Dear John,
In the wake of police violence that has taken the lives of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and many others -- people throughout the country are banding together to call for change. Systemic racism has plagued our country for too long. It’s time to defund the police.
So, what exactly does defund police mean? It means to reduce the budget, size, and power of all police institutions, including prisons, detention centers, jails, immigration enforcement, and beyond. Instead, funds should be invested in Black communities for safe, accessible resources for healthcare, education, housing, and employment.
Police departments cannot continue to have exorbitant funding while murdering Black people -- with little to no consequence -- and watching communities struggle! Congress must take steps to create safer, healthier, and responsible solutions. We need you to join our allies at Movement for Black Lives and demand leadership in Congress defund police.
Sign Now: Tell Congress to defund the police!
As Black communities and leaders spearhead the fight for justice, the solution is to defund police and invest in community resources. The evidence is clear: Police are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
- Reallocate funds from policing and incarceration to longer-term strategies like education, local restorative justice services, and employment programs.
- Meaningful, equitable universal health care.
- Fully funded education for all.
- A divestment from industrial multinational use of fossil fuels and investment in community-based sustainable energy solutions.
- Retroactive decriminalization, immediate release and record expungement of all drug related offenses and sex work, and reparations for the devastating impact of the “war on drugs” and criminalization of sex work.
- A cut in military expenditures and reallocation of funds invested in domestic infrastructure and community wellbeing.
As you celebrate and reflect on Juneteenth -- a day that honors Black freedom and resistance -- it’s time for you, John, to join the Movement for Black Lives action with thousands of others across the country in the streets and online. Take this weekend of action to demand Congress defund police and invest in Black communities.
Use your voice: Tell Congress -- Defund the police!
Police budgets have continued to increase as communities experience shortfalls in other resources.
The United States spends over $100 billion a year on policing. Currently, there are over 468,000 full-time officers with arresting power. The increase in police presence has not created a safer country.
Additionally, Congress allocates billions of dollars every year to providing police officers with military equipment that only escalates the violence. It must redirect funds to programs -- like healthcare, education, and housing -- to help Black communities thrive.
We must get rid of these billion-dollar police budgets. Our government must put the safety and well-being of Black communities at the forefront and find ways to properly allocate funds -- not through mass policing.
Will you join us, John? Demand Congress address the excess spending of police budgets!
25,000 signatures still needed: Tell Congress to defund the police!
Standing with you,
Liz Butler,
VP of organizing and strategic alliances,
Friends of the Earth
