.
He also signed a memorandum condemning racism against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and directing the Justice Department to work to prevent hate crimes and harassment against those groups.
Hate crimes against Asian-Americans rose as the pandemic arrived in the United States, and as former President Donald J. Trump routinely used racist slurs to refer to the coronavirus. A coalition of civil rights groups recorded more than 2,500 incidents between March 19 and August 5. The New York City Commission on Human Rights described a “sharp increase in instances of hostility and harassment” during much of that period.
At 4:45 p.m., Mr. Biden is scheduled to give brief remarks updating the country on “the fight to contain the Covid-19 pandemic,” part of the administration’s commitment to offering updates on its response to the crisis several times a week.
