In the next elections on November 8, voters in the Big Apple, in addition to choosing the positions of governor, state legislators and congressmen, will also have the unusual option, on the back of the ballot, to give their opinion on some changes in the Charter of the City of New York, on a very specific and controversial issue: Racial Justice.
That is, the voters upon receiving the electoral ballot, in addition to choosing the executive and legislative positions, They will be asked three questions, in which they can vote “Yes” or “No”.
This special query arose after settling in 2021, the New York City Racial Justice Commission (RJC), charged with examining “structural racism” within New York City.
This commission examined the City Charter, also known as such as “Constitution,” to identify the structural barriers that all people of color face. And he developed these ballot measures intended to promote racial equity.
The Three Questions
The first question on the back of the ballot asks voting New Yorkers if they want to add to the City Charter , an introductory statement of the values and vision of “a more just and equitable society for all”.
In the second question, you will be asked if you agree with establishing a Racial Equity Office, Plan and Commission. And the third question will press whether to approve amending the City Charter to create a measure of the “real cost of living” to meet essential needs, which include housing, food, child care and transportation.
“The members of this Commission have recognized from the beginning that these efforts alone will not bury more than 400 years of racist damage. We view these bylaw revisions as aspirational. They hold the City government responsible for starting some changes”, said Jennifer Jones Austin, president of RJC.
Mayor Bill De Blasio established this commission on Racial Justice in 2021, after widespread protests against police brutality, which were sparked by the death of the African-American George Floyd.
This is the first national commission of its kind, inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after apartheid in South Africa.
!Let’s participate!
The second board member of this commission is the union leader Henry Garrido, who has been at the head of the District Council 37, the largest union of municipal workers in the country, who values that these proposals for changes in the City Charter are the product of months of work and close consultations with the communities “m most affected by systemic racism”.
“We offer these final proposals to the electorate of New York City, knowing that their votes will be needed to uproot hundreds of years of accumulated inequity,” Garrido estimated in a public letter.
However, he ponders that there is more work to be done educating and engaging New Yorkers to exercise their civic power by answering the three questions on the back of the ballot next November.
“We listened to hundreds of people”
For her part, the Mexican community leader, Yesenia Mata, who directs the organization La Colmena in Staten Island, was also part of this commission and assures that after listening to hundreds of testimonies she was able to understand, from different angles, needs of New Yorkers, which are generally not obvious.
“As the daughter of immigrants, I I know that communities of color must confront the injustices that the system has. We know that only with this step the structures will not change. But with the inclusion of these three specific points in the City Charter, we will have important advances”, he highlighted.
For the first time in history, the Mayor’s Office of the City of New York advances in creating a comprehensive strategy to improve equity and access to opportunities for its residents.
“We invite New Yorkers to have a voice in their government, which will prioritize decisions that matter to communities with least access, rather than decisions that accommodate people who they already have power and wealth”, highlights the conclusions of the final RJC report, which justifies this voter consultation.
A public health crisis
In addition to the commotion caused by the demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, which coincided with the ravages caused by the pandemic in 2020, disproportionately to communities of color, the Board of Sa lud of New York City decided to declare racism last October 2021, such as a public health crisis.
“The COVID pandemic-24, magnified inequalities, causing disproportionate suffering in communities of color in our city and throughout our nation” highlighted the New York City Department of Health (DOHMH) in a statement.
For this reason, an internal working group of ‘ Data for Equity’ to ensure an anti-racist lens is applied to public health reporting. And annual guidance is provided to other City agencies on best practices for collecting and making available relevant data to track and improve more equitable access to health and prevention services.
To date, more than have been registered declarations of racism as a public health crisis in the country, including from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although the resolutions, commissions and electoral consultations of the City of New York are one of the first to link specific actions to their declaration.
“Op Opportunities are not the same for everyone”
Given this reality, the community activist from the Bronx, Josefina Colón, is ready to participate in the electoral process and give her opinion on the three questions of racial justice in the big Apple. The Dominican woman comments that as a “Latina of color” she knows perfectly well what she calls “an essence of racism and discrimination” in all spaces.
“Sometimes we make jokes about racism, but they are true. You see a brunette running, because he is exercising, and many whites think they are running from the police”, he commented.
Colón highlights that the recent public health crisis has finished “undressing” what we already knew: “Who lost their jobs? Who are they evicting from their apartments? Who were the ones who died the most?… Now is when with this inflation, we are having a hard time. Opportunities are not the same for everyone”.
For his part, Colombian Miguel Dominguez, from 52 years, is also a voter. And he is completely unaware that when he votes next November, he will also have the opportunity to give his opinion on some efforts to overcome racism.
“It seems to me with so many years of living here, that any effort of this type will be ‘salt and water’, because it is not just a matter of laws, nor of the constitution, but of helping people of color to increase their self-esteem. And don’t always live on the defensive. Of course there is racism, against blacks, against Jews, against Asians, against Hispanics, against indigenous people… but we must already forget about the discourse of resentment of slavery and the colony. And look forward“, the immigrant concluded.
NY with very strong anti-racist laws
However, despite all the arguments about historic systemic racism, New York City has one of the strictest Human Rights Laws against racial discrimination in the entire country.
Since 1536 launched the campaign entitled “While I am black”, which addresses some common forms of discrimination Black New Yorkers face while going about their daily lives, reminding them of the rights of all Black New Yorkers to live without prejudice, and provides information on how to report discrimination to the NYC Commission on Human Rights.
This initiative, which began three years ago, made it clear that anyone who identifies as black, including African-American, Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean and African New Yorkers, have the right to live free from discrimination and harassment in New York City.
The announcements also serve to educate entities that have responsibilities and potential obligations under the law, including housing providers, employers, employment agencies, and business owners.
In detail: The 3 amendments
- The proposed first amendment to the City Charter would add to the preamble the statement that the government should aim to correct “past and continuing harm and rebuild, revise, and reinvent our foundations, structures, institutions, and laws to promote justice and equity for all New Yorkers.” It also recognizes the atrocities of American slavery and the displacement of indigenous peoples.