Resist, defund, and decriminalize with MediaJustice

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In the last few months, we have witnessed incredible acts of care to protect each other during the COVID-19 crisis and against systemic oppression and inequality across our communities. MediaJustice and the MJ Network work tirelessly for racial, economic, and gender justice--media justice--and for a world where we are all connected, represented, and free.

The MediaJustice Action Fund is a key tool for MJ Network members, providing critical resources from keeping the lights on to portable radio kits and bail funds in this time of crisis. ([link removed])

Network members are at the core of MediaJustice's priority campaigns. Even as the world has slowed, we have hosted digital security trainings, organized against a facial recognition technology bill in California, advocated for the inclusion of the Martha Wright Prison Phone Justice Act in a federal stimulus bill, fought against Amazon other corporate police partnerships, and signed on to a bill that would force the NYPD to disclose every surveillance tool it uses.

In the months to come, MediaJustice and our Network members will continue to:

PROTECT BLACK DISSENT
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It’s been three years since the FBI was exposed for surveilling Black activists under the “Black Identity Extremism” designation. Trump has continued to escalate his war against Black people and our freedom fighters, so we must urge our congressional leaders to protect Black protesters from attacks against dissent.



BAN FACIAL RECOGNITION

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Facial recognition is a racist and dangerous technology that should not be in the hands of police. It routinely misidentifies Black people, women and people who are gender non-conforming. Governments should ban facial recognition. There is no level of regulation that will make facial recognition technology safe for Black people, other people of color, immigrants and other communities at the margins.


INTERNET FOR ALL
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The Internet is an essential utility and governments should ensure that everyone has access to it. That means federal programs and Internet service providers should ensure all Black families can get online. It means that high-speed Internet is available everywhere and that local communities have the right to build our own broadband networks.


FUND COMMUNITY MEDIA

Black communities need to own the media institutions that are telling our stories. Right now, community media, like KRSM in South Minneapolis or PhillyCAM in Philadelphia, are some of the few places where Black folks can own and control our voices. These institutions need to be properly funded by federal and local governments to ensure they can meet the needs of the people.


NO DIGITAL PRISONS
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Freedom should not come in exchange of expanding carceral technologies, like electronic monitoring and risk assessments, that reinforce racism in the criminal legal system. Technology should not get in the way of decarcerating prisons to keep people safe from being infected by COVID-19. Governments should invest in services and reentry programs to ensure our people have what they need as they are released from our prisons and jails. As we continue to organize for Black liberation, we must remain vigilant to ensure the state does not co-opt our demands for freedom by presenting carceral tools as a necessary exchange for our safety and dignity.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. The MJ Action Fund is funded solely through individual donations, and any money donated goes directly and quickly to where it is needed most. ([link removed]) Help us meet Network members’ needs and ensure the resources required to protect our communities and dismantle discriminatory systems on the ground and in the digital space.

In Solidarity,
Team MediaJustice

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MediaJustice
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Oakland, CA 94612-2708
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