I recently attended the Rally for a Peaceful Planet, an event put on by the student government. They had three goals: to eliminate refugee caps, to challenge police militarization, and to declare racism a public health crisis. I say good, there’s plenty of absurd racist policies on the book, and it’s time to clear house.
The University declared racism a public health crisis, and talked about the importance of building equitable institutions, and making sure that promises are backed up with action. While I’m no revolutionary, I completely agree that we have an obligation to make sure that everyone has the ability to succeed at UConn. That means taking steps to make systems better. Here is my anti-racist agenda. It may be non-exhaustive, but here are a couple ideas that I’m sure most people concerned with a fair society can get behind.
There was a little bit of vagueness in specifically what programs should follow up declaraing racism a public health crisis, and I wanted to provide some actionable ways to decrease racism in our community.
#1. Make Personal Finance a Required Class. According to Little Liberty, a Boston-Based nonprofit, that the average net worth of a black family in Boston is $8 dollars. This is frightening. Nearly half of black households are unbanked, or overbanked. This disparity, over a financial lifetime, can create a disparity of nearly 40K in just fees. Without providing the tools for people to comfortably engage with financial institutions and create savings, it’s unlikely we will see much accumulated wealth. Providing this avenue of support is one way to improve the situation. Some at UConn, such as Nidhi Nair, a student working with the United Nations, aim to increase financial inclusion by increasing awareness of how the stock market works to the disadvantaged. Supporting efforts like this are important steps to making sure everyone is brought in.
#2. Support zoning reform. The White House recently released a report that claims that exclusionary zoning laws have been used to discriminate against people of color and to maintain property prices. The empirical literature finds a relationship between restrictive land use regulations and higher housing prices. Home ownership is a crucial way to build generational wealth, and the zoning system cuts off the bottom rungs of the ladder to prosperity. Significantly weakening the power of zoning boards makes property less expensive, and more accessible.
#3. Efforts like the food pantry are good uses of funds to make sure that people don’t go to bed hungry. As a community, it is an important goal to make sure students who need are provided food. If anything, this should be funded more.
#4. Support School Choice. It’s a well-known fact that inner-city schools tend not to do well. Resultingly, many people are often denied access to a decent education because of where they live. Also, it’s not too surprising that districts often fall on racial lines. Supporting more options for low-income parents to choose which school is best for their kids allows them to escape poorly run, and often physically unsafe districts, by extending the choice rich families have to the poor. Charter schools are shown to increase racial integration, and test-scores, while providing a safe environment.
#5. Gotta lower tuition somehow…. Let’s start with admin, ill-frequented museums, and sports. Many of these people cost more than 100K a year for questionable value. Most vice-presidents should be cut. Similarly, a lot of department staff aren’t hired by the department and instead report to provosts. Tuition funds should be allocated to the specific department, and out of the hands of administrators. Also, we should probably defund our football team, and the Benton. They provide little benefit to the student body, and cost a lot of moolah. Reallocating money towards financial aid is a better way of striving to live our values, and is more likely to equalize opportunity.
#6. We Don’t need Cert-of-Need… Imagine if there was a law that made you beg your competition to allow you to exist. No need to imagine too hard, laws exist like that in CT. Certificate of Need laws do that exact thing, while making it nearly impossible to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape. During COVID, it was clear that our ICU beds got overwhelmed quickly. This is in large part because IT TAKES FOREVER TO OPEN ANYTHING. So many more people could have been treated if our institutions functioned better. Unsurprisingly, studies find that states that repeal Certificate of Need Legislation have shorter travel times for care, and smaller racial disparities in it.
#7. Occupational Licensing: an excuse for abuse. One HUGE problem for the disadvantaged is that the government makes it illegal for many to do an honest day’s work. The CTPost reports that states require licenses for professions like upholsterers, funeral attendants, florists, manicurists, and bartenders. Connecticut is especially bad in that we’re the only state to license home entertainment installers. Economic research shows that these don’t make workers safer or improve service quality. A recent paper came out detailing the adverse effects, and discriminatory intent associated with many of these policies. Eliminating them is another step towards racial justice.
#7. WHY ARE WE CRIMINALIZING THAT? The War on Drugs has thrown many vulnerable people into into jail and ruined lives for victimless crimes. This is a given. However, it’s not just the war on drugs that is a problem. Things like drinking outside, screening a movie in your backyard, shooting a bow-and-arrow at a target. This problem is called overcriminalization. There are over 4450 Federal Crimes, and many more state ones. It’s estimated that the average American commits 3 Felonies A Day. Since obviously it would be impossible to throw the entire country in jail, the police often go after the marginalized and vulnerable. Restoring our criminal code to sanity is an important step to avoiding constant discriminatory action under the law. If the government thinks betting on baseball or wearing saggy pants are crimes, there’s a serious problem.
#8. Not a Plea Bargain. Plea bargains circumvent the fundamental rights of the indigent. 95% of all criminal convictions are obtained through guilty pleas, and fewer than 2 percent of federal prosecutions go to trial. This undermines due process, and especially when prosecutors are able to threaten an indictment of defendants’ family members, stuff starts to look more evil. Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of racial bias in plea deals. Getting rid of plea deals is an important step to creating justice under the law.
#8. If police get immunity, why can’t civilians? Qualified Immunity makes it really hard to punish bad-apple police officers. Qualified immunity only allows suits where officials violated a “clearly established” statutory or constitutional right. Courts consider whether a reasonable official would know whether the defendant’s conduct violated a plaintiff’s rights. (hint. Police are almost always insulated from the effects of their bad behavior) Want to know why it’s almost impossible to hold police accountable? THIS DOCTRINE. Get rid of immunity, and the courts can actually punish bad behavior.
On a regular basis, the government chooses to discriminate against the weak and powerless. As Americans we have a duty to reign in abuse, and hold the powerful to account. I hope that this plea to see racism as a public health crisis is taken seriously, and we can make the lives of minorities better.
Isadore Johnson's Website 