Biden Cements Legacy as a Champion of Justice, Civil Rights, and Racial Reconciliation with Historic Commutations
NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: BIDEN CEMENTS LEGACY AS A CHAMPION OF JUSTICE, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND RACIAL RECONCILIATION WITH LARGEST SINGLE DAY COMMUTATION
NEW YORK (January 18, 2025) — President Biden has cemented his legacy as a champion of justice, civil rights, and racial reconciliation with the largest single-day commutation in American history, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said, addressing a shortcoming in the First Step Act which the National Urban League has advocated for years to repair.
"Too many people have been incarcerated for too long based on outdated and racist sentencing laws," Morial said. "Black men especially have suffered under our current sentencing regime that still charges crack cocaine offenses 18 times more harshly than powder cocaine at the federal level.
"President Biden acknowledged that people who have been convicted of crack cocaine offenses have suffered disproportionately long sentences and that distinctions between crack and powder cocaine have been discredited.
"The National Urban League and our partners in the civil rights community have worked tirelessly to close the gaps in our drug sentencing laws. Today’s actions will finally provide justice to the people we advocated for, but were left behind after the passage of the First Step Act," Morial said, noting that the National Urban League supported making sentencing provisions in the First Step Act retroactive. "Back in November the leaders of the eight legacy civil rights organizations wrote a letter to President Biden asking to remedy the extensive harm done to Black and Brown communities caused by the War on Drugs through commutations, and today he delivered."
"President Biden has demonstrated one of the strongest commitments to racial justice in American history," Morial said. "Today’s historic decision will allow people to come home to their families sooner and give communities the opportunity to reunite and rebuild.
"We commend President Biden for his commitment to justice and equality even in his last days in office. As we prepare to enter a new era, today’s actions are a reminder of what real leadership looks like.”