The world was put on pause for months in 2020 as we wrestled through the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other African Americans spanning before and after their lives were lost, and we watched how divided our nation really is. We watched tirelessly as the news was full of challenges facing immigrants, such as lack of employment opportunities, access or medical services, and housing. 32% of Asian Americans live in fear of physical attacks, and 81% believe that the violence is increasing.[1] At the time of this writing, the eviction moratorium put in place due to the COVID pandemic is due to end, affecting up to 11.4 million adults behind in their rent.[2] Not only did the pandemic cause many to lose their jobs, but many reentry programs that help ex-offenders find work and assimilate back into society were halted completely. These closures meant that the released violator could not find work, hence could not pay any fines or fees associated with their release – not to mention maintaining employment could be a parole requirement, so not working would put them in violation. There are more marginalized groups I do not have time or space to address here, so I will stop here, but I think you get the picture.
