DONATE

For Black people, it isn’t a matter of if but when the next incident of police brutalizing a Black person will be trending across social media or aired on the news. Cops have targeted, beat, and killed us for centuries. And our policing institutions and systems were designed to protect cops—not us.

No piecemeal reform and quick fixes that focus on throwing out the bad apples will work when the whole tree is rotten.

That's why today, as a board member of Advancement Project, I am proud to launch "How Cops Get Off". A three-part animated video series, “How Cops Get Off” breaks down the three major elements that protect cops and reinforce racist systems: the public narrative, the protectors in the legal system, and the laws.

Watch the first video on how police have driven the narrative with so-called “Copaganda.”

To create a country where all Black and Brown people are safe, we have to dismantle the status quo—and to do that, we need to understand how the system is designed. Cops go free because they are protected—by our culture, laws, institutions, and the people who run them. That's where "How Cops Get Off" comes in. The video series delegitimizes the police and criminal legal system. We hope it helps us amplify that police-free communities are possible for all of us!

Our first video – "The Narrative" – lays out how police have successfully woven their false narrative through Hollywood and the media that cops can do no wrong. Watch the video now and support us by sharing "How Cops Get Off" on social media.

I believe in the inherent dignity of Black people. Our dignity doesn't begin or end with racist institutions. For our communities to thrive, we must redefine what safety means. We must work together to make significant public investments in people—not police.

And understanding how we got here is the first step toward our liberation.

Onward,

Jesse Williams
Board Member

PS: Join us on social media as we host events with abolition activists, organizations on the ground building power, and culture makers as part of our series launch.

If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.

Advancement Project | National Office