Social Action Issues

I. Criminal Justice System Death Penalty Abolition

Studies have shown the handing down of the death penalty to be affected by the defendants skin color. Currently, African Americans account for 42% of the nation's death row population according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, even though they make up only 13% of the nation's civilian population. African Americans have always been and continue to be disproportionately put to death at the hands of the American "justice" system. We call for the abolishment of the death penalty.

Hate Crimes

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the Arab American, South Asian American, and Muslim American communities were the victims of hate crimes and discrimination. We condemn bigotry and violence against Arab, Muslim, South Asian, and Sikh Americans.

The Incarceration of the Mentally Disabled

The mentally disabled are placed in prisons when they are actually in need of medical attention. Incarceration of the mentally disabled puts them in a place where they cannot reach the resources required.

Non-Lethal Weapons for Police

The lack of access to high tech non-lethal weapons has led to accidental shootings of criminal suspects. Support of programs that create and promote the use of non-lethal weapons is imperative.

Prison Industrial Complex

It is necessary to review the expansion of the Prison Industrial Complexes in America. Of particular concern is the incarceration of Juveniles as well as the privatization of prison facilities.

Prison Labor Exploitation

We approve of prison industries training however do not feel that convicts should be exploited for their labor during their incarceration and then be unable to find work when released. We suggest that fair compensation be given to those incarcerated in way of union wages and that post prison employment responsibilities lie with companies that hold established relationships with prisons.

Property Takings and Public Housing TANF has the option of barring mothers with drug felonies from receiving TANF benefits. Mothers who are trying to recreate their lives are forced to do so on their own and many times feel it would be in their children’s best interest to remain in foster care so that their children will have a more stable lifestyle. We oppose this option’s existence and suggest a grace period for mothers with past drug related convictions. Third Party Eviction

Currently it is possible for a family to be kicked out of housing if one individual is caught and charged with minor possession of any narcotic. This has an adverse effect on families and does not allow any grace periods. We

Waiving Youth into Adult Courts

According to the National Juvenile Law Center %50 of all youth offenders transferred into adult courts are African Americans.

II. Economic Justice

Community Based Technology Centers

The Community Technology Centers program will assist eligible applicants in providing residents of economically distressed urban and rural communities with access to information-based organizations. Eligible applicants must be community-based and have the capacity to expand significantly access to computers and related services.

Childcare

Universal childcare is a necessity with the increasing number of dual income homes. It is important to provide safe, clean and affordable childcare that can be accessed by everyone.

Greater Diversity in Bilingual Education

There is a need to expand bilingual education to encompass more than traditional languages such as Creole, and Amharie.

Humphrey/Hawkins Full Employment Act

This law was introduced to help guarantee that every able and willing American that wants to work can get it. It has never been implemented and must become a new priority.

Lifelong Learning and the Digital Divide

Regardless of age, education is crucial in gaining the ability to better oneself. A new national interest must be put in the guarantee that all Americans have access to the widest variety of educational opportunities.

Living Wage

The Living Wage Act is one that requires employers receiving major service contracts from the state to pay a living wage to employees working on those contracts based on State cost of living index.

Minority Media Ownership

We disagree with the recent ruling in Senate Resolution 159, which states the FCC does not find the weakening of the Nation’s media ownership rules in the public interest. Media moguls oftentimes hold varied outlets of media including television, radio, newspaper, and magazine. Placing one company in charge of this many outlets allows them to disseminate political ideologies or propaganda easily and that is not in the public interest.

Pay Equity

We support the Equal Pay Enforcement Act because of its enhancement of existing laws and its ability to establish a multi-sector equal pay commission to study and make recommendations about extent, causes and consequences of wage disparities. It is important to express support for this legislation since African Americans and minorities in general face a glass ceiling in the workplace and are often passed over for promotion.

Reparations

Legislation to establish a Commission to Study the Reparations Proposals for African Americans has been introduced to review the institution of slavery, and the resulting economic and racial discrimination against African Americans and the impact these forces have had on living African Americans. It is important to support this legislation as the vestiges of slavery have resulted in severely disadvantageous economic situations.

Social Security

We oppose privatization of social security.

Tax Cuts

We oppose measures that result in a less progressive tax system such as lowering tax rate on capital gains and dividends. The tax rate was lowered at a faster rate for those at the top compared to the rate applied to those at the bottom.

III. Education

Equitable School Funding

Despite the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, decades of civil rights laws and volumes of talk about improving our school, a dramatic disparity in the quality of public education continues to plague our nation. The quality of our children’s educations varies radically based on where you live.

Head Start Programs

Strengthen and expand existing head start programs to be made available to each and every child.

