President signs orders focusing on racial equity
Biden: Moves part of effort to address systemic racism
WASHINGTON — President Biden signed four executive actions Tuesday aimed at increasing racial equity across the nation, a move the administration said was a big early step in his efforts to dismantle systemic racism, though civil rights groups made it clear they will press for more-sweeping change in the months ahead.
The measures seek to strengthen anti-discrimination housing policies that were weakened under President Donald Trump, nix new Justice Department contracts with private prisons, increase the sovereignty of Native American tribes and combat violence and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific islanders, a week after the departure of a president who blamed the Chinese for the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said the actions were part of an effort to infuse a focus on equity into everything the federal government does.
“We’re in a battle for the soul of this nation, and the truth is our soul will be troubled as long as systemic racism is allowed to exist,” Biden said. “I’m not promising that we can end it tomorrow, but I promise you that we’re going to make strides to end systemic racism, and every branch of the White House and the federal government will be part of that.”
The actions reflected the extent to which Biden’s ascent to the presidency was wrapped up with the nation’s racial struggles. He kicked off his campaign with a rejection of Trump’s approach to race, was propelled to the nomination largely by Black voters and — as racial justice protests erupted across the country — aligned his campaign increasingly with their cause.
Activists are making it clear they expect more from Biden than a diverse administration and rhetoric about justice. Tuesday marked his first major effort to respond, to mixed reviews from civil rights groups.
In a memo, the administration pledged to work with Congress on legislation that increases funding for minority-owned small businesses, invests in historically Black colleges and universities, and triples funding for Title I schools serving a high proportion of low-income children.
Some activists cautioned that tackling system racism is complex and will not be resolved by government edicts.
Melanie Campbell, who leads the Black Women’s Roundtable, a group of Black female activists, said that she was buoyed that Biden took decisive steps on equity — especially related to housing discrimination — less than a week into his term but that more work needs to be done.
“We plan to engage this administration and to engage Congress,” Campbell said. “Black people didn’t just help the Biden-Harris ticket win for our health. I’m not waiting on announcements, I’m engaging. Maybe we’ll give them a week or two to settle in, but we are not sitting around waiting.”
Civil rights groups, while welcoming the actions, said they are far from enough.
Changing the police and criminal justice system are among the most urgent goals for many of these groups, as are fighting voter suppression. Beyond that, many activists say they want Biden to put resources toward reducing disparities in educational and economic opportunities.
Biden mentioned many of those aims in his remarks Tuesday, but he cautioned that dismantling systemic racism was a herculean undertaking. “It’s not going to be overnight,” he said. “We’re not going to eliminate everything.”