ACTION STEPS:

STEP 1: Educate Yourself

STEP 2: Share

STEP 3: Get Involved – Click Here to Take Action Now!

Here’s what you can do to have a direct & immediate impact on this issue:

1. Educate Yourself – […Ignorance is no longer bliss, or an excuse…]
   • KNOW YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
   • Read this article “Slavery and the Origins of the American Police State” by Award-Winning author Ben Fountain
   • Read this NY Times article “I Got Tired of Hunting Black and Hispanic People” by  Stephen Rex Brown and Graham Rayman
   • Read this NY Daily News article “Ex-cop details NYPD ‘collar quotas’ — arrest black and Hispanic men, ‘no cuffs on soft targets’ of Jews, Asians, whites: court docs” by  Joseph Goldstein and Ashley Southall
   • Read this article about “White Supremacist Infiltration of U.S. Police Forces” by Danielle Schulkin based on FBI Reports
   • Watch “13th” Documentary: Ava DuVernay (1:40 hrs)
     • The Emmy Award winning film explores the “intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States;” it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. – YouTube (video embedded below)
   • Watch “Broken Policing System”: Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (24:38 mins)
     • Hasan examines the systems in place that protect and sometimes incentivize police misconduct in America. – YouTube (video embedded below)
   • Watch “Police”: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (33:32 mins)
     • John Oliver discusses how the histories of policing and white supremacy are intertwined, the roadblocks to fixing things, and some potential paths forward. – YouTube (video embedded below)
   • Watch “Policing the Police”: FRONTLINE PBS (53:16 mins)
     • “Policing the Police” offers an up-close look at police reform efforts in Newark, NJ, after the force was found to have engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests of black residents. With gripping, on-the-ground access, this 2016 film examines the difficulties of fixing a broken relationship between the police and the community. – YouTube (video embedded below)

 

2. Share What You’ve Learned – […Each one + teach one + bring one…]

• Engage in difficult dialogue with your children, family members, colleagues and friends – use this conversation resource guide at RaceForward.org
• Repost videos of police brutality on social media – the truth is hard to watch but it must be seen (Google Drive Folder with dozens of video links)
• Repost accurate memes and info-graphics – it’s a quick and easy way to spread the message
• Share this web-page and its resources with your network – not to brag, but this is a great resource page for new activists 😉
• Read and Share this Anti-Racism resource page compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020
• Share Indivisible.org resource page for actionable steps and education

 

3. Get Involved – […Be the change you want to see in the world…]

• Protest
  • Make your voice heard by attending local protests and show your support for the cause.
  • Find a Protest Near You
  • Search for Protests Near You
  • Know Your Protester Rights
• VOTE!
  • Make sure you exercise your political power and vote for the judges and District Attorneys who are meant to uphold the law and keep officers accountable when they abuse their authority. Pay close attention to your local elections, not just the national ones.
  • Register to Vote
  • Know the Candidates’ Platforms
  • Know Your Polling Places
  • Know Your Voting Dates
• Sign Petitions
  • Help increase visibility for specific causes. Signing a petition is a way to participate in the present and create the future.
    • Black Lives Matter Petition
    • Change.org
    • JusticeforBreonna.org
    • JusticeforBigFloyd.com
    • ColorforChange.org – George Floyd
    • ColorforChange.org – Breonna Taylor
    • ColorforChange.org – End Police Unions
• Contact Your Elected Officials
  • Leverage technology to make contacting your local elected officials simple, easy and consistent. You can literally send hundreds of messages per week to lawmakers, effortlessly with these tools.
    1. ResistBot – Contact your representatives in under 2 minutes. Hi, I’m Resistbot! Text the word RESIST to me on iMessage, Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, or to 50409 on SMS* and read what I text you back. I’ll turn your texts into a letter, and deliver it to the elected officials you choose: from your state legislator to the President. https://resist.bot/guide
    2. Defund12.org – Email government officials and council members to reallocate egregious police budgets towards education, social services, and dismantling racial injustice via this crowd-sourced tool.
    3. Democracy.io – We make it possible for you to email your two senators and representative, through a single website. You submit one message—not three different messages on three different forms on three different websites.
    4. 5calls.org -5 Calls is the easiest and most effective way for citizens to make an impact in national and local politics. Calling members of Congress is the most effective way to have your voice heard. Calls are tallied by staffers and the count is given to your representatives, informing them how strongly their constituents feel about a current issue. The sooner you reach out, the more likely it is that your voice will influence their position.
• Donate
  • Choose an organization that is working on the front lines for change and help them expand their outreach. We make no recommendations.