John,

On Sunday evening, a police officer in Kenosha, WI shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back. 

Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was entering his SUV with his 3- 5-, and 8-year-old sons inside. Miraculously, he’s still alive, though likely paralyzed from the waist down.

Nancy Pelosi’s reaction? Predictable posturing. She tweeted that “the prayers of Americans nationwide” are with Jacob Blake, and called the shooting “outrageous.”

Are you tired of hearing the outrage of a 30-year incumbent who has had—and resigned—any number of chances to intervene? Help us expand the Squad and make racist police brutality a thing of the past.

While Pelosi panders to the political moment, she continues to stop short of embracing our movement’s demands to defund the police and replace them with social workers, teachers, and counselors. 

Words are easy. But the policies that  would prevent this tragedy—and countless others—are off the table as long as Pelosi remains in Congress. 

It’s time for a Congress that’s not controlled by police unions and private prison industries. Can you chip in and help us build a consensus in Congress to protect civil rights?

Pelosi’s support for the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” might have been adequate in Rodney King’s day. But today, with police funding skyrocketing, military equipment in the hands of police forces across the country, and a criminal president using paramilitary DHS agents as a personal goon squad, it’s weak sauce at best.

The time for reform was 2014, when the Ferguson uprising brought the crisis of militarized police suppressing dissent into living rooms across America.

We’re done waiting for reform, or for Pelosi to figure it out.

Can you support our campaign today? We’re working tirelessly to get a new voice in Congress committed to making our streets safe from police and enabling investments in teachers, counselors, and social workers trained in de-escalation.

To her credit, Speaker Pelosi claimed that she wants to “bring an end to racial injustice and police brutality.” Those are worthy goals.

But we don’t get there by tweeting. She could walk her talk, by supporting  legislation that enshrines civil rights. But after 33 years in office, the first time that Pelosi showed up for meaningful restrictions on racial profiling or police brutality was six months before her first election against a fellow Democrat.

I’m proud to have helped inspire Pelosi to use the substantial power of her office to advance the Justice in Policing Act, despite its shortcomings. 

I’m also aware that, if we don’t replace her in November, she’ll likely go back to deferring to police unions, as she has for decades.

In sharp contrast, I’m committed to redirecting police funding towards other arenas that can better support public safety, starting with education and social work.

Thanks for standing with us—and all the voices taking action across the country calling for long overdue change in Washington! 

Shahid

PS -- Unable to contribute financially? You can still make a big difference in our campaign by signing up to volunteer. Our team hosts training sessions via videoconference every other day, and has trained nearly a thousand volunteers in the past few weeks on our new phone banking tools. We're eager to include you & your friends!

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