There were only 27 days in 2019 that the police did not kill someone.
In the US.
If we compare the police response of the deadly Capitol insurrection on January 6th, 2021 to that of the protests for racial justice and economic equity last summer, the painful reality is clear.
Unity is not possible, before truth and accountability.
We must look critically at the past to acknowledge pain continuously felt by countless BIPOC individuals in this country and work together to heal them.
Union contracts are public information and a tangible way to channel the energy around systemic racism into concrete action. To begin, Campaign Zeroreviewed the police union contracts in nearly 600 U.S. cities. 84% of police union contracts imposed at least one barrier to holding police accountable. Learn more at Nixthe6.org and bring racial healing to your community.
NPR: American Police
The tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. NPR looks into the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system.
PDF: Police union contracts and the Police Bill of Rights analysis report
Vox: How police unions became so powerful — taking a deeper look
Over about half a century, police unions have become one of the most powerful lobbies in local government. How did this come to be and what can be done to ensure transparency?
“We wanted to understand how the relationship between police and the Black community had evolved to one so bloody and tragic." Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy at Harvard, lays out a historical argument for how Black people have been criminalized over the past 400 years.
"Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eye and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice."
- Robert F. Kennedy
It cannot be overstated: inequality is a massive threat to our democracy. Inequality destroys people's trust in our institutions and systems.
We must address the root causes and embrace the role we each have in advancing equality and justice.
From our role as community leaders to how we exercise our privilege as a force for change.
Use the lookup tool to see where your elected official stands on the issue.
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