In the 2016 Facing Race Report Card recently released at a news conference, 27 percent of Washington legislators received an “F” grade regarding race. The grade is based on 34 bills that impact disparities in communities of color.
Rep. Vick. Rep. Pike, Sen. Dansel, Sen. Padden, Sen. Baumgartner and Sen. Roach had exceptionally low scores. Additionally, two legislators who received poor grades were particularly disheartening considering the number of people of color in their districts; Rep. Dent’s whose district is 32% of color and Rep. Hargrove’s whose district is 39% of color both received “F” scores.
“There is some playfulness in the idea of grading legislators like school children,” said Dr. Margaret Diddams, author of the report. “This report show us that 27% percent of legislators should probably be dropped from class and there are a lot more that need some tutoring from the community during session.”
The report, endorsed by more than 60 community-based organizations in Washington, outlines the steps needed to advance racial equity in this upcoming session.
The Facing Race report notes the critical role legislators can play in undoing inequities for communities of color. For example, chronically underfunding schools have disproportionately harmed children in families of color even as our state grows more racially diverse. This has created a widening “opportunity gap” faced by children of color.
“One incident I remember involved the principal calling the police on an African American kindergarten student for not complying,” said Roy Martin Brown, who worked as a mediator for the Seattle Public School District. “This little boy was probably five years old, so this shows a symptom of systematic problems in schools.”
Four state politicians who received high grades in the report spoke at the press conference including Sen. Pramila Jayapal, Rep. Mia Gregerson, Sen. Cyrus Habib and Rep. Brady Walkinshaw.
“The work that we have to do is not just on the specific bills we are talking about,” said Jayapal. “There are probably a million opportunities to make a difference on racial justice and racial equity.”
A bill preventing wage theft and the misclassification of employees is one of the recommendations of the report.
Maria de Jesus Lozano, who washed dishes at the Puyallup Fair for a decade talked about her employment dilemma.
“They told me they would pay me $9.00 an hour, but they didn’t pay me for a lot of the hours that I worked,” said Lozano. “It’s a common problem that Latinos like me suffer. Employers think that we don’t have rights because we are not from here.”
Other recommended bills to reduce racial disparities and increase opportunities include:
Raising the state’s minimum wage
- Enact paid family and medical leave insurance
- Invest in teacher diversity
- Improve access for limited English proficient parents
- Implement body cameras to prevent police brutality
- Reduce legal financial obligation debt
- Resolve to cover all Washingtonians with health care by 2020
- Pass the Washington Voting Rights Act
- Invest in temporary assistance for needy families
