You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: #YearWithoutTamir.

A recent study titled “Black Millennials in America” created by Black Youth Project and reported on at Colorlines found that 54% of young black people say that either they or someone they know have been harassed by police or been the victim of police violence.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the independent investigations into the killing of 12-year-old Cleveland child Tamir Rice found no wrong doing on the part of the officer who pulled the trigger. Retired FBI agent Kimberly Crawford wrote in her report that Officer Lehmann couldn’t have known Tamir’s gun was fake.

As reported in the New York Times, Crawford explained that:

“The question is not whether every officer would have reacted the same way...Rather, the relevant inquiry is whether a reasonable officer, confronting the exact same scenario under identical conditions could have concluded that deadly force was necessary.”

Cleveland.com quotes the Florida law enforcement officer and instructor who also investigated the shooting as saying:

"This unquestionably was a tragic loss of life, but to compound the tragedy by labeling the officers' conduct as anything but objectively reasonable would also be a tragedy.”

Right. Tragedy.

On the anniversary of Tamir Rice’s murder, his family has asked for our solidarity and our action. The group Ferguson Action invites people around the country to join the Rice family and the community of Cleveland to join them as they honor his life and continue to fight for justice.

At FergusonAction.com you can pledge to take action by signing on to the statement:

"I PLEDGE TO STAND WITH THE FAMILY OF TAMIR RICE AND THE COMMUNITY OF CLEVELAND. WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR TAMIR RICE AND AN AN END TO THE WAR AGAINST BLACK CHILDREN.”

You can also find an action happening this weekend in your area or create one if there isn’t an action scheduled. The hashtag #YearWithoutTamir is being used to coordinate and amplify actions around the country, so be sure to follow now through Sunday as participants post live updates.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "I pledge to stand with the family of Tamir Rice…” via Ferguson Action

JOIN: #YearWithoutTamir Actions around the country via Ferguson Action

Sources/further reading:

"2 Outside Reviews Say Cleveland Officer Acted Reasonably in Shooting Tamir Rice, 12” at The New York Times

"New report finds Tamir Rice shooting tragic but reasonable” at Cleveland.com

Intersection Episode 9: "Tamir Rice Has Been Dead for a Year: Host Jamil Smith looks back at the police killing of a 12-year-old boy in his hometown, Cleveland.”

"Cleveland, On the Brink” by Jamil Smith at The New Republic

"Tamir Rice's mother to testify before Grand Jury” at WKYC.com

"Outrage Is Growing Over the Tamir Rice Investigation: Is the grand jury process stacked in favor of the cop who killed the 12-year-old?” at Mother Jones

"STUDY: Half of Black Millenials Know a Victim of Police Violence, Still See Cops as Protectors” at Colorlines

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #970 "The power of solidarity (Racial Justice)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: SafeQualitySchools.org: Ending the School to Prison Pipeline.

Spring Valley High has elevated the public consciousness about violence against black women and girls as well as the prevalence of “school officers” as disciplinarians across the country. But as Ijeoma Oluo writes at The Establishment, the young girls sitting around the victim in the video aren't the only ones who weren’t surprised:

"To many, it’s shocking to see the officer throw the silent girl out of her seat onto the ground and drag her across the floor by her leg. To many, it’s shocking to see the teacher and school administrator stand by silently while one of their students is assaulted.

But this isn’t shocking to black women in America.”

As mentioned before on the show, violence against women of color is — to put it mildly — poorly covered. And possibly the only sub-topic of police violence covered less often is that perpetrated by the officers invited into our schools. We think of the school-to-prison pipeline as a general oppression and commodification of youth of color; as author Roxane Gay writes at The New York Times, it is much more than that:

"Schools are not merely sites of education, they are sites of control. In fact, they are sites of control well before they are sites of education. And for certain populations — students of color, working-class students, anyone on the margins — the sites of control in the school system can be incredibly restrictive, suffocating, perilous.”

The Advancement Project’s program “Ending the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track” is dedicated to documenting and exposing zero tolerance and other harsh policies that contribute to violence like that at Spring Valley High; developing and implementing school discipline reform at the local level; and organizing national visibility campaigns pushing for broader reform.

