These are increasingly troubling times in our state and our country. People are angry, confused, and in despair. Their anger is justified. For far too long, the long shadow of racism has worked its way into every avenue of American life. Racism is alive and well, and politicians have not taken the bold steps to remedy this stain. I am only one candidate in one district here in Nevada, but I feel I must take a stand now for Nevadans, and for our Black and Brown communities.

I will strongly commit to holding police accountable for their actions. If elected, I will introduce and/or support legislation that will remove Qualified Immunity from police officers so that victims can sue police officers. In addition, I will also introduce legislation that will strip police officers convicted of police brutality of their pensions, 401ks, and administrative leave pay. Their pay belongs to the victims. The time for words is long past. It is time for action.

Furthermore, I believe that these protests are as much about economic inequality as it is about police brutality.

1 out of every 1000 Black men can expect to be killed by the police (source: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/34/16793).

The average black family household only has $17,000 in net worth compared to the $171,000 for the average white family.

Black women are 2 to 6 times more likely to die from complications of pregnancy than white women depending on where they live (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595019/).

Covid-19 has disproportionally affected black lives as one third of the deaths due to the coronavirus has been black. (https://apnews.com/8a3430dd37e7c44290c7621f5af96d6b).

These are the numbers that define race in America today. So I championing Martin Luther King’s last policy for which he was fighting before he was assassinated: a Guaranteed Basic Income for all Americans (source: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/martin-luther-kings-economic-dream-a-guaranteed-income-for-all-americans/279147/). These are only the first steps we must take to fix American’s racial disparity, but bold actions need to be taken now. The longer we wait, the more lives will be lost.

#ICantBreathe #BlackLivesMatter #UBINOW

Burke Andersson

Candidate for Nevada State Assembly, District 15