Week of Why Day 7 - Sent June 12, 2020
Dear Friends and Family,
We’ve made it to Day 7 of Week of Why. I want to begin by thanking everyone for reading, engaging, sharing, and taking action to fight for racial justice in this tumultuous time. While some may see George Floyd’s death as a wake-up call, we must remember that black people have been fighting systemic racism and police brutality for hundreds of years. It quite literally took a pandemic keeping us all home to spark this huge wave of outrage against police brutality, while the black community faces it every day. While we should be proud of the country’s involvement and the change that’s been made, it’s unsettling to realize that this may not have happened if we were all busy with our typical daily activities. Let’s make sure we remember this and continue to have this passion and rage against injustices, even when our schedules are once again filled.
As a reminder, over the course of the week I will be highlighting 7 different organizations that support black lives and communities of color and discussing important questions that I’ve been asking myself, such as “why is this happening?” “why is this important?” and “why do we need to get involved?” Despite the research I’ve put into this project, I know that I still have a lot to learn. I am in no way an expert or trying to speak on behalf of the black community, but rather am attempting to use my voice and privilege as a white person to amplify those whose voices and stories have been typically ignored and excluded from popular narratives throughout history.
For Day 7 of Week of Why, I am highlighting Communities Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), a police reform organization that works with survivors of police brutality and their communities to empower them to fight back. According to their website:
“CUAPB was created to deal with police brutality in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area on an ongoing basis. We work on the day-to-day abuses as well as taking on the more extreme cases. We work to combat police brutality from many angles, including political and legislative action, education, research, and providing services and support for victims and their families.
Our overriding goal is to create a climate of resistance to abuse of authority by police organizations and to empower local people with a structure that can take on police brutality and actually bring it to an end.”
CUAPB takes action in three main ways:
Advocacy
“We offer a 24-hour crisis line that people can call to report instances of abuse. We can send out a crisis team to investigate the complaint, take photos and statements and offer immediate assistance. We follow up with legal, medical and psychological referrals and other services as needed. We work to influence media coverage so that survivors and family members have their stories told. We bring together families and survivors in a local network to provide ongoing support and empowerment for people suffering from their encounter with police brutality.”
Political action
“CUAPB routinely wages battles in the political and legal arenas to bring about changes in laws, policies and practices that reduce accountability and allow police brutality to occur. We hold rallies and protests to demand justice in particular cases. In addition, we operate copwatch and courtwatch programs to bring accountability directly to the institutions most responsible for brutality and injustice.”
Education
“CUAPB provides a number of educational programs to inform the community about police brutality and justice system issues. Our Know Your Rights training arms the community with tools to interact safely with law enforcement officers while asserting their rights. Our copwatch training empowers people to provide oversight in their own neighborhoods.”
CUAPB leads a Campaign For Professional Policing in which they fight to reduce police brutality by working to require police officers to carry professional liability insurance. This helps to keep the officers accountable for their own actions.
Currently, most police officers who commit acts of brutality are given punishments that do not fit the severity of their crimes, or are simply transferred to another unit or community where they end up continuing this pattern. Requiring officers to have their own liability insurance takes the financial pressure off of police departments to protect officers in these situations, and allows them to take proper action to remove those who are not fit to serve.
They also head the Judicial Election Empowerment Project (JEEP) which works to inform the residents of Hennepin County on the candidates running for judge positions so that voters can make educated decisions, while also observing and monitoring sitting judges to ensure that they are making fair rulings.
What can you do to get involved and learn more?
Donate directly to CUAPB by clicking here.
Click here to learn more about and donate to their Campaign For Professional Policing.
Learn more about JEEP and find out how you can get involved by observing a sitting judge or doing law library research by clicking here.
Watch this video where comedian, activist, and author, Dick Gregory, discusses his ideas on police reform.
Remember that in just reading and sharing this email you are already taking action to support the movement.
As always, if you feel like I missed something, would like to engage in further conversation, or have questions, please reply to this email (reply individually, not reply all) and I would be happy to continue the discussion or recommend further resources.
Look out for a wrap-up email tomorrow with some concluding information and resources to take with you.
Sincerely,
Grace Hochberg