Breonna Taylor: Divesting from Policing in Louisville, Kentucky - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

Breonna Taylor: Divesting from Policing in Louisville, Kentucky

Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police when they shot her 8 times in her own house while she was asleep. Cops broke into her house in the middle of the night to do it. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, called 911 to report an intruder had killed Breonna. What gave police the right to enter her home with a SWAT team without warning? A no-knock raid.

There's an uprising in this country because of police violence against Black men and women. All over the nation, hundreds of thousands of people are in the streets demanding cities defund the police. We know that police don't keep us safe. As a nation, we spend almost $200 billion on police and jails. The only way to stop the racial profiling, harassment, and terrorizing of Black and Brown communities is to defund the police.

Public safety agencies in Louisville comprise 52% of its budget. By comparison, Louisville spends only 8% of its budget on public services. On one side, we have cops, courts, and jails. On the other, we have affordable housing, job training, and social services.

Sign the petition demanding no-knock raids and that the city of Louisville defund its police department.

Resources

Divesting from Policing: Advancement Project National Office’s List of Demands

June 9, 2020

Advancement Project National Office is committed to supporting grassroots organizations across the country to build the power that will end this system. Our legal, communications and organizing teams were developed for this moment. Through collective action, we are confident that we can build a new society where communities of color can be free and safe. […]

The Price of “Public Safety”

March 12, 2020

What really makes up a city’s public safety budget? Advancement Project National Office examined the budgets of five cities during Week Against Mass Incarceration last week and found exuberant figures that keep residents criminalized.

The Genius of Ordinary People: How the Ferguson Collaborative Became the Voice of the Community

August 8, 2019

                                                      As the nation marks five years since the police killing of teenager Mike Brown and the series of protests known as the Ferguson Uprisings, a group of residents […]

News

Advancement Project Reacts to President Biden’s State of the Union Address

March 8, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC –– Tonight, President Joe Biden addressed the nation during the annual State of the Union address. In response, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project, released this statement below: “President Biden’s call tonight to pass the newly reintroduced John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act underscores the […]

Advancement Project Reacts To Reintroduction of John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

February 29, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senators Dick Durbin (Ill.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), and Laphonza Butler (Calif.) reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This bill would restore a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 called the “coverage formula,” thereby requiring federal pre-approval of new voting […]

Our Democracy is in Danger, But You Can Help Save It

June 25, 2021

By Jenna Israel, Communications Intern As a young person, it often feels like there’s not a lot you can do to change a world that seems like it’s not listening to you. But for me, helping other people vote, engage their government, and make their voices heard is my activity of choice during my free […]

Freedom Dreaming is Freedom Fighting

June 16, 2021

By Ky’Eisha Penn, Staff Attorney Juneteenth is a day that we come together to celebrate the emancipation of Black people enslaved in and by our very nation. From 1619 to 2021–much has changed, but our fight for liberation from oppressive systems remain the same. As Freedom Day approaches, I reflect on the liberation struggle my […]

Our Fight for Justice Continues

June 10, 2021

By Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director Last month marked a year since George Floyd was murdered on a street in Minneapolis at the hands of the police. The video and his cries for his mother will forever be seared into my memory. George Floyd, unfortunately, was not the first, nor was he the last, person […]

Shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant Should Remind Us All That Black Girls Die at the Hands of Police Too

June 3, 2021

By Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director For me, it was the shoes.  Thinking about my 18-year-old Black daughter, off at college, who wears those silly oversized plastic Crocs most every day, taking a moment to rejoice that she might know in the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict that accountability for Black death can happen.  […]

Remembering George Floyd

May 25, 2021

By Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director One year ago, George Floyd was murdered by a police officer. He deserved to live on as more than a memory to his family and his community: he deserved life. Instead, his name was added to the long list written on our hearts-alongside Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, […]

AAPI Heritage Month: Interview with Board of Directors Chairperson Bill Lann Lee

May 24, 2021

Advancement Project has an inspired team of organizers, lawyers, dreamers and thinkers fighting for racial justice. One of our many contributors to the Movement is the Chairperson of our Board of Directors, Bill Lann Lee, who has had a distinguished legal career as a civil rights lawyer and advocate. Have you ever wanted to know […]

Asian American Belonging: Caste and Constitutionality in the U.S.

May 19, 2021

By Jennifer Lai-Peterson, Power and Democracy Senior Attorney In early 2005, I moved to New Orleans to work alongside former members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). While supporting their campaign, I found myself re-reading U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan’s renowned dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson, the infamous 1896 decision legalizing racial […]

New PSA Unveil: Why Georgia Ministers are Mobilizing their Communities for Voting Rights

May 19, 2021

We are excited to unveil a new PSA around SB 202, Georgia egregious voter suppression law

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Racial Justice Organization Advancement Project Responds to President Biden’s State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, DC – In reaction to the State of the Union, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project, a national racial justice organization, issued this statement: “Tonight’s State of the Union, held just weeks after the killing of Tyre Nichols, did little to address the core problems inherent in policing.  “While President Biden acknowledged the pain and grief of families like the parents of Tyre Nichols, his administration’s efforts to put more money and resources into policing will only result in more murders of Black people by the hands of police.

