{"id":11533,"date":"2021-02-03T15:53:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T20:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suitupmaine.org\/?p=11533"},"modified":"2021-04-12T17:41:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T21:41:05","slug":"ld2-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suitupmaine.org\/ld2-testimony\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislative testimony: Vote “Yes” on LD 2 to increase racial equity in legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The following testimony<\/a> was submitted in support of LD 2, An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process.<\/em><\/p>\n

Senator Baldacci, Representative Matlack, and honorable members of the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My name is Kelli Whitlock Burton and I am a resident of Waldoboro and co-leader of Suit Up Maine, an independent, all-volunteer constituent action group representing more than 5,000 Mainers in all 16 counties. I offer this testimony in support of LD 2, An Act To Require the Inclusion of Racial Impact Statements in the Legislative Process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last summer, racial disparities in Maine were laid bare when it was reported that our state had the nation\u2019s highest racial disparity in COVID-19 cases. Despite making up just 5.7% of Maine\u2019s population, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color <\/span>(BIPOC) accounted for 33%<\/span><\/a> of those who had tested positive for COVID-19 as of June 2020. While this news made national headlines, it came as no surprise to BIPOC and racial justice advocates in Maine. In a state where nearly 95% of the population is white, the subject of race has been too often ignored in public policy, a glaring omission that <\/span>LD 2<\/span><\/a> seeks to address by incorporating racial impact statements into the legislative process.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To better demonstrate the need for action on racial inequities in our state, we only need to look at the data:<\/span><\/p>\n