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Many are asking what they can do right now in response to the police killing of #DuanteWright. First, these are deeply systemic problems. No single thing will fix it, but there is good work happening that's pushing in the right direction. Some suggestions in this Thread. 1/
Ultimately we are talking about undoing white supremacy, which is a political, social, and personal transformation. When it comes to more immediate solutions, there are a few basic categories: 2/
Increase police oversight and transparency; reduce the number of things that are crimes triggering police interaction (changing laws and changing how prosecutors apply those laws); shift responsibility for certain situations like mental health crisis to non-police response; 3/
build political power in Black and brown communities and invest in them to build safety solutions that work for them; support families whose loved ones have died in custody; and follow the leadership of directly impacted people. With that rough framework, some suggestions:4/
In San Antonio, FIX SAPD is running a ballot initiative to end the impunity of police officers by changing collective bargaining and discipline rules in the city. The campaign needs money to close a funding gap. https://fixsapd.org/ 5/
In Austin, Proposition B aims to re-criminalize homelessness, creating more opportunities for lethal police encounters. The Home Not Handcuffs campaign is fighting to defeat the measure. https://noonpropb2021.org/ 6/
To learn about and donate to organizations leading alternatives to calling the police (in situations like mental health crises, which has led to many violent police interactions) in your city, check out https://dontcallthepolice.com/ . 7/
One of the best known alternatives to policing in crisis situations is @cahoots_wbc. Does your city have a program like this? If yes, donate to it. If not, consider teaming up with friends and neighbors to create or demand one. 8/
The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls organizes and trains women around the country to take leadership in their communities and eliminate excessive criminal justice system interventions. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/free-her
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@JusticeLANow is a coalition of groups in Los Angeles that just won a big oversight measure, defeated a giant jail construction project, and is pushing the county to implement alternatives to the criminal justice system. http://justicelanow.org /10
Voice of the Experienced in Louisiana organizes formerly incarcerated people and impacted communities for wide ranging criminal justice reforms. A powerful formerly incarcerated led org! https://vote-nola.org/donate.html @FIPVOTENOLA /11
Free Hearts in Nashville, led by Black formerly incarcerated women, organizes and provides support to families impacted by the criminal justice system. https://www.freeheartsorg.com/ /12
. @SOULInChicago is a key leadership group in Chicago. http://soulinchicago.org/donate/ . Also consider https://crossroadsfund.org/donate , which allocates to multiple groups. /13
The Bread and Roses Fund partners with an array of effective groups in Philadelphia who are running a strong campaign to reduce the bloated police budget and other reform efforts. https://breadrosesfund.org/donate/ /14
Essie Justice Group trains and mobilizes women with incarcerated loved ones. https://donate.essiejusticegroup.org/essiejusticegroup…
@essie4justice /15
@essie4justice /15
. @RealJusticePAC runs smart campaigns to elect good DAs (aka prosecutors) who will reduce prosecutions, levy consequences against police for misconduct, and decline to punish protestors. /16
Important fact: a team of researchers recently found that eliminating misdemeanor prosecutions (such as for traffic related infractions, like the expired plates that Duante was driving with) not only keeps people out of jail, but also reduces crime. https://www.nber.org/papers/w28600 /17
Many of the new wave of reform prosecutors, like Rachael Rollins in Boston, Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore, George Gascon in Los Angeles are taking this approach to some degree. Look up your local prosecutor: are they doing this? /18
There are big upcoming races in Manhattan (where organizers working in communities are coalescing around @TahanieNYC) and Philadelphia (where reform @DA_LarryKrasner is running for reelection). You can give to these candidates + @NYWFP + @realjusticePAC + @powerinterfaith. /19
Showing up for Racial Justice is a group focused on educating and organizing white people, especially working class white people, to do effective racial justice work https://showingupforracialjustice.org/donate.html @ShowUp4RJ /20
Life Comes From It is a fund that grants to resource restorative, peacemaking, and transformative justice programs and collaborations. Funding decisions are made by practitioners. If we want to grow out of this, we need these practices to thrive! https://lifecomesfromit.org /21
Project Nia works to end incarceration of kids and adults by promoting restorative and transformative practices. They do training, leadership development, and programs. http://project-nia.org /22
How do you learn more? A great new resource is @prisonculture’s new book, We Do This ’Til We Free Us, available from @haymarketbooks. I also highly recommend the @Justice_Podcast — listen to all of them, and you’ll be well informed. /23
And, so importantly, here is the fundraiser for Duante's family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/dauntes-funeral-and-burial-cost /24
