Washington, D.C. — Today, President Joe Biden outlined his vision for promoting racial equity and signed a series of executive actions to increase equality and address discrimination. Following the signing of the actions, Sam Fulwood III, senior fellow and interim vice president for Race and Ethnicity at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement:
Last year, Joe Biden pledged to use the first days of his presidency to begin to address America’s four-century-long crisis of systemic racial discrimination. Today, he is making good on this promise by outlining his vision to advance racial justice and by signing four executive actions that will increase racial equity.
Today’s actions on criminal justice, housing, tribal sovereignty, and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of Americans. With these executive actions, President Biden is taking an important step to address some of the harmful and discriminatory acts of the Trump administration. A problem as wide-reaching and deeply entrenched as systemic racism cannot be solved in a day or a week but requires ongoing commitment and focus to root out long-lasting structural inequities. It is encouraging that President Biden reaffirmed his commitment to centering racial equity throughout his policymaking agenda. CAP looks forward to working with the Biden administration in the coming years to promote policies that will build a more just, inclusive, and equitable America.
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For more information on this topic or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at jcusick@americanprogress.org.