Who is Joe Biden?

     On Saturday, November 7th, 2020, we woke up to the news that Joe Biden won the Presidential Election. As for myself, I took a big sigh of relief and cleaned my apartment while listening to the faint sounds of Brooklyn celebrating outside of my window. Biden was not my first choice for the Democratic nominee, (read our previous post for more info) but, I was satisfied with the idea of Trump packing his bags and getting the hell out of the White House. 

So, Who is this 77-year-old man that received more votes than any other presidential candidate in U.S history? Joseph Biden is a Pennsylvanian that notoriously served as the vice-president for the First African American President, Barack Obama, as well as serving as a six-term senator for the state of Deleware. 

Biden’s 2020 campaign heavily focused on COVID, and his plan to ensure national safety, security, and assistance-- unlike his Republican counterpart. Biden plans to double nationwide drive-through testing sites and use the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of masks, face shields, and other PPE so that the national supply of personal protective equipment exceeds demand and our stores and stockpiles. Most importantly, when the COVID vaccine is created and approved by doctors and scientists, Biden wants to make this vaccine free and open to everyone (for full report check out Biden’s vision website). 

What Else?

Joe Biden has infamously been involved in racist policy-making, in 1994, the crime bill was passed which as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden largely wrote and shepherded through the legislative process. This bill aimed to crack down on rising crime rates by enforcing the “three-strikes” mandatory life sentences, funding for community policing and prisons, an assault weapons ban, and the Violence Against Women Act. While this bill did lead to a decrease in crime rates, it also attributed to mass incarceration, most famously by introducing the “three-strikes” sentence. While there have been formal cites of Biden, even back in 1994, disagreeing with the three-strikes clause, most famously calling it “wacko,” he still voted for the bill to be passed and this is something that we cannot let him forget. 

Joe Biden, since then, has openly apologized for his association with his bill, and now in his 2020 campaign, he aims to advance racial equity in the American economy. Biden claims he will reform the systemic racist economy plaguing our nation since it’s founding and implement change for equal opportunities for everyone.  

Will this happen? Who knows, but I would like to think this is a good step for Biden. He has openly apologized about his racist past and we, as citizens, should make sure he enacts policies to further equality in America because of this.