Racial Equity Bill SB24-053 Introduced in Colorado

A new bill has been introduced to promote racial justice in Colorado. SB24-053 seeks an evaluation of racial equity for black Coloradans.

The bill is backed by Sen. James Coleman, R. Leslie Herod, and Rep. Naquetta Ricks, in partnership with Justice for Black Coloradans.

The bill seeks the commissioning of an independent task force to investigate the history of injustices among Black Coloradans in multiple sectors including health care, housing, education, the criminal justice system, and the economy.

The goal is to address the racial inequities present throughout Colorado and subsequently address these issues at a governmental level.

“Unfortunately, we live in a time when much of our nation’s history, and specifically Black history, is being misrepresented, denied, warped, and often not even told at all […] Only when we take the time to understand and reckon with our past can we meaningfully move forward to a more just and equitable future,” says Sade Cooper, the co-founder and CEO of the Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities.

A statement released following the announcement of SB 24-053 addresses the fact that black people in Colorado are disproportionately arrested, black mothers experience 53% more severe maternal morbidity than white mothers, and half of black Coloradans fall into the low income category.

Colorado also has a frequently unspoken history with the Ku Klux Klan. In 2021, a ledger of Klan members from the mid-1920s was released by History Colorado, which revealed 30,000 members including Colorado’s governor, Denver’s mayor, Denver’s police chief, and multiple judges and state senators.

“By establishing an independent task force, we seek to delve into the impact of slavery and systematic racism, evaluating the government’s potential role in perpetuating these Disparities,” says Rep. Leslie Herod.

SB 24-053 is set to be heard on February 1, 2024 with the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee at 1:30 PM at the Old Supreme Court in the State Capitol Building.

Photo courtesy of the press release