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Julian Castro on Civil Rights
Democratic Presidential Challenger; former HUD Secretary
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Passed ground-breaking rule furthering fair housing
The record of all candidates, including Vice President Biden's, is relevant. His stance on busing that he allowed local communities to make a decision, essentially relying on state's rights, he's going to have to explain why that was good.
We've had very painful history in trying to desegregate communities. When I was at HUD we passed the most ground-breaking rule since the Fair Housing Act called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. That pain is still there in this country.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview series
, Jun 30, 2019
Racial and social justice as important as economic justice
Q: How would you mobilize Latino voters?Sen. Amy KLOBUCHAR: My life and my work in the Senate has been about economic opportunity.
Q: What Senator Klobuchar is describing there, an economic justice agenda,
is that enough to mobilize Latino voters to stand with the Democratic Party?
Secretary Julian CASTRO:
I also think that we have to recognize racial and social justice. I'm proud that I'm the only candidate so far that has put forward legislation that would reform our policing system in
America and make sure that no matter what the color of your skin is, that you're treated the same, including Latinos who are mistreated too oftentimes by police.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
Pass ERA to ensure equal rights & equal pay for women
Q: What would you do to ensure that women are paid fairly in this country?A: I would do several things, starting with something we should have done a long time ago, which is to pass the Equal Rights Amendment finally in this country.
And also pursue legislation so that women are paid equal pay for equal work in this country. It's past time that we did that. If we want to be the most prosperous nation in the 21st century, we need to make sure that women are paid what they deserve.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
Supports reparations commission, we need healing process
If we compensate people under our Constitution, if we take their property [as cited in the 5th Amendment], why wouldn't you compensate people who actually were considered property? I support legislation that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) introduced
that would appoint a commission to study reparations, and make a recommendation to the president. I think of this in the way that I think of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. There's a healing process that needs to happen.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
, Apr 11, 2019
Supports commission investigating reparations for slavery
Castro, one of the most vocal candidates on the issue, said that he has long believed "that our country will never truly heal until we address the original sin of slavery.""If, under our Constitution, we compensate
people if we take their property, why wouldn't we compensate people who were considered property and sanctioned by the state?" he asked.
Source: Associated Press, "Reparations," on 2020 Democratic primary
, Apr 3, 2019
Property was taken from slaves, so pay reparations
In an interview [at the SXSW conference], Castro criticised fellow candidate Bernie Sanders for his willingness to write "big checks" for things like healthcare or education, but being unwilling to consider reparations to African-Americans descended
from slaves. The US constitution mandates that Americans be compensated if their property is taken, he noted, so why shouldn't people who were treated as property themselves also receive compensation?"I've long believed that the country should
consider reparations because of the atrocity of slavery," Mr Castro told me. "I believe that we're never going to fully heal as a country from the racial divide until we've addressed the tremendous wrong that was done with slavery."
He said that, as president, he would set up a commission to determine an inclusive way to address "the best path forward". It will be up to those who support reparations to decide whether a "commission" is the kind of bold move they had in mind.
Source: BBC.com on 2020 Democratic primary contenders at 2019 SXSW
, Mar 12, 2019
Protections for GLBTQ; benefits to same-sex partners
Castro also led the creation of one of the country's strictest anti-smoking laws, drafted a successful resolution denouncing Arizona's racist 2010 immigration law, supported extending benefits to same-sex partners of city employees and
, after years of reluctance, eventually supported an update to anti-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation.
Source: Jacobin Magazine on 2020 Democratic primary contenders
, Feb 15, 2019
Chicano; Jewish; gay: common thread is marginalization
Growing up, Joaquin and I were essentially immersed in Chicana activism. At Stanford, I thought about how relatively unknown, even invisible, the Chicano community was to the vast majority of Americans. I wasn't keenly aware of the discrimination others
experienced. There were few Jewish, Native American, gay, or transgender people in my childhood circle.I would not be surprised if other students heavily submerged in other ethnic cultures encountered the same sense of marginalization.
[For a Stanford course, I read] "Imagining the Holocaust": the horrific account of what happened to Jews during World War II. At Stanford I was forced to pull back from my tight community and understand how a common thread ran through so many other
cultures around the world where people had to fight for their rights. When one of these groups achieved a victory against discrimination, I felt like "we" had won.
Source: An Unlikely Journey, by Julian Castro, p.111-3
, Oct 16, 2018
Signed onto the "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" effort
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has signed onto the "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" effort. Houston's Annise Parker had previously joined the effort, serving as co-chair. So that's 3 Texas Mayors down, 1,212 to go.Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings is still
refusing to sign onto the pledge, despite a petition with 253 signatures and promises of protests at his upcoming public events.
The group has also added two new co-chairs, San Diego's Jerry Sanders and Boston's Thomas Menino; with New York's Michael
Bloomberg, L.A.'s Antonio Villaraigosa and Houston's own Annise Parker. The five-co-chairs issued the following statement:
Source: Dallas Voice, "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry"
, Jan 20, 2012
Extend city benefits to same-sex domestic partners
Last week anti-gay forces were fighting San Antonio's plan to offer domestic partner benefits to municipal workers. On Monday, a group called "Voices for Marriage" held a press conference outside City Hall to oppose the plan. Extending benefits to cit
employees in same sex relationships would cost between $300,000 and $400,000 a year--a small fraction of the total $2.2 billion budget.
However, a local group calling itself "Voices for Marriage" protested the proposed change on Monday outside city
hall. The group, citing religious views and current state law, opposes any extension of benefits to domestic partnerships.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who backs the change, said the city needs to extend benefits to domestic partners in order to
stay competitive with other cities and companies across the country that already offer similar benefits. The mayor dismissed concerns by many protestors over the cost of benefits as "a smokescreen for their dislike of gays and lesbians."
Source: Dallas Voice, "Anti-gay protest"
, Aug 30, 2011
Page last updated: Dec 14, 2019