NO SHORTAGE OF PRIORITIES AS CIVIL RIGHTS TAKE STAGE

On the campaign trail last year, President-elect Joe Biden declared that his top legislative priority would be the Equality Act, which would enshrine LGBTQ protections against discrimination into the nation’s labor and civil rights laws.

Biden was in Ohio at the time, delivering a keynote address at the annual Human Rights Campaign gala. It was the first day of Pride Month. Biden cited his disagreement with many of President Donald Trump’s policies, including an attempt to ban transgender troops in the U.S. military. “It’s wrong and it is immoral what they’re doing,” Biden said at the time, knowing that the Equality Act would likely be ignored by the Republican-led Senate.

“It will be the first thing I ask to be done,” Biden said, referring to his legislative priorities if he were to be elected president.

Now Biden has announced that racial equity will be a top priority of his administration. He will seek to return the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department

to its original purpose: focusing on anti-discrimination laws that protect millions of people in minority groups who were mostly ignored during the Trump years.

Biden’s background hints that his civil rights agenda may be narrowly focused on two colors: black and white. He grew up in a black and white world, working half of his life as a senator in Washington, D.C. Biden authored the 1994 crime law. Intended to tackle rising crime, it led to more prison sentences, more prison cells, and more aggressive policing. It hurt Black and Brown Americans, who are disproportionately incarcerated. By making the criminal justice system more punitive, Biden sought to rebuke criticisms that Democrats are “soft on crime.”

In fact, there may be a third color on the Biden palette: blue. The president-elect has already released criminal justice reform plans that aim to undo some of the damage caused by policies he previously championed. After the death of George Floyd in May,

Biden called on Congress to swiftly adopt policing reforms, such as outlawing chokeholds and enacting use of force standards. While he won’t be demanding that police departments be defunded, Biden is sure to push for better local practices such as addressing systemic racism and discrimination.

It’s easy to root for Biden. Who wouldn’t like to solve our nation’s persistent black and white, and black and blue challenges?

But I also hope that Biden doesn’t forget the civil rights of other groups:

• All people of color: Census projections confirm that racial minorities are the primary demographic engine of the nation’s future growth, countering an aging, slow-growing and soon to decline White population. According to The Brookings Institute, statistics project that the nation will become “minority white” in 2045, down from 60 percent of the population today.

• People with disabilities: One in four American adults has some type of disability. Many face barriers to employment and economic security that result in disproportionately high poverty rates, according the Center for American Progress (CAP). Often, their contributions are considered less valuable, justifying a separate and unequal pay structure. And even with passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act 30 years ago, people with disabilities continue to face discrimination, from housing accessibility to navigating businesses and public spaces.

• Women: While the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color, its impact on working women has been colorblind. So many women are juggling duties as full-time moms and full-time workers. Truth be told, the childcare sector was already failing to support our families. CAP recently estimated that the risk of mothers reducing work hours in order to assume caretaking responsibilities — or leaving the labor force entirely — amounts to $64.5 billion per year in lost wages and economic activity.

• Voters: The most fundamental of American rights — voting — has been under assault, with mismanaged elections and gerrymandered maps designed to entrench political power. By all accounts, the 2020 presidential election was better, even as Trump continues to question its legitimacy. But left unchecked, efforts to suppress young voters and voters of color will continue.

• LGBTQ community: Biden must honor the commitment he made a year and a half ago in Ohio to push for passage of the Equality Act. Americans should never have to sacrifice their civil rights because of who they are and who they love.

It’s great that President-elect Biden is making civil rights a top priority. Protecting the liberties and freedoms of all Americans is hard work. And after the last four years, there’s so much to be done.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’S programming, visit ncrconline.com