[1]Ayanna Pressley
“With liberty and justice for all.” Even as a fifth grader with my hand
held over my heart, I knew those emphatic words were an aspiration, not
yet an affirmation in America. Growing up the child of an incarcerated
parent, I had seen firsthand injustices it would take years to put words
to.
Today, after months of community uprisings against police violence and
systemic racism, our nation is in a moment of reckoning. Across our
country, people from all backgrounds have rallied, protested, and voted
for long-overdue change.
The people demand that we move with urgency to build a more just America.
An America where our policies and our budgets affirm that Black Lives
Matter. This moment has drawn attention to the injustices perpetuated by
our legal system—a system quick to criminalize people and slow to invest
in the resources and supports needed to truly build safe and thriving
communities.
On the heels of their historic election victory, President-elect Joe Biden
and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have an opportunity and
responsibility to respond to the diverse and multigenerational movement
that elected them by fundamentally redefining what justice—and the
institutions purported to advance it—look like in America.
Just about a year ago, in close partnership with activists, advocates, and
those most impacted, I introduced the People’s Justice Guarantee,
outlining a path toward justice. As this new administration prepares to
take office, the People’s Justice Guarantee offers a bold and expansive
framework to transform our criminal legal system, meet the scale of the
crisis before us, and finally make good on America’s promise of justice
for all.
Centering five key principles—shared power, freedom, equality, human
dignity, and safety—the People’s Justice Guarantee lays out a vision for a
more equitable and just nation.
Under the current system of mass incarceration, false notions of public
safety have meant the brutal criminalization and over-policing of Black,
brown, and Indigenous communities. While the officials who designed these
racist policies claimed they were doing so in the interest of public
safety, it’s clear the reality is quite the opposite.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country on the
planet, with Black Americans incarcerated at over five times the rate of
white people. Nearly 2 million people with mental illness are arrested
annually, and over a million are imprisoned each year for drug possession.
Countless others are incarcerated for crimes of poverty.
This is why the People’s Justice Guarantee calls for a new era of mass
decarceration and an end to the for-profit prison industry that has
shamefully monetized the practice of inflicting pain, suffering, and
destabilization on our Black and brown communities.
While dismantling mass incarceration is a critical priority, it must be
accompanied by a radical transformation of the way we invest in public
safety. Budgets are statements of our values, which is why we must divest
from the inherently unjust carceral system and reinvest in programs and
services that uplift our communities.
Creating a just legal system is not impossible. It is a matter of
political will, plain and simple. And we are seeing that public pressure
is driving action.
This month, Los Angeles County passed Measure J, becoming one of the first
counties to commit to addressing racial injustice by investing in
community-based medical and mental health treatment, affordable housing,
and jobs.
Additionally, over a dozen cities and counties across the country passed
ballot initiatives to advance policies that will root out racial
inequities in the legal system, including legalizing marijuana and
strengthening police accountability. These successful initiatives
demonstrate nationwide support and momentum for reforming our criminal
legal system.
In this moment of reckoning, we must be bold. For too long, we have been
told to compromise when it comes to our collective liberation and pursuit
of justice.
Another world is possible—if we work for it. Together, we have the power
to make that world a reality and deliver the People’s Justice Guarantee.
In solidarity,
Ayanna Pressley
[ [link removed] ]If you can afford it, will you chip in $3 to help us
build our movement for justice and equity for all? Together we will
build a justice system that centers restorative justice.
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Paid for by the Committee to Elect Ayanna Pressley
