WHAT DOES A JUST AMERICA LOOK LIKE ?
Sometimes I allow myself to imagine a world with justice for all . First , we should always refuse to return hate with hate , but always be concerned about every human being ’ s well-being .
LIVABLE WAGE In a just America , all of us would have a livable wage . We ’ d always have a high-quality health plan that prevents illnesses , rather than a mediocre and unnecessarily high-priced one that only treats us after we ’ re sick when the prices of health care make us even sicker when we see the bill !
Dr . E . Faye Williams , Esquire What Does a JUst America LookLike National Chair NationalCongress of Black Women Daytona Beach , Florida November 2019
Program Success 5 September
National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women , Inc . Contact her via www . nationalcongressbw . org .
QUALITY EDUCATION In a just America , all of our children would have access to a high-quality and useable education . Everyone would live in a safe and comfortable home they can afford . We ’ d be able to vote without wondering if our votes would count without having computer breakdowns as happened when I ran for office or hearing that the Russians were allowed to manipulate our vote . We could register to vote at will , having assurance our names wouldn ’ t be wiped off the rolls without just cause to enable someone else to win when we actually received the greatest number of votes .
In a just America , racism would disappear and would never be rewarded . We ’ d have a Commission on the Elimination of Racism . Another commission that actually mandates reparations for Black people and our community would go a long way toward proving America has suddenly become fair and just to all .
ECONOMIC RECIPROCITY We ’ d spend our money only with those who respect us and not those who oppress us . We ’ d spend most of our money with our own people , and when we own the businesses , we would pay our people fair wages , and charge our people fair prices . In return , we who do business with our own would treat those businesses as our own . We would never feel the need to use White people as our standard for what we should be .
Once we have prepared ourselves for a job or a business , we would walk out of an interview with confidence we ’ d have a fair chance at getting the job or if in business , we would walk out of the bank where applied for a loan feeling confident we would get it if we had filled all of the requirements that others are asked to fill .
Once we apply for a school or university admission , we could be confident that we would be admitted on our merits – especially when our merits exceed those of our competitors and not because our parents could afford to buy a slot for admission .
A MORAL SELF-IMAGE In a just America , non-White children would see themselves in the people on the news with the good they are doing on a regular basis . They would hear the stories of people who look like them when they , too , are accomplishing great things .
As the late Barbara Jordan once said , “ What the people want is very simple . They want an America as good as its promise .” Black people are still waiting for America to make real that promise , and when that happens , we ’ d have a just America .