#167 Erica Williams, DC Fiscal Policy Institute

Those of us fortunate enough to have survived the Trump era, police violence against Black and Brown communities, a global pandemic and a punishing economic fallout, bear responsibility for what comes next. Organized resistance by impacted communities has forced the beginnings of a power shift but that alone will not ensure a more equitable future. Transformation requires going bone-deep to the truth. White people in powerful positions have enacted public policies in race and racism for centuries. The only way to counter this injustice is to explicitly advance policies founded in racial equity. And not just any policies. The heart of structural change is embedded in tax and fiscal policies. Erica Williams, the new executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute is exactly the right person to meet the challenges and opportunities of this moment. She has lived the consequences of unjust policies and led a state-based network of fiscal policy advocates at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Erica and her team are incubating new ideas, imagining what could be, including DC statehood, and inviting policy makers, community members and organizational partners to join them in making change happen.