At SafeQualitySchools.org, you can find the current campaigns and programs in your state as well as infographics to share and resources for students, parents, educators, law enforcement, and activists. Through a link on their home page you can also contribute personal stories detailing how the school to prison pipeline has affected you and/or your loved ones and neighbors. For inspiration and motivation, they also have a page of victories from around the country of law and policy changes.

As the Advancement Project infographic “What You Need To Know About #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh" states, these incidents are not uncommon. It’s time we demanded our education tax dollars actually be used to educate, not victimize. Visit SafeQualitySchools.org and get involved.

TAKE ACTION:

Students, parents, educators, law enforcement, and activists! VISIT The Advancement Project’s SafeQualitySchools.org to get involved.

FOLLOW the #School2Prison thread.

SHARE the "School to Prison Pipeline by Advancement Project” video

CONTRIBUTE your stories: #School2Pipeline Stories

Additional Activism/Resources:

SIGN to demand #BlackLivesMatter issues be addressed in primary debates: #RaiseTheDebate via Black Lives Matter at ”ColorOfChange

Sources/further reading:

”What You Need to Know About #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh” — Infographic via The Advancement Project

"Where Are Black Children Safe?" Roxane Gay at The New York Times

"America Doesn’t Care About Black Women And Girls” by Ijeoma Oluo at The Establishment

"Black Girl Down… and Up” by PrisonCulture

"Take cops out of schools: More officers mean more arrests, even for offenses like talking back.” via The Washington Post

”A Short History of Cops Terrorizing Students” via The Nation

The Bayview Hunters Point YMCA -- Center for Academic Re-entry and Empowerment (CARE)

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #966 "Criminalizing the classroom (School-to-Prison Pipeline)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Support Bipartisan #JusticeReformNOW.

1 out of every 100 Americans is behind bars. The U.S. spends $80 billion a year on incarceration. 70 million Americans have a criminal record. In too many neighborhoods, young people of color are more likely to go to prison than college.

Over the course of this year, those stats — straight out of Cut50’s campaign supporting bipartisan criminal justice reform — have lead to an unlikely alliance of traditional ideological adversaries like The ACLU and Koch Industries. With the left and the right backing a reduction in the inmate population, legislation has actually been introduced in the House and Senate.

As reported in NPR, Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, is behind the bill because: "The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act is the most substantial criminal justice reform legislation introduced since the inception of the 'tough on crime' movement and is the best indication we have that those days are over.”

Families Against Mandatory Minimums is also supporting the legislation. President Julie Stewart acknowledges that it isn’t perfect, but says "it is a substantial improvement over the status quo and will fix some of the worst injustices.”

The House bill — the SAFE Justice Act — and the Senate bill — the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act — propose system-wide reforms to reduce over-criminalization, enhance rehabilitation, support individuals’ rebuilding after prison terms, reform federal prison sentencing, and reduce automatic and harsh punishments like “three strikes” laws.

Visit JusticeReformNow.org to sign the Cut50 petition, which is approaching 200,000 signatures — it turns out criminal justice reform is also popular with celebrity activists and the general public! You can also join in demanding that Congress take action to roll back the incarceration industry in America by following the #JusticeReformNOW & #Cut50 hashtags.

We already know this Congress is loathe to do anything besides push deadlines on the budget and investigate Planned Parenthood without a public outcry. Let’s make sure they can hear us loud and clear.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "Demand that Congress take action to roll back the incarceration industry in America” via #cut50

Sources/further reading:

"FAMM: House Sentencing Reform Compromise Another Step in Right Direction” via Families Against Mandatory Minimums

“Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act” — the full legislation

"Here's One Thing Washington Agreed On This Week: Sentencing Reform” via NPR

"Senators Announce Bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act” — announcement from the Judiciary Committee

"Senate Introduces ‘Gamechanger’ Criminal Justice Reform Bill” via Time

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #959 "The need to do better (Mass Incarceration)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Support the decriminalization of sex work.

Feminism has an unfortunate and harmful rift when it comes to sex work. While activists and talking heads will all come out to defend bodily autonomy when it relates to pregnancy and abortion, a frustrating few show up to acknowledge the agency of sex workers. Despite sex workers risking stigma, future employment and even harm to speak out and tell their stories and debunk myths, many still see them as victims to be rescued or as complicit in the subjugation of women.

