MAYORS AND CITIES – A Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder has requested a meeting with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to discuss how the new administration will prioritize the agenda of the Black community.

Patrisse Cullors, in a letter to Biden and Harris dated November 7, has expressed her congratulatory message to the newly elected officials, noting that it was a relief that the Donald Trump administration is nearing its end.

The closing of the Trump era, however, does not ensure an end to the situation of the Black people in America thus, a “well-thought out, community-driven, fully resourced agenda that addresses the particular challenges faced by Black people must be a top priority,” Cullors said.

She said the Black people have “invested heavily” and have won the election.

BLM has put forward the “Vote and Organize” motto and its electoral justice efforts have reached more than 60 milllion voters.

“We want to be heard and our agenda to be prioritized. We issue these expectations not just because Black people are the most consistent and reliable voters for Democrats, but also because Black people are truly living in crisis in a nation that was built on our subjugation,” she said.

Cullors hopes for the government to get to work and discontinue how United States has refused to think with the way that it devalues Black people.

“Black people can neither afford to live through the vitriol of a Trump-like Presidency, nor through the indifference of a Democrat-controlled government that refuses to wrestle with its most egregious and damnable shame,” she said.

Addressing Biden and Harris, Cullors continued that the elected president and vice president should take direction from Black grassroots organizations in order to ensure a fair future for Black people

“President-Elect Biden and Vice-President-Elect Harris: both of you discussed addressing systemic racism as central to your election campaigns. Both of you also expressed regrets regarding your record on issues impacting Black people. The best way to ensure that you remedy past missteps and work towards a more just future for Black people—and by extension all people—is to take your direction from Black grassroots organizers that have been engaged in this work for decades, with a legacy that spans back to the first arrival of enslaved Africans,” she said.

Cullors concluded his letter by expressing his intent to actively engage in the new administration’s transition team.