Racial justice cannot wait until January when the Legislature is scheduled to reconvene. We support the immediate need to address issues of racial inequity and the COVID-19 pandemic through a Special Session. In this moment of intersecting crises, we join the call to our elected leaders to rise to the enormity of the moment and meet it with the targeted attention and dedicated action it deserves.
Last week, 11 state senators submitted a formal request to the Secretary of State calling for a Special Session of the Nebraska Legislature. To be successful, 33 of the total 49 senators must sign on to this effort. The request for the reconvening names the following purposes, among others:
- Reforming criminal law, including police authority and oversight;
- Addressing racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and workplace protections from COVID-19; and,
- Eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in unemployment insurance, evictions and employment discrimination.
Please contact (call or email) your state senator today and ask them to support the call for a Special Session for racial justice and pandemic relief. Reform can and must happen now—justice cannot wait until January.
Read more information about this call for a Special Session from our friends at ACLU of Nebraska.