Friend –

This Wednesday, the Biden-Harris administration took office and our country turned a page. Now, we must continue the crucial work – to both undo the harms of Trump, and finally push for a country that heralds justice, fairness, and equality for all of us. Not just some.

That's why as we head into the very first weekend of this new leadership, we want to talk to you about American policing. And share a few critical ways the current administration can start to take action now. Read more today.

The past few weeks have shown us that policing has never been a neutral institution. We saw how subdued the response by police was to the violent white supremacists at our Capitol when compared with the centuries of brutality inflicted against Black people. Or how officials chose not to charge the police officer who shot Jacob Blake seven times at close range.

None of this is surprising given the long, tragic history of anti-Black racism in our law enforcement – an institution born from slave patrols. But it all needs to change.

In his final days, Trump released a report of flawed recommendations on police reform by a sham commission – composed primarily of police and prosecutors. In many cases, its recommendations were literally the opposite of what's necessary to address the epidemic of police violence and mass incarceration.

But President Biden now has a chance to change our country's broken system of policing in a concrete way – including through strong use of force standards and policies that reduce the role and funding of police and create alternatives. And these are actions that all can be taken immediately, without waiting on a commission report. So please read up on a few of our recommendations here – and know that this is only the start.

Because in the weeks ahead, the ACLU will be moving forward with this critical work, along with sending resources and actions for you on racism in policing. It's one of the many urgent civil liberties priorities that we'll be pushing in the new administration's first 100 days.

We'll need you in this fight, ACLU Supporter. So please stay tuned, stay informed, and we'll be in touch soon.

Thank you,

Cynthia W. Roseberry
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Deputy Director, Justice Division, ACLU