Here’s how to fight the pandemic of racism in East St. Louis, Illinois Lt. Gov. says

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton offered plans to help bring social justice to the state Sunday night during the East St. Louis NAACP’s 66th annual Freedom Fund Awards Ceremony.

Stratton was the keynote speaker of the virtual event. The ceremony, themed” Call for Change: Eliminating Systemic Racism in Pursuit of Justice and Equity,” was a virtual celebration of the chapter’s work along with honoring members in the community.

The event’s theme aligned with the chapter’s ongoing virtual town hall series that’s focused on addressing the five pillars of inequality: education, voting rights, criminal justice reform, health care and economic opportunity.

“Though we’ve learned to play with these different gadgets and use cool backgrounds, what has brought us up to this new normal is a deadly pandemic,” East St. Louis NAACP president Stanley Franklin said. “This pandemic has been especially hard on the African American community. What we’ve learned from these studies is that we’re more likely to contract the virus not because we’re hanging out more than other people but because we had pre-existing health conditions. We’re less likely to have health insurance and more likely to have employment that doesn’t accommodate virtual working.

“Before the pandemic, Black and brown people were already suffering from a pandemic-like condition. The disease doesn’t have a fancy name like coronavirus. We simply call it racism, and it’s a pandemic.”

Stratton, who’s the first Black woman to become the state’s lieutenant governor, addressed how the current climate of COVID-19 and police brutality ultimately disadvantage Black people in this country.

“We are living in unprecedented times and defining moments,” Stratton said in her speech. “Systemic racism has gripped this nation since the Middle Passage, robbing our ancestors of their freedom, their culture and the opportunity to use their talents in an open society that would compensate and acknowledge their contributions.

“We all know that kneeling is for protests and for prayer, yet we were traumatized over and over again by watching the video of a Minnesota police officer as he knelt on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. We all know that a grand jury is supposed to be a pathway for accountability and fairness, yet we were traumatized by a legal decision that left only unanswered questions and no justice for Breonna Taylor who was shot eight times in her home by police officers in Louisville.”

Stratton outlined ways her office is planning to make lives better for Black people in Illinois.

“How do we fight systemic racism?” Stratton asked. “We fight it with peaceful protests and with policy reform and federal resources that can help stem the cycle of structural discrimination. We’re building toward an Illinois that works for everyone, and criminal justice reform is a key component of that holistic approach.”

In 2019, Stratton worked with Gov. J.B. Pritzker to form the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative, which was established by executive order to create policies furthering an equitable criminal justice system. According to Stratton, one of those plans includes addressing how life experiences are influenced by childhood trauma.

“To address systemic racism, we have to start with our babies and our youngest children to make sure we are on the right paths,” she said.

Stratton also mentioned the role of housing justice and economic opportunity as means through which to achieve racial justice. Through the state’s Restore, Reinvest and Renew program, grants were awarded to communities that have witnessed severe economic disinvestment, like East St. Louis.

“These are communities that have been victims of the war on drugs and tough on crime policies and broken windows and policing and countless failed criminal justice policies that have come before us, but we’ll fight head-on.”

Healing is a key component of that fight. To end her speech, Stratton emphasized the importance of healing in the fight for racial justice. Last week, her office announced the Healing Illinois intiative, which is a $4.5 million grant program created to foster dialogue surrounding racial healing in the state.

“What we know is that hurt people, hurt people; but healed people, heal people. In Illinois, we are leading the way, moving with all-deliberate speed in the direction of justice, equity and opportunity for all.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 5:30 AM.

DeAsia Paige

Belleville News-Democrat

DeAsia Paige joined the Belleville News-Democrat as a Report for America corps member in 2020. She’s a community reporter covering East St. Louis and surrounding areas. DeAsia previously interned with VICE and The Detroit Free Press. She graduated from The University of Kansas in 2020.