Dear Friend,

Another world is possible. A world that puts people before profits. A world where community is put before cages.

With courage, we can demand change and work toward our collective well-being.

The recent uprisings, demanding the recognition of Black worth and humanity, have proven that we can make change. Across the nation, organizers have successfully convinced local officials to reduce police budgets, commit to disbanding the police, arrest officers who have committed murder, and much more.

This is only the beginning. The demands of the movement -- put forth by the Movement for Black Lives -- include not only divesting, defunding, and ultimately abolishing the police but also investing in community relief, community control, and economic justice for all. Black liberation will lead to the liberation of us all. We all have a responsibility to continue the pressure and keep up the momentum.

Sign the petition demanding divestment of police and investment in our communities.

A new reality is possible, one in which we can move towards equity for all. It starts with the proper investments into people and communities.With organizers and protestors continuing the fight, as we saw over the Juneteenth weekend, that reality is unfolding before us.

Organizers in Minneapolis have succeeded in getting their City Council pledging to replace the police with a community-led public safety system.(1) They’ve ensured a public investigation into, arrests, and charging of the officers who killed George Floyd. In Louisville, they ensured that the officer who killed Breonna Taylor was fired and are pushing for legislation to ban no-knock warrants.(2) In Los Angeles and New York, organizers successfully pressured mayors to move funding from police to community services. And in California, prosecutors are lobbying the state bar to ban district attorneys from receiving police union money.(3) 

With years of fighting for policing reforms, Courage is working towards holding Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey accountable for her irresponsible inaction towards the countless deaths at the hands of police in her district.

We are also part of a coalition demanding:

• An end to the war against Black people.
• A divestment from the police and investment in Black communities. 
• Local schools, colleges, universities, and all public institutions cut ties with the police. 
• Repair for past and continuing harms. 
• Immediate relief for our communities. 
• Economic justice for all our people. 
• The rights of protestors be respected. 
• Community control.

Join us in demanding cities, states, and the federal government divest from police and invest in our communities.

A more just and peaceful world is just on the horizon.

Yours in the fight for liberation,

Jay, along with Angela, Annie, Brian, Caitlin, Deepthi, Gabby, Irene, Lindsay, Molly, and Raquel (the Courage team)

Footnotes

1. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/07/us/george-floyd-protests-sunday/index.html & https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/06/12/minneapolis-city-council-unanimously-votes-to-replace-police-with-community-led-model/#6d44b7f471a5
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53111709 & https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/us/breonna-taylor-law-passed.html
3. https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/502121-what-the-2020-black-lives-matter-protests-have-achieved-so