Thread by @Mvmnt4BlkLives

THREAD

When we say defund the police, our demand is to divest from a body that has never created safety for Black people.

Instead, we want to invest in things that create the conditions of safety. Our offering: The #BREATHEAct. What does that mean?

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The current rationale for funding police at high levels is that it's what we need to stay safe. But here police fail: profiling, sexual harassment and assault, targeted discriminatory enforcement, and extrajudicial murder are endemic to US policing. Safety for whom? Not us.

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The #BREATHEAct begins to create safety by divesting from systems that were never meant to keep us safe. These systems are not broken - they are operating exactly as they were designed. Divesting resources from incarceration & policing is divesting from systems that hurt us.

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So what are some interventions that would create conditions of safety for everyone? We know police and prisons don't make us safe - so what does? Our movements have been thinking about this question for a long time, and we've leaned on decades of brilliance to arrive here.

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Nutritious foods, and living wages go a long way towards preventing much of the violence we experience in our communities. Resourcing these areas is integral to community safety.

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The #BREATHEAct calls for historic investments in these areas, allocating new money to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities for all people.

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We also know that peacekeeping is an essential service. We need to establish meaningful systems of accountability, violence interruption & intervention, mediation, & services for people who have experienced harm. The #BREATHEAct invests in new approaches to community safety.

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Finally, we need real ways to hold our political leaders accountable and enhance the self-determination of Black communities. The BREATHE Act does this by requiring fair voting processes, the public financing of elections, and redress for the lasting impacts of slavery.

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We need a vision of safety that keeps all Black people safe: Black women, Black LGBTQ people, Black people with disabilities. We firmly believe that this vision will not just keep us safer, but will keep everyone safer. Join us.

BREATHEAct.org

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