Dear Community Members:
We write today as immigrant and refugee rights activists, in this difficult and stressful time, to express our outrage at the killing of George Floyd by a police officer.
We are sickened and frustrated by continuous and unrelenting police brutality and violence targeting communities of color. And we recognize that this moment in time is not only about George Floyd, it is about the ongoing systemic injustice and systemic racism that has plagued this country for 400 years.
We are disgusted by a president who continues to espouse anti-Black, anti-immigrant, xenophobic and misogynous sentiments. We are horrified by his agenda to dismantle the advancement and protection of rights, equality, and justice. We are equally horrified by the U.S. government’s vast detention and deportation machine, which has resulted in families being separated, migrants forced to relinquish their right to safety and freedom, and the unrelenting assault on those fleeing persecution.
We call for a system that permanently ends state-sanctioned targeting of communities of color. We call for creating permanent systems that will hold police accountable and end mass incarceration that disproportionately harms Black communities and other communities of color, including immigrants.
We are now witnessing the terrors of racial injustice with the violence displayed against the protesters. We call for an end to the aggressive militarized response by federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies. It is time to revise and redirect police budgets in accordance with a reduction in policing by ending the enforcement of low-level offenses and redistributing these funds into scaling up critically needed community resources. The militarized police force we are now seeing only puts the police and community at more danger.
We call on local, state and federal lawmakers to take immediate action to adopt data-driven policy solutions to end this violence and hold police accountable. We call for a justice system whose powers are used to serve and protect.
We call on everyone to stand up and speak out against the injustices perpetuated by this “law and order” president. We cannot allow any leader to dismantle laws and put in place a violent military state. We are not a police state.
Stand up, speak out now! Stand for those who have lost their lives! Stand for the courageous youth and community members who are putting their lives on the line in the name of justice.
Join us in calling for an end to state-sanctioned violence against communities of color!
Signed,
Rhonda Rios-Kravitz, CEO Alianza
Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, Co-Founder Campaign for Immigrant Detention Reform
Rita Cepeda, Co-Founder Step Up! Sacramento
Daniel Chavez, Sacramento Immigration Coalition
Janeth Rodriguez, Chair, Sacramento Immigration Coalition
Act Locally: What You Can Do
· Request that the City of Sacramento adopt the proposed recommendations made by the Sacramento Police Review Commission by reaching out to your elected officials:
o Mayor and City Council – Find Your District
o Information on what the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission including agendas and minutes:
· Local Number for the Black Lives Matter Sacramento: 916-581-0118
Act Nationally: What You Can Do
Here are 5 national Black-led organizations working to dismantle systemic racism that you can support:
- Color Of Change is working to hold the officers who killed George Floyd accountablehttps://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforfloyd_george_floyd_minneapolis?source=coc_main_website and fighting for a visionary platform to stop the killing of Black people.
- " Sign their petition and get involved here. https://act.colorofchange.org/signup/state-emergency-black-people-are-dying/
- We need to protest—and then we need to vote. Black Voters Matter Fund seeks to increase the power of Black communities, particularly in the South, through voter registration and advocating for policies to expand voting rights/access. Learn more and donate here. https://www.blackvotersmatterfund.org/
- Black Futures Lab works directly with Black people to transform their communities, build Black political power and change the way that power operates locally, statewide, and nationally. You can support their efforts here. https://blackfutureslab.org/
- BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) is a member-based organization of Black youth activists creating justice and freedom for all Black people through transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education. Click here to donate to BYP100. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/byp100-1
- The Black Male Voter Project is building a movement that encourages black men to regularly and actively engage in the electoral process. Donate to the Black Male Voter Project by clicking here. https://secure.actblue.com/donate/blackmalevoterproject?refcode=website
And here are 3 local groups in Minnesota that also need our support and donations:
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