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URGE - Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equality

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Friend,



Let me start by saying I’m disappointed. In his State of the Union address, President Biden did not say the word abortion once, he did not mention student debt, and even worse, he doubled down on funding the police in the wake of outrageous instances of anti-Black police brutality. We are left wondering whether the President actually understands what young folks are struggling with every day.



Defunding the police is about stopping the expansion of police departments, with the specific demand of reducing their budgets and reallocating funds to things we all need: health care, housing, child care, education, and employment, resources that improve health and reduce crime and 911 calls.



President Biden has proclaimed his commitment to racial justice and even told young trans people he has their backs. But the police do not keep Black or trans people safe. Police, prisons, and punitive immigration systems are designed to control, cage, and punish, not to keep us safe. Police violence and racist courts devastate Black, brown, and Indigenous communities and tear families apart. This is why Black people and Black-led organizations have spent years calling for the police to be defunded and dismantled.



We invite Joe Biden, and anyone else still unclear on the harms of police to join us to envision a future where our communities have what we need to survive and thrive, and where community care networks, mutual aid infrastructures, and restorative justice practices keep us safe.



We deserve a better world. A world without police. We cannot reform or continue to be complicit in a system so deeply rooted in enslavement, anti-Blackness, and perpetuating poverty. We must fight for the future young people envision and deserve: an equitable society for historically marginalized communities including Black, Indigenous, and brown people, young people, queer, transgender, and gender-expansive people, immigrants, and people with disabilities. And we must do so every day.



Read URGE's Defunding the Police Factsheet here.  <[link removed]>



En Solidaridad,



Kimberly Inez Mcguire (she/her/ella)



URGE Executive Director



























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