NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: PRESIDENT BIDEN’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON POLICING IS A “NECESSARY STEP FORWARD” BUT LAWMAKERS MUST WORK TOWARD COMPREHENSIVE REFORM
Order Incorporates Elements of “21 Pillars,” League’s Criminal Justice Framework
NEW YORK (May 25, 2021) – National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial today called President Biden’s executive order on policing a necessary step forward and urged state and federal lawmakers to build on the order to achieve comprehensive reform.
The order incorporates several elements of 21 Pillars for Redefining Public Safety and Restoring Community Trust, the National Urban League’s own plan for enhancing public safety and restoring trust between communities and law enforcement.
“While a limited executive order is no substitute for the broad federal legislation we have sought, it represents a measure of meaningful change and a critical acknowledgment of the pervasive systemic racism that has shattered the trust between police and communities of color,” Morial said.
The tragedy of George Floyd’s murder highlighted gross inequities in policing and our justice system. However, in the absence of comprehensive legislative action, in the two years since the murder police have killed more than 2,000 people in the United States – even more in 2021 than in 2020. Black Americans remain nearly three times as likely as whites to be killed by police. President Biden’s directive to build a diverse, inclusive, and expert workforce among federal law enforcement agencies – consistent with the 21 Pillars – is critical to reversing both the violence and the disparity.
“Social parity, economic empowerment, and civil rights cannot be achieved in a world of unjust policing,” Morial said. “Today’s executive order, guided by the principles outlined in 21 Pillars, can be the basis for safer, more effective and community-centered law enforcement across the nation.”