Governing

THE DROWNED-OUT VOICES FOR RACIAL JUSTICE. Several months ago, it seemed as if we were nearing a period of national reckoning on race. Polling showed that a majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, supported many of the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly around reforming policing. Since then, however, the voices for justice and social change have been drowned out by louder and angrier calls for law and order appealing to the racial fears of some Americans. Public officials have an important role in leveraging the resources of their governments to address the underlying causes of this tension and bring their communities together.