Over 400 lawmakers, activists, actors and more sign letter calling on Biden to support bills on racial equity

More than 400 lawmakers, activists, civil rights leaders, musicians and actors have written a joint letter to President Joe Biden calling on him to support a list of Congressional bills on racial equity and reparative justice through executive actions and orders. The letter, shared exclusively with ABC News, is the third such letter activists and lawmakers have sent to the White House this year. Signatories include NAACP President Derrick Johnson, attorney Ben Crump, National Action Network President Al Sharpton, stylist Law Roach, music executive Willie “Prophet” Stiggers, actress Erika Alexander and talk show host Tavis Smiley as well as Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas; Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y. This latest effort Thursday comes after several months of unsuccessful attempts to secure a meeting with the White House. In the open letter, leaders desperately urged Biden that “the state of our Union depends upon” these bills. Marcus Anthony Hunter, a UCLA professor of sociology and African American studies, who coined the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” is leading the effort. He told ABC News the letter is an accountability measure after months of work behind closed doors in Washington, D.C., and across the country. President Joe...