We have to get this right.
As mayor of New Orleans, I found that ...
Weekly Newsletter – May 5, 2020
As officials begin the process of trimming their budgets, reducing services, and furloughing employees, they must do so with the careful application of a racial equity lens or they may only worsen the inequities that this pandemic has laid bare. Some key questions to ask when making equitable decisions are: Who benefits? Who is burdened? Who is missing? How do we know?
Equity in Budget Cuts
As we’ve noted when advocating for more direct federal funding for states and cities, budgets really matter. They are moral documents that outline our priorities. And how you cut budgets in tough times matters too.
Direct local funding must be prioritized for our towns and cities
While most of the country remains focused on continuing to increase testing, tracing and treatment capacity in order to restore local economies, state and local leaders are beginning to have to confront a new set of challenges related to their own government budgets.
Weekly Newsletter – April 14, 2020
More people voting can only be a good thing for a healthy democracy. As we outlined in our Divided by Design report, we heard loud and clear that protecting democracy is important-- not only because of the ways Black Americans have been disenfranchised, but also because of the way our current democratic processes keep Black and White communities divided.
All Southern States Must Fully Implement Mail Voting Measures Now
Mail voting is the best method to comply with social distancing protocols, increase voter turnout, and is a system less susceptible to foreign interference. But as a number of states remain unprepared to handle the influx of mailed-in ballots, a robust campaign of misinformation is challenging effective state mitigation measures and threatening millions of voters’ ability to cast a ballot.
No Information is Misinformation: States Must Release Information Related to COVID-19’s Impact on Black Communities
EPU stands alongside numerous organizations and congressional representatives requesting that disaggregated racial testing data is provided to address existing health disparities in light of our current COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank you for your hard work and support this year
2019 was a successful year for E Pluribus Unum. We truly could not have accomplished so much or gotten this far without our partners across the country, the more than 800 individuals and advocates across the South who shared their experiences with us, the dozens of organizations and leaders who facilitated these conversations, and our supporters.
Divided By Design: Findings from the American South
Today, we're launching E Pluribus Unum with the release of a groundbreaking report on race and class in the South that outlines how we are Divided by Design. Our team travelled across the American South unearthing the roots of our divides, the ghosts of the past, and the human experience that binds us all. We've gone to 28 communities across 13 southern states in rural areas and urban ones, in growing metropolitan areas and hallowed out main streets. Over 800 people shared their life stories with us. And we completed a survey of 1,800 southern residents on issues related to race and class.
DISPATCHES FROM THE ROAD – LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
This week, the E Pluribus Unum Team had the privilege to visit Louisville, Kentucky.
Earlier this spring, we visited cities in towns in eastern Kentucky, from Pikeville and Whitesburg to Hazard and London. Last week, we visited Kentucky again, this time making a stop in its most populous city, Louisville, home of bourbon and the Kentucky Derby.