Militarism of Public Schools through ROTC

ROTC program take additional resources from schools already strapped for cash in the name of education. They place an uncertified teacher in a history or social science slot, take our youth out of other classes and teach a dubious view of the rights of citizens. In addition, ROTC programs teach the use of weapons in schools that is "Zero Tolerance" for weapons, giving a mixed message. Finally, they provide recruitment of our youth into the military without rebuttal, giving one-sided and frequently inaccurate message.

Let No Child Go Unrecruited

Hidden in the "Let No Child Be Left Behind" education act, was a requirement that not only did not provide any help to education, but exploits the already overtaxed resources of schools merely to aid military recruiters unprecedented access to our children’s directory information merely upon request and entry to our schools which had previously banned them. In addition, it continues the pattern of giving our children only one side of the military recruitment process, not allowing them to make an informed decision about a life changing choice. We support giving our children all the information including: the higher level of race and sex discrimination; the greatly higher rape and domestic violence against women in the service; the disproportional number of veterans who are homeless; and ho the military has repeatedly admitted that it makes a profit on the GI Montgomery Bill which is suppose to provide money for college veterans.

Oppose Discriminatory "High Stakes" Educational Testing

Many states are relying upon a single standardized test to determine important decisions, such as graduation, and while they serve an important role in educational settings, their misuse can result in barriers to educational opportunity and progress. Often students of color have not had benefits of a highly qualified teaching staff or instruction in the skills and content of these tests and may perform poorly, resulting in unfairly denied educational opportunities.

Tracking/Ability Grouping

The tracking of students within schools based on "performance" has led to resegregation of schools. All too often lower class levels are disproportionately filled with colored students while higher-level classes are predominantly white.

IV. Environmental and Climate Justice African Americans and Power Plant Pollution

71% of African Americans are living in counties that violate federal air pollution standards compared to 58% of the white population. 68% of African Americans live within a thirty-mile radius of a coal-fired power plan that is directly related to the rising epidemic of asthma in this country. The disproportionate effect suggests a deeper problem than simple pollution of all counties and requires an answer.

V. Gender Equity

Domestic Violence

Studies have shown people of color to be victims of interpersonal violence at significantly higher rates than white men and women. Black women in particular had rates of interpersonal violence 35% higher than white women. This problem is compounded by official responses that are not sensitive to cultural difference and often reflect institution discrimination.

VI. Health Developing ways to extend health care coverage to poor and uninsured. Access to Clean Air and Water

Develop methods of securing clean air and water for every community, regardless of race and geography.

Disproportionate Placement of Toxic Waste Sites in Black and Latino Communities

Develop strategies for preventing the dumping of toxic waste, and other pollutants into poor and disadvantaged communities.

HIV/AIDS

Develop methods of preventing, treating, and curing AIDS through education, research, and access to trained medical professionals.

Lead Poisoning

Implementing and expanding programs to prevent and treat children exposed to toxic lead poisoning through community education and increase access to home lead testing, as well as testing of vulnerable age children.

Life Expectancy Differential/Disparities in Health Care

Developing strategies to address the disparities of life expectancy in our nation through environmental studies, race, ethnic, and geographical government funded research at CDC, NIH, and other research institutes throughout the country.

VII. Hip Hop Culture

images of Women in Hip Hop and the Relationship of Hip Hop to Black Liberation

How can the hip hop movement’s growing influence be focused in an uplifting manner on the matters of civil rights, women and other movements for justice, jobs and freedom?

VIII. Global Peace

Access to Telecommunications Services Throughout the 3rd World

Throughout Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, individuals in this country struggle to gain access to telecommunication services.

Civil Conflict (The Diamond Struggles)

We are in support of legislation that moves to stop all trade in conflict diamonds. Countries involved suffer and are manipulated by our trade in these diamonds and the money received is often used to finance dubious militaristic agendas.

The Congo and Debt Relief

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in natural resources and thus endowed with vast potential wealth yet with a GDP per capita of approx. $600, it is one of the poorest countries in the world. The total external debt was estimated at 12,880m in nominal terms with more than $10m in arrears.

Immigration We are opposed to racial and ethnic profiling as a basis for visa policy, especially in regards to Haitians, Arabs, and South Asians Israel/Palestine

We support fair and honest negotiations in the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians by pursuing a balanced Middle East peace agreement. We believe that President Bush’s Road Map to peace should be implemented in its original form, with the two parties expected to act simultaneously to fulfill their obligations under this plan.

Supporting the United Nations

The United Nations requires our support in many endeavors. One of these is the singing of the UN Declaration of Human Rights because of its recognition of the fundamental human right of a conscious objection to war. Another is to finally pay off our debt to the U.N.