Amnesty International's decision to listen to the 237 organizations in 71 countries that make up the Global Network of Sex Work Projects rather than the “rescue” industry and support decriminalization has sparked a new round of public discussion on the issue. This means right now is an important moment for allies to learn and get involved.

If you’re new or have reservations, there’s no one better than Melissa Gira Grant on the topic. She has the personal and activist history as well as an accessible style for explaining the intersection of issues that make decriminalization — and ultimately legalization — important and sensible.

From her piece at The Nation on Amnesty’s policy shift:

"Using the criminal law to control sex work means police are pitted against sex workers, and sex workers can pay the price with their lives. Sex workers who are also migrants, transgender, and/or people of color or ethnic minorities are intensely subject to this kind of criminalization and exclusion...Criminal laws only add to the challenges—poverty, marginalization, access to health care—that many sex workers already face.”

Basically — as we see with almost every other thing that’s been criminalized in this country, making sex work illegal only intensifies existing hardships and marginalization while propping up private prison profits. The only way to fix it is to change prohibition laws and that starts with changing public perception — which means we need to be better allies.

The Sex Workers Outreach Project is a great starting point for becoming an ally in your personal and professional spaces. At SWOPusa.org they have basic language tips for medical professionals, advice for academics and teachers, ways to get involved in your community, support for the partners and friends of sex workers, and links to other organizations’ resources.

Their community support line — 877-776-2044 — is national and open to current and former sex workers, allies and grassroots organizers for general advice, crisis counseling, referrals, and legal information. Their resources page also has safety and screening tips for sex workers — increasingly important as sex worker-controlled avenues like MyRedbook & Rentboy are shut down.

TAKE ACTION:

Learn how to become an ally with SWOP’s Ally Resources Page

Follow & amplify: #SexWorkIsWork

Additional Activism/Resources:

Resources for sex workers: Safety tips and Screening 101 via via SWOP-Chicago

Sources/further reading:

"Amnesty International’s Long-Due Support for Sex Workers Rights” by Melissa Gira Grant at The Nation

”Playing the Whore: the Work of Sex Work” by Melissa Gira Grant

Q&A on the Policy to Protect Human Rights of Sex Workers — Amnesty International

"LGBT Rights Organizations Join Amnesty International in Call to Decriminalize Sex Work” — Lambda Legal

"How LGBT People Would Benefit From The Decriminalization Of Sex Work” at ThinkProgress

"3 Sex Workers' Rights Organizations That Fight Every Day To End The Stigma” via Bustle

"A Sex Worker Shows Why Her Job Shouldn't Be Illegal” via Refinery29

"How the Feds Took Down Rentboy.com” at Vice.com by Melissa Gira Grant

"Woman kills attacker with his gun, unknowingly takes out a serial killer” via The Daily Dot

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #951 "It is neither all good nor all bad (Sex Workers Rights)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: End Cash Bail in New York.

Stealing a backpack shouldn’t be a death sentence. Kalief Browder’s death is an indictment on nearly every aspect of our jails and prison system.

We should — all of us — be taking this tragedy seriously, as Glenn Martin, president of Just Leadership USA explained to Aaron Morrison of International Business Times: “Ultimately, we are all collectively responsible for the death of Kalief, since our insidious criminal justice system exists in our name.”

The length of time Browder spent at Riker’s simply because he couldn’t post bail has surprised people. But if we’re supposedly all “innocent until proven guilty,” maybe the question shouldn’t be “Why was a 16-year-old expected to have $3,000 on hand for bail?” Instead, we should be asking, “Why do people pay for the privilege of waiting for their day in court at all?”

As the editorial staff for amNY explained in an op ed demanding bail reform, the NYC Independent Budget Office report found in 2011 that pretrial detainees make up 75% of the average daily jail population and nearly half were there because they couldn't post bail. Nationally, the numbers are six out of ten prisoners who are incarcerated in lieu of bail.

Cash bail is nothing more than punishment for the poor that benefits only the CEOs of private prison companies and their lobbyists.

Visit the Pretrial Justice Institute’s website — Pretrial.org — and click the banner for their petition with MoveOn titled "Gov Cuomo: End Cash Bail in New York.” Sign and share to encourage similar actions in other states and cities. Pretrial.org also has a great “Take Action” tab with local and national coalitions, an events calendar, and a page to submit your story.

