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OUR PLATFORM
Ella’s Fund PAC is committed to anti-racism and racial equity actions. Black communities have historically been stripped of wealth and continue to experience the results of a legacy of slavery, racism, segregation, discrimination and Jim Crow. Anti-racist policy and efforts are those actions that seek to address the racial disparities that result.
Economic Development, Workforce Development and Entrepreneurism
Wealth creation is fundamental to the success of the Black community. According to the Brookings Institute, the net wealth of white families is ten times greater than the wealth of Black families. We support efforts and candidates that focus on building wealth through economic development, workforce development and entrepreneurism.
Poverty Elimination
According to the Pew Research Center, Blacks are twice as likely as whites to be poor or unemployed. Households headed by Black individuals earn less than half the amount that white headed households earn. We support efforts and candidates who are focused on eradicating poverty in the Black community.
Homeownership and Affordable Housing
Black homeownership is in a crisis. While homeownership rates after the mortgage crisis in other communities have recovered, in the Black community they continue to decline. White homeownership rates are 30% higher than Black homeownership and this gap is larger than in 1968 when housing discrimination was legal. Housing affordability and homelessness are at national crisis levels. We support efforts and candidates that increase homeownership and ensure safe and affordable housing opportunities for all community members.
Quality Education
66 years since Brown v. Board of Education, our schools remain segregated. Schools serving the Black community are under-resourced yet called upon to serve the most marginalized students with the greatest needs. In times of budget cuts, too often education is underfunded. We support efforts and candidates who prioritize the equitable funding of education and who work for high quality education for all children pre-K through secondary school and beyond.
Access to Healthcare
As a group, the African-American or Black population experiences significant disparities with chronic conditions, access to care, preventive screenings, and mental health. These health disparities manifest in higher rates of diabetes, obesity, asthma, cancer, heart disease and more. These disparities were seen clearly during the COVID-19 pandemic with Black rates of COVID-19 infection disproportionately high. We support efforts and candidates who focus on reducing the health disparities noted in the Black community by increasing access to quality healthcare services.
Community Safety and Restorative Justice and Criminal Justice Reform
Black communities are over policed and under-resourced. The national conversation on police accountability spurred by tragic incidents of police-involved deaths is a relevant conversation in New Haven and Hamden where incidents of police misconduct have been noted as well. We support efforts and candidates who commit to increased police accountability and shifting of resources from policing to community investment.
Environmental Justice
According to the NAACP, race is the number one indicator for the placement of toxic facilities in the United States. Environmental racism has resulted in poor environmental living conditions for majority Black communities. Often connected to an industrial past, Black communities are home to brownfields, abandoned factories in need of remediation and older residential infrastructure that contains hazards such as lead and asbestos. When it comes to climate change and pollution, people of color and low-income neighborhoods are on the front lines.
Equitable and Inclusive Communities
Communities are stronger and more effective when we embrace diversity and inclusion. Hamden and New Haven are becoming increasingly diverse and include community members of many religions, languages, economic groups, and other cultural groups. Ella’s PAC Fund support candidates who commit to fostering an inclusive environment.
Tax Reform
Regressive taxation policies overburden lower and middle income families while leaving the wealthy under taxed. Connecticut’s taxation policy is regressive. According to CT Voices for Children, the working poor in CT pay nearly one-quarter of their income to cover state and local taxes. By comparison, the middle-class pay about 13%, while the top 10% of earners pay 10% and the top 1% pay almost 7.5%. Tax reform is required to create a progressive tax policy that reverses this unfair burden on lower income and middle income families.
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