One hundred days into their administration,
President Joe Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris have made surprisingly bold inroads in confronting racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic, but significant challenges remain. President Biden and Vice President Harris entered the White House at a moment of
unprecedented multiple crises, and they have risen to confront those crises with remarkable speed and effectiveness. With the help of Senator Schumer and Speaker Pelosi, they have illuminated the systemic racial inequality that hinders our nation’s progress and set a course for healing. President Biden has been purposeful and intentional about including racial justice components in every policy he has undertaken in the first 100 days. He has used his moral voice to create a distinction between the poisonous philosophy of white supremacy and the idea of an America for everyone, an America of opportunity
and pathways to progress for all people. Importantly, he has changed the tone of governing, adopting a tone of inclusiveness that stands in stark contrast to the reality-show, fingerpointing, disparaging tone of the recent past.
In a letter sent shortly after the election,
I charged President Biden and Vice President
Harris to produce an immediate and extensive
action in several key areas, and they have
responded. The letter established a set of
fundamental principles on racial justice and
equity to guide Biden and Harris in the first 100
days and beyond.
As productive as the first 100 days have been,
a tremendous amount of work remains to be
done. President Biden and Vice President Harris
must make good on their promise to invest in
America, to build a middle-class, and to restore
faith in our democracy. The American people need
tangible results.”
Among the most pressing items remaining on
the administration’s to-do list are:
Passage of robust infrastructure proposals, the
American Jobs Plan and the American Families
Plan, which includes long overdue investments
in physical and human infrastructure, creating
family-sustaining, middle-class jobs and securing
the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.
Police reform, beginning with enactment of a
meaningful George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Protection of voting rights, beginning with
enactment of the For the People Act and
restoration of the full Voting Rights Act.
Closing the gender pay gap beginning with
enactment of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
A $15 per hour minimum wage for all workers
and elimination of the discriminatory tipped
minimum wage.
The National Urban League’s full progress report
on the Biden-Harris administration’s first 100 days
can be found here: https://bit.ly/3aJQ8Wr