Gov. Tony Evers’ unveiled his proposed 2021-23 budget plan last month promising to help Wisconsin “bounce back” from the COVID-19 pandemic. Kids Forward will host an event on Wednesday morning, titled “Promoting Racial Equity: How the Governor’s Budget Measures Up,” to talk about how that proposed budget would affect racial equity and to hear from leaders about how possible public investments can close racial gaps.
“We recognized that it would be important to highlight the Governor’s amazing effort to fully embed racial equity into the budget,” Michele Mackey, CEO of Kids Forward, tells Madison365. “There are direct investments and there are other investments that will have a strong impact on folks of color, particularly African Americans in the state, just because of the disparate impact this state has on African-American families and children.
“By putting investments in certain programs, you certainly help African-American families because they benefit from these programs due to systemic racism more often than their white counterparts,” Mackey adds.
Kids Forward advocates for effective solutions that break down barriers to success for kids and families in Wisconsin. Mackey says that Wednesday’s event will be a chance to have a dialog with leaders of color throughout the state about Evers’ $91 billion budget.
“We want to know what their take on the budget is … is it enough? What happens if certain provisions don’t make it through?” Mackey says. “We’re really looking forward to the event. We do webinars on the budget often but this is the first time that we’ve really focused in on racial equity within the budget.”
There are four major areas that the Kids Forward staff will focus on during Wednesday’s webinar.
“We have folks who will talk about the revenue and expenditures of the budget ….Then, we’ll have individuals who focus on health care; we are big advocates for the expansion of BadgerCare and we will have health policy folks talk about that,” Mackey says. “We will have somebody talk about early childhood education and somebody will talk about the investment in juvenile justice reform.
“It will be a facilitated conversation and we will be highlighting what people like about the budget and what they believe is lacking,” Mackey continues. “We are really looking forward to our panelists. We really have a great cross-section of interests with our panelists.”
The featured panelists for the event will include:
⦿ JoCasta Zamarripa, an alderperson for the City of Milwaukee, who has been a strong advocate for an equitable Wisconsin and active in supporting the pro-immigrant policy at the state level such as access to drivers’ licenses for all and tuition equity for Wisconsin DREAMers
⦿ Delechia Johnson of Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health who has vast experience with early childhood professionals, children, and families has made her a sought-after trainer in developing equitable early childhood practices
⦿ Lisa Peyton-Caire, the founding CEO & president of The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, an organization that works to eliminate health disparities and other barriers impacting Black women and their families and communities.
“We are very excited about our guests and the conversations they are going to have,” Mackey says.
Wisconsin needs a budget, Mackey adds, that invests in racial equity and dismantles systems of oppression that harm people of color.
“We need good policies for our children and families, especially those that are likely to be left behind yet again because of the pandemic,” Mackey says. “We should definitely have the policy lead and that’s what you’re seeing with the governor’s budget proposals. It really is a very impressive slate of investments in order to help everyone from kids in Tomah with broadband to folks in Madison with maternal health all the way to folks in Milwaukee and it’s targeting money to the zip codes we know for decades and decades that just have not been invested in.
“So, we’re super-excited to talk about it and hear other people talk about it, too,” Mackey says. “These [budget] provisions are going to need public support to actually pass.”
