This week, the Black Leadership Advisory Council (BLAC) launched their latest policy recommendations, which seek to remove barriers for Black families and communities and build a more inclusive Michigan. The 2024 report includes eight policy recommendations centered on investments and laws to advance education, community safety, pay equity, talent retention, and health, among other items.
2024 Policy Recommendation Highlights:
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- Adopt pay transparency laws.
- Make statutory changes to education funding through categorical funding to at-risk students.
- Address the critical shortage of black professionals in Michigan and nationwide, particularly within the mental health care sector.
- Create review boards in underserved areas: a path to address developmental delays in Michigan.
- Pass the policing improvement package.
- Re-instate community violence intervention legislation and increase funding.
- Issue a proclamation for African Day on May 25.
- Increase funding to the Michigan Arts Council.
The Black Leadership Advisory Council:
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- It was convened by Governor Whitmer in late 2020.
- Its mission is to identify barriers Black Michigan residents face in education, community safety, health, and business leadership.
- BLAC acts in an advisory capacity to the governor to develop, review, and recommend policies and actions designed to eradicate and prevent discrimination and racial inequity.
- The Council is housed within the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
To read the full 2024 Policy Recommendations, please click here.