Martin F. Horn — former commissioner of NYC's Department of Correction — closes his plea to prevent even one more Kalief Browder at The Marshall Project this way:

"It requires political courage for the city to address these issues and bring sanity to the jails. It will take money and leadership. There is no alternative, because our jails are a reflection of our collective conscience, and if they remain as they are, the fault is ours.”

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: "Gov Cuomo: End Cash Bail in New York” via the Pretrial Justice Institute

Additional Activism/Resources:

Follow and support the work of The Bronx Freedom Fund

Follow and support the work of The Brooklyn Bail Fund

Sources/further reading:

"Fixing the Jail Where Kalief Browder was Held: Former corrections chief Martin Horn has some ideas for Rikers Island.” at The Marshall Project

"Newsday: NYC may set up taxpayer-paid bail fund for low-level offenses”

"After Kalief Browder's Death, Prison Reform Advocates Say NYC Rikers Island Abuses Must Not Produce More ‘Martyrs’” by Aaron Morrison at The International Business Times

"Bail reform can help fix NYC criminal justice” by the Editorial Staff at AM New York

"How to Lock Up Fewer People” by Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project

"City Needs ‘Some Type of Bail Reform,’ de Blasio Says After Kalief Browder Suicide” by Jill Jorgensen at NY Observer

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #930 "Our prisons: cruel and counterproductive (Injustice System)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: "Free Victims of the Drug War" with the Drug Policy Alliance.

President Obama stepped up his pardons earlier this year by commuting the sentences of 22 federal prisoners convicted of nonviolent drug offenses being served “under an outdated sentencing regime,” according to the administration. As Trymaine Lee reported for MSNBC.com, the president described the power of commutation as embodying “the basic belief in our democracy that people deserve a second chance.”

For what are most certainly widely varying reasons, bipartisan conversations have begun seeking to tackle the injustices of decades-old mandatory minimum and three-strikes laws which have lead to the overcrowding of our nation’s prisons and the fulfilling of the greedy dreams of private prison company CEOs. In his statement on the commutations, the president acknowledged both the social good and the financial imperative of fixing the broken system.

“Well, here’s the good news,” the president said. "There is an increasing realization on the left, but also on the right politically, that what we’re doing is counterproductive. We’re all responsible for at least a solution to this.”

As the predictably slow wheels of potential Congressional action turn, there is good news: this is another situation where the White House holds significant unilateral power. The Drug Policy Alliance is campaigning to pressure the president on additional commutations — which should be an easy sell as he has already established a clemency initiative to encourage individuals sentenced under the draconian drug laws to petition for commutation.

You can join with the Drug Policy Alliance by visiting DrugPolicy.org/action and contacting the White House through their "Free Victims of the Drug War” page. You can also follow their hashtag #NoMoreDrugWar and use it to publicly share that you’re participating in the campaign to free those wrongly and cruelly incarcerated.

As the Drug Policy Alliance letter-writing page explains, the White House is starting to listen on this issue; now is the time to build momentum by asking the president to continue a process he began and not leave the work unfinished for an incoming administration. The time is now.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN to tell the president to Free Victims of the Drug War via the Drug Policy Alliance

Additional Activism/Resources:

FOLLOW the hashtag: #NoMoreDrugWar

For those who want to get more involved, it’s early registration for the International Drug Policy Reform Conference (11/18-11/21/2015)

Sources/further reading:

"President Obama commutes prison sentences of 22 drug offenders” by Trymaine Lee at MSNBC.com

"Prolific Pardoner? Obama Grants Clemency to 22 Prisoners Last Week, but Has Denied Thousands” by Annie Waldman for ProPublica via Truthout

"Will the U.S. Senate Finally Reform Harsh Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drugs?”> via Drug Policy Alliance

"The Nation's Shame: The Injustice of Mandatory Minimums" by Andrea Jones at RollingStone

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #929 "Looking to avert further tragedy (War on Drugs™)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Halt All Executions.

Despite almost tantrum-like resistance from its “pro-life” governor Pete Ricketts, Nebraska is about to become the 19th state to abolish the death penalty. With public opinion shifting on capital punishment, other red states are considering similar legislation.

Montana came within one vote of outlawing the death penalty in February and a republican state representative in Kansas has introduced legislation following the Republican Liberty Caucus coming out in opposition to capital punishment.

