We write in shared outrage over the murder of George Floyd and the systematic murders of so many more like Breonna Taylor & Tony McDade.

The criminal legal system isn’t “broken,” it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do: criminalize Black people and white supremacy.

*CW: police violence, murder, sexual violence*

The United States was founded in the exploitation, rape, and murder of Black people, and it is this system that has led to the powerful activism against police violence and the criminal legal system today.

We have long recognized Title IX as a powerful non-carceral alt. to the criminal legal system, and have opposed efforts to expand the criminal legal system in response to survivors’ stories.

Our movements against sexual violence must also be a movements against state violence.

Recognizing this, we encourage organizers to focus their energy on police violence.

We are still challenging Betsy DeVos’s rule on Title IX in court and will need activists to petition their schools, but right now, it is critical to organize against the criminal legal system.

We ask you to pause your Title IX activism in this moment, evaluate if you are moving in community with organizers calling for an end to police violence, and plug in to grassroots organizations in your community fighting for justice.

Further, ask how your petitioning efforts can uplift and further demands to defund and divest from police.

If you have questions on this, please email us at [email protected]. We are happy to help!

If you can, please donate to grassroots organizations in your community that are fighting to end police violence. Check out Community Justice Exchange’s Directory of Community Bail Funds: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory 

Before you go out to a protest, make sure you’re prepared to protect yourself and support others.

Check out this protesters’ rights and preparedness guide by the ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights/

If you need mental health support, check out this thread from @mayarichardsun for resources for Black young people: https://twitter.com/mayarichardsun/status/1265676677549559809?s=20

Change never comes easily, but as Frederick Douglass said, “power concedes nothing without a demand.”

We stand with the organizers fighting for justice and encourage you to do the same. #BlackLivesMatter #FreeThemAll