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.
Resources
Divesting from Policing: Advancement Project National Office’s List of Demands
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”
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
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
We Will Continue to Fight for You, Breonna
By Advancement Project National Office Breonna Taylor’s name and face have been shared around the world. Her murder by Louisville Metro Police in 2020 sparked a rallying cry for racial justice online, in protests, in courtrooms and in our homes. Her story is both unlike any other and a reminder of the countless community members […]
How H.R. 1’s Passage Advances a Just & Inclusive Democracy
By Jorge L. Vasquez, Power & Democracy Program Director Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to pass H.R. 1 – The For the People Act – a pro-democracy piece of legislation that implements a host of measures that makes voting more accessible, limits dark money in politics and combats gerrymandering. In short, it’s […]
The Ambiguity in Leadership and Gender
By Paige Polk, Senior Digital Campaigns Innovator What are the conditions of leadership? Compassion, vision, strong moral identity – a calling to bring others along with you for the ride. As we begin Women’s History Month in March, I can’t help but draw a connection between leadership and the various womxn sparking change in racial […]
Past, Present, and Black Futures
By Gina Physic, Senior Communications Associate For us, the past is more than prologue. The past is a really deep stew that we are cooking in and we cannot go anywhere without the aroma of that past. – Jewelle Gomez If the past carries on shaping our present moment, then we know this moment, which […]
20 Ways Black People Made History in 2020
By Brittney Johnson, Communications Intern As we celebrate another Black History Month, we reflect on the milestones and accomplishments of Black Americans. From the ringing bells of Emancipation to the Civil Rights Movement, to the election of the first Black president, we continue to make history and move mountains despite the odds against us. For […]
Our Reading List in Honor of Frederick Douglass Day
By Jeralyn Cave, Senior Communications Associate What can we say about Frederick Douglas, the nation’s most formative abolitionist, on a day set aside to remember his impact on American society and his contributions to the racial justice movement? There’s so much! But I’ll start by saying this. As one of the nation’s most prolific orators […]
Police Brutality in Rochester Proves that Police ‘Reform’ is a Myth
By Thomas B. Harvey, Justice Project Program Director Last month, police in Rochester, New York pepper sprayed, manhandled, handcuffed and arrested a nine-year-old Black girl in obvious mental health crisis. This horrifying violence triggered a familiar and morbid routine: news coverage of this police brutality was met with strongly worded condemnations from political leaders, whose […]
Why in 2021, My Soul Needs Black History Month
By Jeralyn Cave, Senior Communications Associate My hope, strained across the trauma of the last four years, is the very reason my soul needs Black History Month this year. In 1893, Ida B. Wells published an epic anti-lynching pamphlet drafted in collaboration with Frederick Douglass and others titled The Reason why the Colored American is […]
In this New Administration, We Persevere
By Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director …after Congress and President Biden press reset to get our country back to 2016, we will want more. Our people deserve more. It’s January, and we hoped for a peaceful start to our year but not so. 2021 has already given us a rollercoaster ride with an insurrection, an impeachment, and an inauguration. And […]
How Organizing Saved My Life: My Road to Racial Healing
By Chris Bufford, Campaign Strategist I was 14 years old when I learned first-hand how the existence of Black youth is criminalized. I was walking home late at night and a police officer pulled up alongside of me. He asked me where I was headed. I told him, “I’m heading home from a friend’s house.” […]
