Issue Position: Racial Justice

Issue Position

I believe we cannot move forward as a nation until we come to terms with our past. This requires us to acknowledge our structural ills, and dedicate our policy and budgetary decisions directly toward removing inequity that has continued for generations. I'm a lifelong Kentuckian, and several generations of my family have called the Commonwealth home. I've had relatives who were enslaved in Kentucky. I've had relatives lynched in Kentucky. My grandparents were redlined in Kentucky. I understand intimately the legacy of slavery and white supremacy isn't in our distant past; we still grapple with it today.

I'm running my campaign because I believe it's time for Kentuckians to stand up for system-level change and tackle structural racism and inequity head-on.

I also believe we need real criminal justice reform, including an end to the war on drugs, as well as expungement opportunities and automatic restoration of voting rights to all people with felonies in their past. This belief is why I have been a relentless advocate in the Kentucky State Legislature for amending the Kentucky Constitution to allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights. I am grateful to have worked alongside KFTC in this effort during my time as State Representative and will push even harder once elected to the U.S. Senate.

I also believe we need to direct investment in communities of color that have been blocked from meaningful investment due to structural racism. I believe we need to focus resources and educational opportunities in our most underserved, marginalized, and disadvantaged communities. We cannot look away from a Universal Basic Income. We cannot look away from the need to advance the conversation around reparations.

This issue is not simply about how we redress harms done to people of color and descendants of enslaved Americans. Leading on an end to inequities that are systemic and structural will uplift all Kentuckians. Families all across the Commonwealth are struggling. By taking our challenges head-on, and locking arms in a movement to break down barriers for all of us, I believe we will realize the type of transformation that will ignite our economy and help us all to heal.

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