JLUSA Ready to Work with Biden Administration on Racial Equity and Supporting Underserved Communities, Particularly the 70 Million Impacted by the Criminal Legal System

Today President Biden issued an executive order to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities across the federal government. This order comes one day after the announcement of the upcoming launch of the JustUS Coordinating Council (JCC), a new national network of systems-impacted individuals across all 50 states, including D.C., that informs decision-making at the federal, state, and local policy levels.

JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) President and CEO DeAnna Hoskins said, “President Biden’s executive order today underscores exactly why the JustUS Coordinating Council is needed. As we’ve been saying, the voices of directly impacted people need to be in the room and at the table when decisions are being made. We look forward to working with the Biden administration on realizing the full potential of this order, while at the same time building our own table so that the agenda of systems-impacted individuals continues to move forward regardless of whether we are invited to the table or not.”

JCC Steering Committee member Tony McCright added, “I congratulate the Biden-Harris administration on being the first to implement strategies to address racial inequities in the U.S. While this administration has committed to promoting more equitable outcomes, in order to posit that underserved communities are being supported, systems-impacted people need to be taken into account. Only by first recognizing the over 70 million systems-impacted people in this country and then including us in the solutions will this administration and this country truly realize its stated goal of ‘an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.”

Here are the main bullet points of President Biden’s executive order “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”:

• “Launches a new annual process to strengthen racial equity and support for underserved communities.”
• “Empowers Federal equity leaders.”
• “Strengthens community partnerships and engagement.”
• “Invests in underserved communities.”
• “Improves economic opportunity in rural and urban communities.”
• “Addresses emerging civil rights risks.”
• “Promotes data equity and transparency.”