The Journal of Steffanie Rivers: The Power of Joe Biden’s Executive Orders

*For those of us old enough to remember the Saturday morning program called ‘School House Rock,’ that was how most of us were introduced to how a bill becomes a law: A bill is introduced by a member of Congress, it’s voted on in the House of Representatives and the Senate, then it’s signed by the President and becomes a law. 

There’s also something called an executive order: That’s where the president has the power to create, change or revere a law without it being approved by a congressional vote. President Joe Biden understands the power of using his executive order privileges and he is using it to help everybody but the African-American community.

Before he was sworn in as president, then President-Elect Biden on a recorded Zoom call, told a group of African-American community leaders his power to use executive orders to enact, erase or change laws was limited when it came to quick movement on a Black Agenda. But less than 24 hours after he was sworn in Biden wasted no time signing at least a dozen executive orders that changed or erased existing laws.

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Wait a minute! Biden told us executive orders could be easily overturned by Congress so he didn’t want to go that route to kickstart the Black agenda, yet he overturned the Muslim travel ban with the stroke of a pen. Biden put a hold on student loan payments and interest. He extended the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, and he made it a federal law to wear masks in certain places, including public interstate travel such as airplanes. All in one day! But Black folks are told to wait for our agenda to pass the House and Senate!?

Why is it the only time the African-American community gets favorable legislation passed, is when everybody else is getting helped at the same time? Why do our Black boats get lifted only when the rising tide lifts all other boats, leaving us in the same situation as before- at the back of the line?

Biden said he preferred to wait until after the Georgia Senate runoffs because he didn’t want to risk the Democratic majority by focusing on police reform too soon. Since then Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff both won their elections. Now Democrats have the majority in the House and Senate. And another unarmed Black man is dead, shot by a cop in Killeen, Texas. Meanwhile the Black agenda is getting pushed further into the background by the man who wouldn’t be president if it wasn’t for Black voters in South Carolina. We should never let him forget who got him to the White House. At this point Black people should be feeling like the middle of a donut – left out of the big picture! That’s a problem. Today we’re going to discuss a solution!

Some people are so shell shocked by having to deal with the cheating, self-serving, merry-go-round that was the previous administration all they want to do now is praise Biden for being normal, exhale and plan their vacations! But now is not the time for that. Now is the time for African-Americans to start our their political party – the FUBU party! 

For too long African-Americans have had to choose between the lesser of two evils when neither Democrats nor Republicans have made the Black agenda a priority. They haven’t done it, because nobody required it! So it’s just as much our fault as it is theirs. Now it’s time we take advantage of their infighting and start to build our own political party now. Ignoring politics is not an option. 

Supporting candidates without expecting something in return is like going to the grocery store, paying for food then walking away empty handed every time. Who does that? Nobody, because it’s insane! Black people have been paying a bill and getting nothing in return for generations. We MUST stop the insanity!

While I know African-Americans are not monolithic – we don’t all think alike – I’d be willing to bet there are a few issues we can rally around regardless of what part of where we live. Our national platform should include (1) Reparations for ADOS; (2) A federal police reform bill that provides money to states for community policing programs that requires cops to live in the municipality where they work; and (3) The abolishment of no-knock search warrants to stop bully, liar, killer cops from misusing their authority and killing innocent unarmed Black people in their homes. These three issues should be the foundation of our new political party. 

Until we can start our own political party we should hold current elected officials accountable, especially members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Yet some CBC members are not in support of H.R. Bill 40 designed to study the formation of reparations legislation. To find out who these CBC members are who don’t support reparations click on my video for details.

Steffanie Rivers is a freelance journalist living in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. Email her at [email protected] with our comments, questions and speaking inquiries.

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