Minority Issues Platform

The Minority Issues Caucus of the Virginia Young Democrats promotes the education and empowerment of ethnic minorities in the political process, recognizes the need for inclusive representation throughout the Democratic Party, and seeks to advance political participation by young people of color throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. We strive to identify policy issues that affect ethnic minorities, affect legislation relating to minority issues, and advocate forcefully for young people of color in all aspects of the political process.

We affirm our commitment to the pursuit of economic justice for Virginian's from all walks of life, and recognize Virginia's diverse communities are a great source of strength. We fully support efforts to guarantee a living wage for working Virginians, especially in areas where the increasingly high cost of living and rising inflation renders it impossible to afford the basic necessities of life even through working a full-time job. We are committed to lift the working poor out of poverty and helping them to achieve self-sufficiency. We are strongly opposed to predatory lending practices, and support higher standards of accountability for the payday lending and subprime mortgage industries, whose abuses particularly affect minority communities. We recognize the contributions by minority-owned businesses to Virginia's economy, and support efforts to increase procurement of state contracts for small minority-owned businesses throughout the commonwealth.

We recognize that our criminal justice, health care, education, and other governmental systems must be improved to better serve the needs of a diversifying commonwealth, and will work to ensure that no Virginian is denied access to or discriminated against in the provision of critical services. We support adequate levels of criminal defense services to make sure that all eligible defendants receive effective legal representation, regardless of inability to pay. We understand the particularly heinous nature of hate crimes, which desecrate sacred spaces and demean good people, and advocate for stronger statutes to punish those who commit hate crimes. We acknowledge that cultural and language barriers remain a particular problem in providing services to immigrant communities, and support efforts to increase research and foreign language training opportunities for medical and educational professionals. We support the implementation of a statewide pre-kindergarten program, to give young Virginians from all walks of life a chance to succeed in life.

We respect the beliefs and rights of cultures within our society, and affirm our commitment to protecting political freedoms here in Virginia and around the world. We understand that our most sacred right is the ability to vote in free elections, a right which many before our generation died to guarantee for us. We are committed to improving voter outreach and education efforts, especially for youth in underserved communities, and support vigorous investigation and prosecution of any and all forms of voter intimidation. We support granting federal recognition and status as sovereign nations to the Native American tribes who call Virginia home, and recognize that they deserve a seat at the table in important policy decisions affecting tribal lands, if we are to ever equitably resolve past differences and prevent future offenses. We support conditional aid to foreign governments, predicated on strong protections and respect for human rights. We understand that our efforts in foreign countries must focus on increasing literacy and child survival rates, fighting poverty, disease and malnutrition, and reducing support and demand for narcotics; we recognize that these are the best tools to bolster new and existing democracies and help to ensure the protection of human rights.

Do you agree? If so, join the Minority Caucus and Pledge to Vote for Democrats on November 4!