https://mn.gov/ en-us https://mn.gov/ https://mn.gov/ 2023-05-18T20:55:52Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-578276 Students and families of African Heritage are disproportionately impacted by the exclusionary tendencies of the education system. As the 2023 Legislative Session enters its final weeks, our Council urges your continued support for equitable finance and policy measures that would improve education resource capabilities in the Black community. 2023-05-11T16:12:15Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-577465 The Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage supports investments that would expand access to higher education for Black students and provide the necessary support structures for their success. Higher education institutions in Minnesota and around the United States are marked by racial disparities in college admissions, enrollment, financing, and graduation rates. 2023-05-05T21:15:28Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-578280 Minnesota’s historic budget surplus creates an unprecedented opportunity for our state to use public resources to address the needs of underserved African Heritage communities and other disadvantaged groups. The Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage supports your efforts to design tax reforms that would convert public gains into targeted economic and social relief for children and families. 2023-05-01T04:15:41Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-576590 This letter sketches our Council's public safety priorities based on African Heritage constituent concerns and engagements regarding civil rights and community safety challenges. We urge you to ensure that the legislative measures below are included in the Public Safety Omnibus (SF2909/HF2890) or passed by other means during the Minnesota Legislature's 2023 Regular Session. 2023-04-27T03:50:41Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-576589 Our Council was created by the Minnesota Legislature to advise government on issues that affect people of African Heritage in Minnesota and to support the equitable participation of our constituents in government. We engage federal and state data on race and ethnicity in all facets of our public function as an advisory body for the State of Minnesota. We welcome the Working Group's initial proposals as another step in the movement for equitable data within the federal statistical system. In this letter, we focus on the proposal to collect race and ethnicity information using one combined question and the proposal to require the collection of detailed race and ethnicity categories by default. 2023-04-19T03:07:53Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-576586 People immigrate to the United States for many reasons, and struggle to obtain legal status for many reasons as well. Immigrants without documents are neighbors, families, coworkers, caretakers, and Minnesotans who need health care like everyone else. However, many are excluded from health care coverage that other low-income families and essential workers are eligible for. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we are long overdue to change this. 2023-04-12T23:17:19Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-576583 At this time, U.S. federal law provides for unpaid leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act. Minnesota workers and their families depend on the particulars of employer policies and practices for access to family and medical paid leave. The lack of an inclusive universal system leaves most Minnesota workers, particularly those who are BIPOC and low-income, without strong, family-sustaining paid leave protections. 2022-03-09T21:59:56Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-521309 The national donation and transplant community has been concerned about the problem of racial disparities in access to organ transplants at least since the 1980s. Still today, differentials in access to transplantation and in posttransplant outcomes are deeply predicated on social determinants such as race, income, gender, and geography. 2022-02-23T18:34:34Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-519474 <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">We commend the policy goal of recognizing and rewarding the good works of individual peace officers in Minnesota. The eligibility requirements for bonuses provided in SF 3223, including exemplary service, meritorious service, etc., will help incentivize high performance in our policing standards and practices. This type of stimulus is particularly important in geographic areas (districts, neighborhoods, etc.) that are burdened by disproportionately high rates of poverty and crime. However, the proposed payment bonus measures cannot by themselves improve public safety outcomes in Minnesota.</div> 2022-02-23T17:14:01Z https://mn.gov/cmah/resources/letters-of-support/index.jsp?id=32-519473 To close the racial opportunity gap in Minnesota's education system, our state must improve and increase resources that will help African heritage students succeed in rigorous coursework and post-secondary preparedness.