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Danielle Bell

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“Racial Justice is on the Ballot in California this Year” 

Contact: Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute Media Relations Director, 415-846-7758 (cell)

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – With California voters facing multiple ballot propositions that will greatly impact the state’s struggle to overcome systemic racism and inequality, The Greenlining Institute has released its endorsements on key California ballot propositions, focusing on those with direct racial equity implications.

“There is near-universal recognition that the anti-racist uprisings in conjunction with the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the racialized caste system that continues to exist,” said Greenlining Institute President and CEO Debra Gore-Mann. “There is an urgent cry for change and racial justice is literally on the ballot this year. California voters have a chance to take real steps toward justice – and to stop schemes that perpetuate the status quo of the privileged few.”

Greenlining’s positions:

YES on Prop. 15: Make our property tax system fairer and boost funding available for schools and other vital needs in underserved communities.

YES on Prop. 16: Allow California to address our state’s sad history of discrimination by considering race, ethnicity and sex. “Race-neutral” solutions can never fix problems rooted in racism.

YES on Prop. 17: Allow persons convicted of felonies who are on parole to vote in California elections. California’s current felony disenfranchisement law is a remnant of an almost 150-year-old effort to keep Black and Brown citizens out of the voting booth.

NO on Prop. 19: Don’t create a new tax break that would primarily benefit wealthy homeowners.

NO on Prop. 20: Don’t return to old, failed “tough on crime” policies that would set criminal justice reform back for decades and hurt Black and Brown communities.

YES on Prop. 21:  Allow cities to establish rent control on residential properties that are over 15 years old. Protect seniors, veterans, teachers and frontline workers who are particularly vulnerable to California’s affordable housing crisis.

NO on Prop. 22: Reject this deceptive effort by lucrative, app-based companies to deprive their workers of fundamental protections.

NO POSITION on Prop. 24: Greenlining believes in a future in which all are protected from data-driven discrimination regardless of whether or not we opt out of data collection. While Prop. 24 increases privacy protections in some areas, it does not go far enough to protect consumers.

Follow this link for full descriptions of Greenlining’s endorsements.

To learn more about The Greenlining Institute, visit www.staging3.greenlining.org.