Legislators aren’t the only ones softening on state executions. A Boston Globe poll found that only 15% of people in Massachusetts agree with the sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted of the Boston marathon bombing. Almost 66% of Bostonians and 63% statewide favor a life sentence instead.

Massachusetts may not have executed anyone since 1947 when the death penalty was used to execute gangsters convicted of murder, but death penalty proponents would have you believe that a heinous crime in anyone’s backyard can turn them in favor of execution. With a sizable majority disapproving of the sentence despite the effect of the crime on residents state-wide, this last remaining almost-logical talking point is slipping away.

Still, after Nebraska, we’re left with 32 states plus the federal government and the military having the death penalty. In an effort to push for increasing momentum on a federal ban, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty has a new project co-chaired by Sister Helen Prejean of “Dead Man Walking” fame: 90 Million Strong.

The goal is to end capital punishment by highlighting the 90 million who oppose the death penalty in this country. At 90MillionStrong.org you can add your name to their “Halt All Executions” petition, track scheduled executions and contact the legislators who have the power to stop them, register to vote — an important part of any long-term campaign, and get educated with articles and facts to post on your networks with the #HaltAllExecutions hashtag.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN: ”Join the 90 Million Strong: Call for Halt to All Executions” from 90 Million Strong, a project of The National Coalition To End the Death Penalty

Find more resources on pending executions and educational content: 90MillionStrong.org

Additional Activism/Resources:

JUNE 6: DC Standing for Peace and Justice w/Mothers in Charge

Sources/further reading:

States with and without the Death Penalty via DeathPenaltyInfo.org

“Lethal Entanglements” via The New Republic

“Death penalty foes see Nebraska vote as momentum-builder”

"Boston Bomber’s Execution To Be Delayed 18 Years?” via The Inquisitor

"Few favor death for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, poll finds: Less than 20% of Mass. residents support execution” via The Boston Globe

"Boston Marathon bomber unlikely to be executed – even if jury votes for death” via The Guardian

"European boycott of death penalty drugs lowers rate of US executions” via The Guardian

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #925 "A bad idea for all the reasons (Death Penalty)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Transgender People & the Police: Rights & Resources.

Bruce Jenner’s national TV interview will undoubtably give a visibility boost to the transgender community and force a less aware demographic in our country to at least learn some new terms and possibly foster a base level of respect and courtesy.

The third in our activism series focusing on law enforcement recognizes that trans people as a group are not privileged with the resources Jenner is afforded, leaving them more likely to be brutalized by both private citizens and the police — especially if they are people of color. According to the Transgender Law Center, 47% of black transgender and gender-nonconforming people have experienced incarceration.

In Baltimore, a transgender woman named Deairra Michelle Venable was arrested, and spent four days in a man’s prison after being forced to wear a sheer thermal shirt without her bra — a purposeful humiliation that left her especially vulnerable to assault.

Her story is terrifyingly common. Transgender woman Ashley Diamond, who has — like Venable — lived openly as a woman since her teens has been incarcerated in a Georgia men’s prison since 2012. Diamond has been denied her hormone therapy, causing physical distress from the withdrawal and — in addition to humiliations from the guards — has been raped seven times by other inmates.

The Transgender Law Center, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and National Center For Transgender Equality have a comprehensive set of resources detailing the rights of trans people when interacting with law enforcement. Posting the links on your social media feeds and and taking the information with you to direct actions can help you help protect those most vulnerable at protests and marches.

The Sylvia Rivera “Tips for trans people dealing with cops and jails" graphic folds into a pocket sized, bilingual pamphlet broken into “On the street and in public” and “If you have been arrested.”

The National Center for Transgender Equality’s “Participating in Direct Actions: A Guide for Transgender People” breaks down additional risk factors such as immigration status, past arrests, medical needs, and housing status. It also outlines tactics like surrounding the most vulnerable with those who have more privileged demographics and challenging the separation and searches of trans people.

Legal resources and alternatives to street action are important information for organizers and activists to have. Please use the links in the segment notes to post the available information on your networks, on event pages, and carry it with you when you attend demonstrations.

