Thread by @KCEquityNow

(Thread) Tomorrow @SeattleCouncil returns from recess to vote on the 2020 rebalancing budget.

TODAY we & @DecrimSeattle are hosting a caravan across all 7 districts to urge CMs to overRIDE the mayor's veto & invest in Black communities.

LIVE: facebook.com/kingcountyequi…

"For decades, while the Black community was told there weren’t enough resources to invest in the community, the Seattle Police Department’s budget grew to half a billion dollars completely unquestioned." - Research Director, Shaun Glaze (@InclusiveData)

Youth: "It rips at our community to have people, community leaders, friends & family being harmed & brutality murdered by police. It’s something that hits deep here in the South End...[Instead] we can invest in community like housing & small Black-owned businesses."

Youth: “I envision a world where I’m not scared all the time, scared of my future...of the police who are everywhere especially in Seattle. I envision a world without fear.”

“As I’ve been learning and dismantling a lot of the ideas that were ingrained into my head through my education, I realized that you have to think outside the box. You have to realize that a different way of functioning is possible...

"...As I’ve been learning all of these different perspectives, I’ve begun to understand why we need to start thinking critically about what we were taught and what we thought was essential. Life without consistent fear (low bar) -- that’s what I would like to see in the future.”

“Our kids are dying. Black & Brown kids are dying every week. In 28 days, we had over 40 shootings. You didn’t hear about that. If that was white kids bodies dropping, you'd apply all the money in the world. But since its Black & Brown kids you want to play politics” @MayorJenny

"First, I want to acknowledge the City Council members that voted and chose to be on the right side of history the first time. Then, the Mayor came back and tried to take us into the old normal that hasn’t been working."

"Policing is not an effective investment. It's clear that more investment in policing is not making us safer."

"We recently lost many young people in our community. During my nephew's vigil, we lost another person. All the police did is show up with yellow tape. That doesn't bring anybody back. That doesn’t prevent anything. That doesn’t get into people’s mind & people’s heart." @wyking

.@SeattleCouncil: “We don’t want talking points, we want dollar amounts. We want dollars to go towards what the communities most impacted determine is important. What we want is material investment in the conditions of our lives." Research Director Shaun Glaze (@InclusiveData)

"We are piloting a community-led research project to determine public safety priorities. That includes a robust website & offline input opportunities. Our research program includes solutions to barriers, i.e. budget items to get people internet, childcare, food, transportation."

"Right now people are starving because people are losing their jobs & kids don't have access to free and reduced lunch. People need support to really do the dream work of designing & implementing true public safety for all of Seattle's residents." - Shaun Glaze (@InclusiveData)

"If the mayor was really about public safety she would stop playing these political games. And to city council: you have the opportunity to stay on the right side of history and show the rest of the country how to lead in restoring Black communities."

"Failed ineffective over-policing and gentrification continue to be the knees on the neck of our community. #PayTheFee and transfer resources to where they’re more effective."