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Advancement Project Responds to Reports Of Memphis Police Officers Charged Over Tyre Nichols Killing

Leading Racial Justice Organization Calls for World Where Black People Are Free WASHINGTON, DC —  In response to reports that five former Memphis police officers are charged with the murder and kidnapping of Tyre Nichols, Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project released this statement: “Today, three weeks after Tyre Nichols’ brutal killing, it was announced that five former Memphis police officers were indicted on charges including murder and kidnapping. While it is rare to see cops face any accountability for their actions, this is hardly a victory. Nothing can bring…

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We Cannot Keep Doing Business As Usual: Response to Biden’s “Safer America Plan”

Civil Rights Organization on President Biden’s “Safer America Plan” Says Increase of Police Officers in Communities Will Not Only Fail to Improve Public Safety, But Also Lead to More Harm to Communities of Color Washington, DC – In response to the “Safer America Plan” announced by President Joe Biden on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Liyah Brown, program director for the Justice Project at Advancement Project National Office, issued this statement:  “President Biden’s call for an increase of police officers in our communities will not only fail to improve…

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Leading Civil Rights Group on Reports Federal Officials Have Charged Four Current and Former Police Officers in the Killing of Breonna Taylor

Statement from Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of Advancement Project – National Office, a leading civil rights organization, on reports that federal officials have charged four current and former police officers involved in the fatal raid that killed Breonna Taylor, of several crimes, including lying to obtain a warrant that was used to search her home:  “Today, by moving forward with criminal charges against the four police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor as she slept in her bed, federal officials are recognizing what we have all known for years: Breonna Taylor should be alive…

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Invest in People, Not Police

July 22, 2022 Contact: Yasmeen Ramahi, [email protected] “Invest in People, Not Police” Advancement Project National Office Response to Joe Biden’s “Safer America Plan” Washington, DC – In response to the “Safer America Plan” introduced by President Joe Biden on Thursday, Liyah Brown, program director for the Justice Project at Advancement Project National Office, issued this statement:  “President Biden’s call for an increase of 100,000 police officers in our communities will not only fail to improve public safety, but will…

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Civil Rights Org Advancement Project National Office Responds to Biden’s Policing Order

NATIONAL – Today, on the two-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police and the subsequent uprisings across the country calling for an overhaul of police and policing, President Biden signed an Executive Order that aims to cut down on police abuse and misconduct. In response, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the national civil rights group Advancement Project National Office, wrote this statement: “On the anniversary of the day when George Floyd was killed by state-sanctioned police violence, we are glad to see President Biden creating an initiative that aims to curtail police abuse…

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Advancement Project Calls on America to Move Beyond Police and Prisons: “We Can’t Reform This System”

A year after George Floyd’s murder, Advancement Project National Office reflects on how to build a #FreeandSafe society for all people of color.

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The Best Mother’s Day Gift is Freedom

By Ashley Carter, Justice Project Program Deputy Director and Senior Staff Attorney Photo credit: Cyndi Elledge // Photos are a part of the #FreeBlackWomxn series. Visit www.freeblackwomxn.org. Thousands of women with children across the United States will spend this Mother’s Day behind bars. The crisis of mass incarceration has fueled a family separation endemic: more than 150,000 children have a parent who is in jail simply because they are too poor to afford their court-imposed cash bail. This year we are working to support the 2021 Black Mama’s Day Bailout organized and led by our community partners…

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Black Mama Bailout: #FreeBlackWomxn

Michigan Liberation and the Advancement Project National Office have launched the #FreeBlackWomxn campaign, a photo and storytelling project that elevates the voices of Black Michigan mothers who have experienced incarceration. We are honored that Kimberly, Machelle, Geneva, Darnita, Dominica, Irene, and Tamika shared their stories with us. Click each woman’s photo below to read their experience with incarceration. In Spring 2019, Michigan…

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Photo of the back of a police officer
More Cop Convictions Won’t Stop Racist Police Violence

By Thomas B. Harvey, Justice Project Program Director Last week, as people across America waited for a verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial, police in Ohio murdered a 16-year-old girl, Ma’Khia Bryant. As Chauvin was found guilty on three counts for murdering George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ma’Khia Bryant lay dead in the street in Columbus. Credit: Fred Moon While we should hope that Chauvin’s conviction brings some peace and healing to George Floyd’s family, friends, and the broader Minneapolis community, Ma’Khia’s murder reinforced a disturbing reality: individual convictions are irrelevant to the movement to end police violence. Cops will continue to…

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