U.S (UltraViolet) : ENOUGH !!!

Dear friend,

We are living through a global uprising. Millions and millions of people are taking to the streets to say ENOUGH is enough. They are screaming the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and the thousands of other Black people killed by police. Confederate statues have been toppled. Videos of rampant police brutality and marches against police brutality are going viral. Change is coming. It has to. 

And we're already seeing the effects--Minneapolis just announced last week that it intends to disband the police force and invest in community solutions to public safety.¹ Because right now, police departments drain the budgets for schools, social work, health care, and more--the things that are actually proven to help communities thrive.² We can't lose this momentum. We need to demand the same kind of action in all of our local communities. Will you add your name calling on divestment from the police and investment in our communities?

Tell your local leaders :  End the war on Black people.

Sign the petition

Defunding the police means reorganizing the bloated, billion-dollar budgets of local police departments toward community health, safety, and economic programs.³ Right now we expect police to do the work of social workers, addiction counselors, mental health workers, and more. We expect police to show up with guns and weapons in nonviolent and routine scenarios. And the result is police brutality and murder. The result is communities that struggle to pay teachers and public health workers, and communities with huge economic disparities that do nothing for public safety. We've tried reform and time and again, reforms have failed to stop police from killing Black people.⁴ It's time to reimagine policing altogether. 

None of us can sit on the sidelines during this moment of massive uprising. We need bold action in our communities by making bold demands. The Movement for Black Lives is demanding : 

• An end to the war against Black people. An end to the criminalization, incarceration, and killing of Black people. 
• A divestment from the police and investment in Black communities. Divesting resources away from policing in local budgets and reallocating those resources to healthcare, housing, and education. 
• Local schools, colleges, universities, and all public institutions to cut ties with the police. All public institutions designed to serve the people must cut ties with the police in the interest of public safety.
• Repair for past and continuing harms. State actors like the police, immigration agents, and corporations that have caused harm to Black communities must repair the harm done. 
• Immediate relief for our communities. Long-term economic solutions to address the immediate crisis and pave the way for a just recovery that doesn’t prioritize corporations and leave our communities behind.
• Economic justice for all our people. At this moment of economic crisis, we need to rethink the economy and move it toward one that serves the needs of the people and the planet, not the corporations and the wealthy.
• The rights of protestors be respected. Local and state officials ensure that there are no abuses of power and no use of lethal force on protestors.
• Community control. The most impacted in our communities need to control the laws, institutions, and policies that are meant to serve us—from our schools to our local budgets, economies, and police department.

The world is watching right now, and we have an opportunity to deeply change how we approach public safety in this country. Local officials all over the country are rethinking their approach to policing, but real transformation can only happen if all of us demand it. 

Will you sign onto the demands and call on your local government to divest from police and invest in communities? 

Thanks for speaking out !

Shaunna, Kat, Kathy, Anathea, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Katie, and Elisa, the UltraViolet team

Sources :

1. Minneapolis City Council members intend to defund and dismantle the city's police department, CNN, June 8, 2020

2. Defund the police? Here’s what that really means., CNN, The Washington Post, June 7, 2020

3. Ibid.

4. Before George Floyd’s Death, Minneapolis Police Failed to Adopt Reforms, Remove Bad Officers, The Marshall Project, May 28, 2020

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