Letter From the Editors

Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy

Volume XXVIII, Number 1, Fall 2020

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Letter from the Editors

As the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, we are humbled by the dedication

of the authors and editors who worked to prepare Volume 28, Issue I of the

Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. In line with our mission, each

piece aims to inspire our readers to continue fighting against the policies, practices,

and laws that create the conditions of poverty. From housing to technology, this

Issue highlights the critical intersections of class, r ace, and location, by focusing

on the inequalities that remain within society.

This year the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic1 and racial justice

protests against police brutality2 have highlighted the disproportionate impact of

the growing wealth gap and systemic racism, as well as the critical need for

intersectional anti-poverty measures. In many ways, the pandemic and movement

for racial justice have tested our progress in the fight against poverty and

inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for the law to recognize

new fundamental rights, such as the right to affordable housing and technology.

We witnessed the importance of progressive responses,3 such as state and local

stay orders4 temporarily halting the “Eviction Economy”5 and companies offering

free mobile internet access,6 as millions of renters lost their jobs and low-income

students susceptible to the digital chasm struggled to navigate the remote learning

environment.7 The #BlackLivesMatter movement also sparked a racial reckoning,

demonstrating that the temporary success of federal and state action could not

undue the racial barriers created by harsh government policies. For example, the

1. See Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), WORLD HEALTH ORG. (Nov. 10, 2020),

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-

detail/coronavirus-disease-COVID-19.

2. See Syreeta McFadden, Black Lives Matter Just Entered Its Next Phase, ATLANTIC (Sept. 3,

2020), https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/09/black-lives-matter-just-entered-its-next-

phase/615952/; Larry Buchanan, Quoctrung Bui & Jugal K. Patel, Black Lives Matter May Be the

Largest Movement in U.S. History, N.Y. TIMES (July 3, 2020),

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html;

3. See Tucker Doherty, Victoria Guida, Bianca Quilantan & Gabrielle Wanneh, Which States Had

the Best Pandemic Response?, POLITICO (Oct. 15, 2020, 4:05 PM),

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/14/best-state-responses-to-pandemic-429376.

4. See Dan Keating & Lauren Tierney, Which States Are Doing A Better Job Protecting Renters

From Being Evicting During the Coronavirus Pandemic, WASH. POST. (Apr. 29, 2020),

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/29/which-states-are-doing-better-job-protecting-

renters-being-evicted-during-coronavirus-pandemic/?arc404=true.

5. David A. Dana, An Invisible Crisis in Plain Sight: The Emergence of the Eviction Economy; Its

Causes, and the Possibilities for Reform in Legal Regulation and Education, 115 MICH. L. REV. 935, 935

(2017).

6. See Jonathan Greig, Dozens of Companies Offering Free Wi-Fi and Other Services to Those

Working or Studying From Home, TECHREPUBLIC (Mar. 17, 2020, 1:59 PM)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/when-back-to-school-means-a-parking-lot-and-the-hunt-for-a-

wifi-signal/2020/08/27/0f785d5a-e873-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html.

7. Petula Dvorak, When ‘Back to School’ Means A Parking Lot and the Hunt for a Wifi Signal,

WASH. POST (Aug. 27, 2020, 4:47 PM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/when-back-to-school-

means-a-parking-lot-and-the-hunt-for-a-wifi-signal/2020/08/27/0f785d5a-e873-11ea-970a-

64c73a1c2392_story.html.