Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) CEO Sister Donna Markham recently sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell advocating for a more well-rounded approach to the topic of racial justice in light of the recent race-related riots and protests.

Markham wrote that the CCUSA was disturbed by the way in which human lives are constantly being treated without care or regard for the fact that they are made in the image and likeness of God. 

“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” Markham wrote, quoting the Declaration of Independence.

CCUSA CEO Sister Donna Markham

Markham said that the purpose of her letter was to direct the group’s support to H.R. 1636 and S. 2163, the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, and to request that Congress support HR 35/S. 488, the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act and Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2019.  

The latter will establish a new criminal civil rights violation for the act of lynching. 

Markham commented on the reality that people of color have to face in America, with high incarceration rates and unjust sentencing in general.  

“Additionally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for African Americans is about double the rate for whites and has been for most of the last six decades,” Markham wrote. “There must a bipartisan effort to address this historic inequity.”

Markham wrote that Congress must show that it has a commitment to securing the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for all Americans. She requested that Congress work toward racial equality through a number of ways, including: 

• Improved Fair Housing Laws
• Increased Federal Funding for Affordable Housing
• Stronger Laws to Punish Predatory Lenders
• Progressive Affirmative Action Policies in Education and Employment
• Quality Educational Opportunity for the Poor
• “Digital Inclusion” and Access to Technology
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform
• Investments in the Nation’s Social Safety Net