|
|
John,
Jacob Blake was shot by the police seven times. Wisconsin officers paralyzed him. Kenosha has again erupted in protest. He was another Black man targeted by police.
I am struck by Jacob’s sister’s words:
“I’m not sad, I’m not sorry, I’m angry, and I’m tired... I am numb – I have been watching police murder people that look like me for years.. I don’t want your pity. I want change.”
I am heading Letetra Widman’s call to push for change. We’ve needed change for a long time.
Here’s what we need to do: 1. We need to divest from and defund the police. Black Lives Matter activists have shared their demands, and I’m listening. We need to stop investing an exorbitant amount of taxpayer money in policing, and instead put that money toward the social services that keep us safe, like fully funded public schools and public housing.
2. Black people are five times more likely to be arrested than white people. We know that those arrests also perpetuate police violence. To minimize Black people’s interaction with violent police officers, we need to end the war on drugs and legalize marijuana.
3. We need to end cash bail. Nearly half a million people in the U.S. are jailed in pre-trial detention centers, according to The Bail Project. These people are guilty until proven innocent. When we know that Black people are arrested at much higher rates than white people, and are also economically disadvantaged, we can begin to untangle the magnitude of the cash bail crisis on Black people and their families.
Protecting Black lives is about justice on every front — racial justice, economic justice, climate justice and health justice. We need to ensure that Black people have the opportunities to live and to thrive.
At protests across the country, we’re hearing the same chant: “Stand up. Fight back.”
|
|
Solidarity,
Jess |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
