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Economic Justice a Core Demand in A Vision for Black Lives Policy Agenda

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Earlier this week, the Movement for Black Lives released A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom and Justice. After a year-long process involving more than 50 organizations, the movement has offered a broad mandate that can support deep and lasting change. It is simultaneously a visionary document and a roadmap replete with policy briefs, model legislation and a running roster of groups in the field moving these visions into action at the local, state and national levels.

The platform makes clear that the Movement for Black Lives and Black Lives Matter represent far more than a call to end the killing of Black people at the hands of police and vigilantes. It is a movement that is committed to ending state violence and oppression in all of its forms.

Economic justice is one of 6 core demands of the platform, and NESRI is proud to have contributed to sections as disparate as land use, tax policy, budgets and trade. All are imbued with human rights values of universality, equity, transparency, participation and accountability at their core.

  • LAND USE: commit to comprehensive fair development standards, including mechanisms for supporting community control and public financing.
  • TAX: restructure codes to ensure a radical and sustainable redistribution of wealth
  • BUDGETS: reflect and address community needs in transparent and accountable ways
  • TRADE POLICY: use their power to set human rights standards and enforcement mechanisms around wages, working conditions and more, globally. 

Read the full platform to delve deeper into the root problems and how proposed solutions will impact Black communities and others bearing the brunt of social and economic inequality.

It is a privilege to be part of this historic process and document, and in partnership with communities, we continue to commit ourselves to the process of making this vision a lived reality.