Policy Whitepapers

Broadband Imperatives for African Americans: Policy Recommendations to Increase Digital Adoption for Minorities and their Communities is a project of The Joint Center Media and Technology Institute and the following national organizations that represent African American elected officials: National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), National Organization of Black Elected Legislative (NOBEL) Women, National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM), National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO), National Association of Black County Officials (NABCO) The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies was founded in 1970 in the wake of the Voting Rights Act. With lead support from the Ford Foundation, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Joint Center seeks to augment the voice and resources of emerging black leaders and elected officials. The Joint Center is the only freestanding think tank focusing primarily on the concerns of African Americans and communities of color. Currently, Joint Center Initiatives include: The Media and Technology Institute, The Health Policy Institute, The Commission to Engage African Americans on Climate Change A fourth venture – the Civic Engagement and Governance Institute will soon be launched to energize political participation and increase public policy awareness among black elected officials. Founded last year, the Media and Technology Institute focuses…

In 2014, NBCSL issued a White Paper entitled The Need to Develop & Implement Equitable Energy Policies.  In that paper NBCSL recognized that this nation's electric sector deserved special attention given its impact on essential services and that accordingly, it was important that minority policymakers and policymaking bodies continue to work to assure universal, affordable and reliable access to energy service. Further, that as a result of the advent of innovative technologies, the opportunities for communities were great as long as policies adhered to the principle of fairness and did not benefit some at the expense of all.  NBCSL recommended that policymakers follow the following five principles to guide their efforts:

This platform lays out a bold national climate policy agenda that advances the goals of economic, racial, climate, and environmental justice. The platform identifies areas where the undersigned environmental justice (EJ) and national groups are aligned on desired outcomes for the national climate policy agenda. The platform also lays the foundation for our organizations to vastly improve the way we work together to advance ambitious and equitable national climate policies and to work through remaining differences.