TAKE ACTION:

"TLC Solidarity with Baltimore” — resources for interacting with law enforcement via The Transgender Law Center

"Participating in Direct Actions: A Guide for Transgender People” via National Center For Transgender Equality

“Tips for trans people dealing with cops and jails” via The Sylvia Rivera Law Project

Sources/further reading:

"Transgender woman arrested in Baltimore forced to stay in male holding cell” via Mashable

"Transgender woman arrested in Baltimore out after four days of ‘hell’” via Mashable

"Transgender Woman Cites Attacks and Abuse in Men’s Prison” via The New York Times

"Federal Judge: California Must Provide Trans Inmate with Access to Gender-Affirming Surgery” at The Advocate

"Win: Georgia to Allow Hormone Therapy for Trans Inmates” via The National Center for Transgender Equality

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #921 "We all have a trans friend now (Bruce Jenner)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

Follow-up action:

SIGN and share the Color of Change petition: "President Obama: End discriminatory, violent policing and its unjust consequences”

Hear the original activism segment:

Demand an Executive Order on Racist, Violent Policing via @ColorOfChange, episode #915 "A fight for survival (#BlackLivesMatter)”

Sources/further reading:

"Black Protesters Aren’t Thugs—They’re Patriots” by Imani Gandy at RH Reality Check

"As Part of a Reparations Deal, Chicago Teens Will Learn About Police Brutality in School” via Vice

"Chicago City Council Passes Landmark Police Torture Reparations Ordinance” via Amnesty International

"Baltimore Uprising: How Did We Get Here?” by Zerlina Maxwell at Essence.com

"Baltimore uprising: Solidarity protests spread across US LIVE UPDATES” via RT America

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #920 "Continued injustice, continued response (#BaltimoreUprising)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: We Charge Genocide.

Police violence is an epidemic in this country. The extrajudicial murder of yet another person of color at police hands makes headlines so often, I’m now routinely producing an episode on the most recent set of protests and demands for justice when a new wave breaks out.

With so much happening around police brutality, the next several activism segments are going to focus on specific communities targeted by law enforcement and tactics being highlighted for change. Writers and advocates from The Nation and TruthOut are among those calling for an end to policing altogether. In the words of Mychal Denzel Smith: “We need to abolish the pillars of white supremacy and I think the police is one of those.”

Until that day, there are practices to end and departments and individual officers to hold accountable. The group leading that work in Chicago is We Charge Genocide.

"To Organize. To Transform. To End Police Violence.” — a simple slogan that has taken them all the way to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva. They are a grassroots, inter-generational volunteer group who has created some amazing resources through community organizing, protest and their website WeChargeGenocide.org.

Chicago residents can contact their alderman about the pending reparations ordinance, stay up to date on hearings, and report their encounters with the CPD. Their hashtag #ChiCopWatch and handle @ChiCopWatch aggregate eye witness accounts, personal experiences, and reports from hearings and protests.

You can also sign their petition demanding CPD detective Dante Servin be permanently removed from the force following his March 21, 2012 shooting of Rekia Boyd. The courts refuse to hold him accountable for her murder, but the Police Board can step in to terminate his employment. Really, it’s the least they can do.

The We Charge Genocide website also has some amazing graphics, so an easy way to show your support and solidarity is to post those on your social media networks. Give them a follow on Twitter and a like on Facebook to make their campaigns more visible and help them build a broad coalition for change.

TAKE ACTION:

Support and follow: We Charge Genocide on Facebook and on Twitter via @ChiCopWatch and #ChiCopWatch

Report police misconduct: "Report Encounter"

Additional Activism/Resources:

SIGN: "Fire Chicago Police Detective Dante Servin", #Justice4Rekia via @ColorOfChange’s I Am Color of Change

Sources/further reading:

"In Order to End Police Brutality, We Need to End the Police” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"Abolish the Police. Instead, Let’s Have Full Social, Economic, and Political Equality.” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site’” by Spencer Ackerman at The Guardian

"Police ‘Reforms' You Should Always Oppose” by Mariame Kaba of Project NIA via Truthout

"Yet Another Victim: Rekia Boyd Killed by Off-Duty Officer” by Mychal Denzel Smith at Ebody

"Black Women Aren’t Just Secondary Casualties of Aggressive Policing” by Dani McClain at The Nation

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #919 "We thought we were free (Police State)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich