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
A Day of Hope with the Rising Majority
By Flavia Jimenez | Managing Director of Organizational Development and Leadership On a February day that started with a downpour and ended with blustery winds in the nation’s capital, something extraordinary happened in the auditorium of Howard University School of Law. It was not a call to action as much as it was a challenge […]
Celebrating Rev. Henry Highland Garnet
By Edward A. Hailes, Jr. | Managing Director and General Counsel Rev. Henry Highland Garnet was a 19th Century abolitionist, educator, theologian, and Pan-Africanist, who preached a radical theology of liberation and resistance. He delivered a sermon to Congress on Sunday, February 12, 1865, only days after the House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment […]
What We Learned from Last Night’s #SOTU
You saw it. We saw it. But we are not subscribing to Trump’s revisionist history during this sacred month, Black History Month, or ever, for that matter. His State of the Union address last night included claims of pro-whiteness, pro-terrorism and pro-cages. Sure, what he said was expected, but still, it was angering. Contrary to Trump’s claim […]
Black History Month 2020: Advancement Project Honors Black Futures
Today marks the first day of Black History Month! Never has it been so important to recognize and honor the contributions made by people of color to America. We are in a particularly meaningful year—a year that will determine so much of our future as a nation and as a people. The future is determined […]
A World Free of Voter Suppression
Gilda Daniels, Advancement Project’s Litigation Director is author of the new report: “We Vote We Count: the Need for Congressional Action to Secure the Right to Vote for all Citizens.” Listen as she talks voter suppression in the 21st Century.
Giving Tuesday 2019
20 Years of Movement Building and Freedom Fighting We envision a future where people of color are free – where they can thrive, be safe and exercise power. Driven by the genius of ordinary people and their movements, racism will no longer exist and justice will be radically transformed. On #GivingTuesday, December 3rd this year, […]
Reps. Elijah Cummings and John Conyers, Jr. got us this far. Now it’s on us to advance the fight.
By Judith Browne Dianis In the span of 10 days, we lost Congressman Elijah Cummings and retired Congressman John Conyers Jr. Both men dedicated their lives to fighting to make our union a little more perfect than it was when they found it. Losing our elders is never easy. Each passing prompts reflections on the […]
The role of movement lawyering in empowering communities
By Judith Browne Dianis There’s no telling when a flashpoint moment will ignite a movement. In the five years since Michael Brown was gunned down by former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, people around the country came together to organize, advocate and radically reimagine what safety should look like in their communities. Brown’s death proved […]
It’s time to educate your cousins on racial justice
Advancement Project National Office encourages our allies to use National Cousin’s Day as a time to have critical conversations about racial justice issues.
Enough is Enough
Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, “We conclude that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.”
