PolicyLink

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at Raben's Preparing for the Battle Ahead Town Hall. The conversation was a meaningful and impactful exchange with inspiring leaders. As I prepared, I reflected on the toll it takes to live daily in a place that does not see your humanity, whose governing institutions are not designed to work towards your thriving. A tribalism can set in that causes us to fight for our people, and our people only. But I am brought back to the definition of equity: just and fair inclusion into a society where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. I believe in this future, and I believe it requires us to choose a different path. If anything, this moment is making the case that we will never govern for all if we cannot see the humanity of every person. A society where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential is the unrealized promise of our nation. It demands that we double-down on our vision of collective flourishing. It demands that we assert our individual and collective power to continue pushing toward it. And yes, I believe it requires us to do the tremendously hard work of manifesting souls that can love and see the humanity of all. #WeAreTheFounders

Remember that solidarity is hard, and that it is as important as ever. PolicyLink Founder in Residence Angela Glover Blackwell reminds us that our solidarity is a critical source of strength — and it is especially when times are bleak that solidarity is hard and essential. “When we get it right, it propels our movement for democracy in service of human flourishing,” she said. Listen to a bonus episode from the Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life podcast, recorded live from the PolicyLink #EquitySummit2024. Angela connected with leaders Kent Wong, Alberto Retana, and Hillary Holley as they discussed the power of organizing and solidarity across communities, generations, and the nation. Listen to the bonus episode here: https://lnkd.in/gbz8uhTd

If we are to continue transforming the world, we must be ready to transform ourselves, our institutions, and our ways of being. We must move forward with unwavering love, engaging in both the soul work and the bold revolutionary thinking that the future demands. This requires us to embrace all. We know that embracing the “all” as the fullest expression of equity is not an easy ask, but it is the only path to the future we envision. Equity has always been at the heart of our mission at PolicyLink: just and fair inclusion into a society where all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. This is the journey we are on, and it is the journey we invite you to join. Together, let us build social, cultural, and governing systems that uplift human flourishing while cultivating within ourselves a profound and abiding love for all. https://lnkd.in/gFhdMU3M #SoulWork #TheAll #AllMeansAll

Thank you, Radhika Fox, former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator and PolicyLink alum for raising the critical importance of federal water bill assistance for low-income households during today’s Senate EPA Water Committee Hearing on #SDWA50: “1 in 3 Americans struggle with the price of their water bills. If you think about the fact that ongoing investment is going to be needed in water infrastructure. This issue of affordability is only going to increase. [LIWAHP] has helped hundreds of families to address arrearages and water affordability. But more is needed. We need a permanent low-income water assistance program.” Check out the #WECRCaucus framework on how we can ensure Water Affordability For All: https://lnkd.in/gq4i5Bjw

Last night, we celebrated hope at Omega CDC's 3rd Annual Gala: Portraits of Hope. We were honored to hear from Dr. Michael McAfee, President & CEO of PolicyLink, who challenged us to "love into existence" the change we want to see and reminded us of the meaning of the word all.

Water equity champ, Radhika Fox (former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water Assistant Administrator and PolicyLink alum) gave testimony in today’s Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Hearing on the 50th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act. “The SDWA was a game-changer…[And] the issue of clean, safe water, it knows no political boundaries. This committee has been a shining example of taking bipartisan action to ensure that every American has access to clean, safe water. I certainly hope that the next administration and Congress continue the work.” We couldn’t agree more on the importance of this groundbreaking federal legislation that works to ensure all Americans have clean water. No individual, no family in the United States should be without our most precious, life-sustaining resource.

We first shared this video at our Equity Summit, and the question it poses touches me even more today: do you have the resolve to love all?  To work persistently to create a society where we all may prosper? In these times, I remind myself that the seeds of my work were planted in my upbringing. I am a child of New Orleans, where my family attended a church rooted in Black Liberation Theology. I learned there that love was not just a word, but an action. We will continue to love and work towards a nation that honors all, just as those who came before us have done for us. #WeAreTheFounders

Join us on November 21, 2024 at 9:30 am PT / 12:30 pm ET for an in-depth discussion and overview of HUD's latest fair housing guidance on rental applicant screening. This webinar will delve into the practical implications of the guidance, offer compliance strategies, and explore how policymakers can harness this framework to develop local and state tenant screening policies that promote fair and non-discriminatory housing access. Additionally, we will present new research on the harms caused by automated tenant screening practices, as well as critical insights into the limitations and challenges of portable tenant screening reports. #HousingFutures #HUD #FairHousing #RentalApplicationScreening

Soul work is hard. But I am working every day to be the manifestation of love in my own walkabout because I cannot do this work if I become the very thing that I am working against. In order to do this work, I need to have a soul that can manifest the capacity to love everyone, to see their humanity, and to work in service of their thriving. We have got to get our souls right so that we can stand in transformative solidarity with each other and do what has to be done. #WeAreTheFounders

The U.S. is in a water affordability crisis. 1 in 3 say they struggle to pay their water bill on time, risking access to #SafeAffordableWater. Congress must pass the H2O UP Act of 2024. Thank you Representative Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Debbie Dingell for leading the way! #WaterIsAHumanRight! Tell your Representative to please support the H2O UP Act. https://lnkd.in/gaKicnpB