(LOB= Legislative Office Building)

The Governor called the Connecticut General Assembly into a special session last week. With socially distanced debate and voting, the House and Senate passed bills expanding absentee ballot access for the August primary and November election, extending the telehealth executive order to March, capping the cost of insulin, and on police accountability.

Another special session could be called before the regular legislative session begins in January 2021, but this remains uncertain for now.

Thanks to you, in a short period, we have garnered over 1,000 signatures on our petition to dismantle racism in CT! Last week, we sent the petition to Gov. Lamont and the leadership of the Connecticut General Assembly to demonstrate widespread support for intentionally antiracist policies. While delivering the petition, we also included HES’ policy priorities.

Since mid-June, 13 municipalities have passed local resolutions or proclamations declaring racism a public health crisis:

To get involved in your town, please find accessible Health Equity Solutions templates here or contact us.

Health Equity Solutions continues to promote centering equity in the state’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Our Community Assessment Survey is still available and we use the results to inform the policy recommendations we are offering at the state and local level. Please take the survey in English, Spanish, or French Creole. Results are posted here.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

This month’s book was filled with great takeaways. First, through the definitions at the beginning of each chapter, Kendi affirms that stable “lucid” definitions are both a requirement for identifying inequities and tracking progress and a touchstone for situating our own experiences.  The book also analyzes the insidious and pervasive rhetoric that claims disparities in health, education, and socio-economic outcomes are the result of genetic and behavioral differences rather than the result of a historic network of policies designed to maintain inequity.

Further, Kendi debunks the myth of race neutrality, arguing that antiracism demands that we confront and use the word racism because calling racism by its name can only help us achieve equity. He stresses that being an antiracist is a choice that describes what we do and how we respond rather than who we are.  At HES, we are committed to antiracism in all we do and we are grateful to have you by our side along the difficult road of embedding equity in Connecticut’s policies and ways of being.