IX. Peace and Security Military Legal Process

Discussion on ways to strengthen and safeguard traditional civil rights protection for those in every branch of the military. Many military personnel are not properly informed of the legal process and suffer consequences as a result.

Opposing Imperialism and Colonialism

A discussion of ways to mitigate the recent expansions of modern-day imperialism of the United States. What should the role of the U.N. be?

Political Prisoners and Civil Liberties

Foreign individuals have been held in Guantanamo Bay without being released or tried for a crime. In addition since 9/11 there have been serious abuses by the Department of Justice in the detention of suspects and there has been an increase in the amount of secret evidence used. We urge Congress to investigate the DOJ’s actions and call upon the Administration to reinstate open immigration hearings by administrative judges and eliminate usage of secret evidence.

Rights of Conscientious Objectors

The armed forces’ management of conscientious objectors who face court martial or other punishment is hindered by inadequate trial instructions and administrative shortcoming, both of which infringe on the ability to protect the rights of conscientious objectors, especially in the cases of court-martial where an individual professes principled opposition to military service and is judged by those who have accepted the service. Military judges should issue a clear explanation of the legal status and responsibilities of a service member making a conscientious objection and waiting on his/her status and better co-ordinate criminal charges against those pending discharge for conscientious objection.

School of the Americas

We oppose the "School of the Americas." Renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation" (WHISC), the school trains hundreds of soldiers each year- supported by millions of US tax payer dollars. Many of these soldiers have been responsible for some of the worst human rights violations and the most brutal terrorist attacks on civilian communities in our hemisphere, including: the massacre of more than 900 people at El Mozote; the Trujillo "chainsaw massacre of over 100 civilians; the execution of Six Jesuit priests; the assassination of Archbishop Romero and Bishop Juan Gerardi, and the brutal rape and murder of 4 US churchwomen.

X. Race and Ethnicity

Embracing All Members of Our Community

A discussion about the ever increasing diversity of American communities whether it be racial, ethnic or lifestyle, that gives our communities their strength and the proper approaches to capitalizing on the currently latent potential of these communities.

Immigration

We are opposed to racial and ethnic profiling as a basis for visa policy, especially in regards to Haitians, Arabs, and South Asians

The Question of Diaspora

There is a need to formulate national and international policies that address the long-lasting effects of colonialism, imperialism and racism on human beings. The traces of colonialism, imperialism and racism are prevalent in every society it has touched and need to be properly dealt with through policy.

The Relationship Between Black and Latino Communities

The recent statistics have shown Latinos to be surpassing African Americans by number. These statistics incorrectly name "Latino" as a racial group, when in fact they are an ethnic group composed of many races, including African. Regardless, these numbers are an insignificant detail as we are all minorities in a similar struggle.

Religious Tolerance

Breaking through religious and faith stereotypes while enhancing familiarity will help prevent xenophobia and allow for a religious tolerance. This tolerance will make our communities richer in their diversity and more powerful as they will not be divided by religious or faith-based boundaries.

Support and Recognition for the Durban Declaration

We stand in support of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action that resulted from the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism in

South Africa. This internationally recognized document acknowledges slavery and the slave trade as a crime against humanity, and understands that a gender perspective must be integrated into policies addressing race in order to effectively combat multiple forms of discrimination. It stresses the need for religious freedom for all peoples, and the need for a comprehensive education that addresses the history, causes, nature, and consequences of racism. It speaks directly to the issues facing people of African descent, indigenous peoples, migrants, and other victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerances.

XI. Political Participation Lift Ban on Welfare Benefits to Women Convicted of Drug Offense

Women who are struggling to recover from drug addictions are doing their best to rebuild their lives and their families. But because of a little known provision in the federal welfare reform law, about 92,000 women are currently banned for the rest of their lives from getting the help they need to succeed. They’re denied benefits forever because of past criminal offenses-even though they have successfully completed their sentences and paid their dues.

Militarism of Public Schools through ROTC

ROTC programs take additional resources from schools already strapped for cash in the name of education. They place an uncertified teacher in a history or social science slot, take our youth out of other classes and teach a dubious view of the rights of citizens. In addition, ROTC programs teach the use of weapons in schools that is "Zero Tolerance" for weapons, giving a mixed message. Finally, they provide recruitment of our youth into the military without rebuttal, giving a one-sided and frequently inaccurate message.

Same Day Registration for Voters

We support the introduction of legislation that will allow potential voters to register the same day as elections. This removes regulations, which only hurt voter turnout and registration.

©2003 Fellowship of Reconciliation