In an opinion piece published today in The Plain Dealer and on Cleveland.com, our executive director Amy Hanauer and outreach coordinator Amelia Hayes discuss how the economy and jobs relate to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Amy (pictured left) and Amelia wrote that we’re not experts on strategies to immediately transform relationships between communities and police. But we know part of the solution is addressing economic justice.
The sadness we see in Cleveland and other cities is, yes, a cry against police brutality, but it is also the anger of a community that has been victimized by decades of economic violence, they wrote.
The policies we advocate wouldn’t prevent police violence but they would begin delivering better education, jobs, and economic security.
Ohio needs more good jobs that improve quality of life, help clean our environment and improve educational prospects.
In addition to good, inclusive jobs, we need other moves to protect black communities that have been victimized by toxic mortgages, discrimination in housing access and pricing, gouging of renters, overcrowding, and underinvestment of all kinds.
Lame duck is an opportunity for legislators to act on data centers (and more)