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Dear John,
This week as we mourn George Floyd , Mike Ramos , Brionna Taylor , and Tony McDade , communities across the country are rising up to call on those in power to stop killing Black people and to demand policies that truly value Black lives. Despite violent repression from the police in multiple cities, shooting protesters with rubber bullets [[link removed]] , pepper spray and tear gas [[link removed]] , and driving their cars directly into crowds [[link removed]] , community members have come out en masse because we can no longer tolerate that Black people live in danger every day.
At Grassroots Leadership, we fight the systemic and social disposability of Black bodies every day. This is the same violence that lies at the core of mass incarceration, detention, and deportation—the idea that some people are disposable and unworthy of protection, in that systems were built to excuse and glorify state violence while criminalizing the ways that oppressed communities survive said violence. We know that we cannot win justice for anyone without confronting the rotten core of white supremacy in our policies, social norms, and within ourselves .
Last month in Austin, Mike Ramos was murdered by an APD officer, and in the death-in-custody report [[link removed]] Austin Police Chief Manley defended the officer who killed him. Alongside 30 other Austin organizations, we joined this letter [[link removed]] demanding that City Council instruct the City Manager to fire Chief Manley and other leadership that have actively resisted hard-fought policies and reforms pushed by People Of the Global Majority* organizations for years.
We know this is just the beginning. The Austin Police Department receives more than 40 percent of our city budget, draining resources for public health and affordable housing. Meanwhile, APD continues to criminalize, lock up, and deport our community members. We are acutely aware that even after the Freedom Cities Policy, the Austin Police Department continues arresting people for citation-eligible offenses, tearing apart Austin families. APD also has a documented history of responding to mental health calls in lethal and traumatizing ways [[link removed]] .
This continued pattern of violence and control of communities of color is unsurprising given the origin of Austin’s police department in an 1865 city council [[link removed]] meeting discussing “the fact that a large number of Negroes turned loose by their owners are congregating in and about Austin.” Shortly after, city council passed a vagrancy ordinance that (combined with racist zoning laws) effectively policed many of the then-thriving freedmen towns—places where newly freed Black people were building autonomy and safety—out of existence.
In this moment where communities across the country are rising up for Black lives, we must be willing to dig deep and root white supremacy out of our systems from the core. That means defunding the police , equitably funding public health and affordable housing , and creating alternatives that allow Black people to thrive .
Carried by Black folx since 1619, the generational fight for justice and abolition from Harriet to Bryan Stevenson has propelled us towards a more just and equitable society—one where no human being can be the property of another, where more people have a say in the policies that govern their lives, where more people can own property and receive an equal education. That remains true today. When we prioritize Black lives, we create the conditions for everyone to thrive.
The budget cycle is right around the corner. Join us in pushing for truly transformative change. We can keep each other safe.
If you’re in Austin, you can start right now by taking these three actions this week:
Fill out this City of Austin budget survey, decreasing APD funding to the minimum possible and increasing funding for Austin Public Health, EMS, Neighborhood Housing Community Development, Parks and Recreation, and other resources that give our community the resources needed to thrive.
Register to speak at the City Council meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) before noon in support of Items 40 and 49 and against Item 7 at the regular meeting and SPEC001 in the special called meeting; email us at [email protected] so we can follow up with more information.
Thursday beginning at 9:15am (regular) and 3pm (special): Tell City Council to defund the Austin Police Department, beginning with cutting the following programs that overtly perpetuate racial profiling and a culture of violence: funding for new officers and the new cadet class, weapons used against protesters, the Fusion Center, surveillance, Driver License readers, and the AISD police force. Reallocate at least $70 million for the RISE fund to cover basic needs of Austin families most impacted by the pandemic.
Finally, take the pledge to continue to push City Council to defund the police this budget cycle!
Another world is possible—join us in making it a reality.
Until we get there,
[[link removed]]
Grassroots Leadership
Grassroots Leadership
3121 E 12th St.
Austin, TX 78702
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