Racial Justice and Equity

SCPD works to promote racial equity and justice as a direct challenge to race-based discrimination and systemic injustices.  The political, educational, social, and economic rights of all persons must be ensured.  We acknowledge that racism has long-lasting intergenerational effects. These effects stem from slavery, the legalized criminalization of educating Black people, Jim Crow laws, segregation, redlining, inequitable funding, the reification of schools, the war on drugs, the school-to-prison pipeline, and many other private and governmental policies. 

We affirm that governmental policies must acknowledge, recognize, and value all people of color to reverse their historic subjugation.   Employment in all sectors of the economy must reflect the diversity of our communities. The obstacles posed by disenfranchisement must be removed.  Civil rights, public health, and environmental laws must be enforced without greater adverse effect on persons of color.  As a group, we declare that racism is a public health crisis that this country must address. 

We oppose any policies that devalue, stereotype, or label people of color as being different from or less valuable than others or render people of color invisible. We work to build coalitions among diverse groups so that all have access to resources in order to lead safe, productive, fulfilling, and dignified lives.

Political and Civic Engagement

• support the responsiveness of  and advocate for full participation of  marginalized citizens to be fully engaged in the electoral process
• protect and expand voters’ rights
• engage with marginalized citizens to register and get out the vote 
• demand all civic entities declare racism a public health crisis

Education

• support educational policies and practices that improve and promote equity, recognize racial equity explicitly, and ensure that every student graduates from high school college-ready or career-ready. 
• support policies that increase/target funds to the neediest schools: demand that  the state legislature act on the  DeRolph v. Ohio decisions, which declared the current state funding model unconstitutional. 
• increase the presence of more diverse  teachers in underserved communities by revamping the recruitment and  hiring practices of school districts to eliminate implicit/explicit  bias toward potential candidates.
• promote equity in school discipline practices with the goal of keeping students in school and eliminating the suspension disparities that exist, as Black students are suspended at a much higher rate than their White counterparts. 
• fully support high-quality,  universal, early childhood (preschool and Head Start) education to increase access to educational equity and wrap-around services in all communities. 
• increase mental health resources within our schools and communities to work directly with children and families to address the effects of racism

Economic Opportunity

• support communities in their efforts to develop sustainable employment that advances diversity and equity in order to minimize/eliminate poverty, unemployment, unaffordable housing, and foreclosures
• support governmental and business policies that commit to eliminating racial inequality in employment, wealth, lending practices, and business ownership
• demand that  county, city, state and national governmental entities  require  vendors and suppliers  abide by supplier diversity goals and practices.

Environment and Climate

• develop policies that reduce/eliminate environmental practices that are disproportionately harmful to low income and communities of color

Health Care

• support policies that provide access to timely, quality, and affordable health care regardless of race
• eliminate racial disparities in infant mortality rates by focusing on high quality, racial-conscious provider care.

Criminal Justice

• eliminate criminalization of members of marginalized communities with mental health issues.
• advocate policies that provide access for persons of color as much as for all persons to timely treatment for addiction and mental health problems so that all are physically and psychologically safe and secure
• support policies that will reduce and ultimately eliminate racial disparity in the availability of bail, pretrial release,  and sentencing, especially sentencing to incarcerate
• support policy changes to reduce over-representation of people of color in the criminal justice system
• advocate policing policies and practices that provide genuine protection to all communities, especially communities of color.
• demand policies that require sentencing and incarceration judgements be the same for all people to eliminate racial disparities in sentencing.