The Black Music Action Coalition joined Democratic lawmakers and dozens of organizations to demand President Joe Biden’s help in passing racial equality and reparative justice legislation on Monday (February 19). BMAC urged the president to meet with Reps. Barbara Lee, Sheila Jackson Lee, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman to work on rectifying historical and systemic inequities in the United States.
“We launched BMAC in 2020 and one of our first initiatives was calling for a racial justice commitment within the first 100 days of President Biden being in office through the power of narrative change content and a national coalition,” BMAC co-founder and CEO Willie “Prophet” Stiggers said. “As part of a call for a U.S. Truth Commission and Restorative Justice, we supported ‘17 More Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America’ with artists like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, Khalid and Quavo, as well as ‘The Resolution’ with activists like Billie Eilish, Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter. Despite the largest outcry for racial justice in our nation’s history, the first 100 days of the Biden Administration passed without any racial justice policy. We received no justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless other lives that were lost.”
BMAC and other organizations called for President Biden to use executive actions and orders to make sure a variety of bills get passed. The bills included restoring the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and establishing a commission to study and consider reparations for African Americans.
“In this crucial election year, we are joining the urgent demand for President Biden to move on executive actions and executive orders aligning with and supporting legislative efforts to achieve racial equity and reparative justice,” Stiggers said. “We will do everything we can to utilize our resources and be a true bridge between the creative community and lawmakers to help push this fight forward.”
Read the BMAC-backed letter to President Biden regarding these efforts below.
