We will win with supporters like you, Rihanna's Clara Lionel Foundation & Jack Dorsey of Twitter's #startsmall - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

We will win with supporters like you, Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation & Jack Dorsey of Twitter’s #startsmall

Since mid-March, Advancement Project National Office’s team has been entrenched in advocacy, communications and litigation—fighting to make sure community members in jail are #FreeAndSafe during COVID-19 and calling for for accountability and demanding cities and counties #DefundThePolice .

Our team has been working around the clock, fatigued yet energized by wins across the country,petition signatures and calls to policymakers, and the 110,000 new supporters to our campaign for #FreeAndSafe communities.
As we close the month of June, we also want to thank Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation and Jack Dorsey of Twitter’s #startsmall. In response to the urgent need for police accountability, the Clara Lionel Foundation, in partnership with Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall, has granted $11 million to 12 organizations, including several of our grassroots partners and national allies. Advancement Project National Office’s Justice Project was awarded the grant so we can do a deeper dive alongside our grassroots partners to transform policing, decrease criminalization and reinvest public funds into building thriving, healthy communities.

It feels good to know that our vision and mission are supported. With supporters like each of you, we will win! While we continue to fight, litigate and mourn those recently lost in the movement and in our communities, we must also celebrate the change and movement growing in this moment.

Here’s our Top 8 Movement Moments from June – thanks to your advocacy.

Take a look at Advancement Project National Office staff talking about some of these victories – and more – in the media.

There’s still more work to do and we hope you’ll join us in taking action.

Onward!

KEEP READING

Advancement Project and Alliance for Educational Justice React to New Federal Resource on Race Discrimination in School Discipline

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division issued a joint resource on race discrimination in school discipline.  The resource reiterates the civil rights obligations schools have to protect students from discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and provides examples of investigations into discriminatory school discipline policies and practices and how those investigations were resolved.   “Black students and other students of color are experiencing escalated police violence, school push out, and attacks on their freedom to learn, grow…

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Movimiento Poder Asks to Join Lawsuit Challenging Denver Public School District Board of Education’s Behind-Closed-Door Reversal on Police Free Schools

DENVER,CO–  Today, on behalf of Movimiento Poder, Advancement Project and Eric Maxfield Law, LLC asked the Denver District Court to allow it to intervene, or join,  in a lawsuit over the Denver Public School District Board of Education’s closed-door decision to suspend a policy prohibiting police in schools (the “Police Free Schools policy”). This reactionary decision came about in response to a tragic school shooting at East High School in Denver, and allows police in schools through June 2023. Movimiento Poder, a grassroots organization led by Denver parents and students who have organized for decades to…

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Puente Youth and Advancement Project Call on Phoenix Union High School District to Reject Return of Harmful Policing and Invest in Students

PHOENIX, AZ — Yesterday, Phoenix Union High School District (the District) heard testimony on a school safety committee’s recommendations, including on bringing School Resource Officers (SROs) to the District after voting to remove school police in 2020.  The District also temporarily extended an agreement with the city for off-duty police officers.  Young people with Puente Human Rights Movement spoke out about the harms of school policing and advocated against adopting the committee’s recommendations. “The District must follow through on its commitment to a community-driven vision of school safety, and must reject the school safety committee’s reactionary…

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National Campaign for Police Free Schools Rejects Call for More Police in Schools in Response to Nashville School Shooting

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Campaign for Police Free Schools released these statements from Advancement Project and Alliance for Educational Justice, co-conveners of the campaign: “Once again we are mourning alongside a grieving community. We are devastated by the tragic murders of three children and three adults in Nashville. Young people deserve to be safe and nurtured while they learn and grow,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project. “In moments…

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National Campaign for Police Free Schools Demands Reversal of Denver School Board Decision to Bring Back Police

WASHINGTON, DC — The Denver Public School Board has suspended its policy prohibiting police in schools through the end of June. This sudden decision came about in response to a school shooting at East High School in Denver, the third shooting at that high school this year. It is the latest in a nationwide trend of decisions to walk back commitments made following the uprisings in 2020 to remove police from schools. “This hasty decision, made without community, is a reactionary approach that will only fail students and families.  Police do not…

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Advancement Project and Tenants and Workers United React to Alexandria City Public School Board’s Refusal to Fully Fund Holistic Supports for Students

Washington, DC — On February 16th, 2023, the Alexandria City Public School Board (ACPS) voted to approve a proposed budget for the 2024 school year that includes only minor increases in funding for student mental health supports and restorative practices. At the same time, the Board voted to add funding for security guards and equipment and adopted a recommendation that the city fund school police. This is the latest step to reverse the City Council’s 2021 commitment to permanently remove police from schools. “Though we are disappointed by this decision, the fight continues,” said Evelin Urrutia,…

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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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Advancement Project and Movimiento Poder Urge Denver Public Schools Board of Education to Vote Against Closing Schools

DENVER, COLORADO – Advancement Project and Movimiento Poder are urging Denver Public Schools (DPS) Board of Education to vote against the closure of the now 5 elementary and middle schools in their November 17 board meeting. According to DPS, these schools are slated for closure due to declining enrollment.   “Following a process that was completely devoid of transparency and was not community driven, Denver Public Schools has proposed to close 5 of its neighborhood public schools – a change from merely a few days ago when there were 10 schools…

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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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