You may have concluded that the #BlackLivesMatter movement jumped the shark when a black, queer liberation collective shut down the Bay Bridge by chaining together a line of parked cars. Why? It was Martin Luther King Day, and this was the sort of civil disobedience in which he himself would have participated.
Still, it’s important for voters to follow Campaign Zero, a spin-off of the #BlackLivesMatter movement which hopes to help pass legislation that would have a profound effect on police departments and their training, funding, hiring and disciplinary policies, and more.
President Obama is in his last year as president, but criminal justice reform in on his to-do list, and DeRay Mckesson recently tweeted about his meeting with Valerie Jarrett and others at the White House. There’s no secret that the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing is happy to work with veterans of #BlackLivesMatter to develop those reforms.
Today, Mckesson unveiled the Police Use of Force Project, which purports to show how certain cities enable police violence.
Today we launched the Police Use Of Force Project, learn how they enable police violence: https://t.co/xJMhJKZC2H pic.twitter.com/zJEDxu615Y
— deray (@deray) January 20, 2016
@deray fantastic !
— JustSusan (@TassajaraRd) January 20, 2016
@deray Is Shaun King involved in any way?
— Landon (@L_C__) January 20, 2016
The New York Daily News’ social justice writer’s name seems to have disappeared from the list of directors.
@deray @UncleRUSH only 4 of 17 ban choking, nice
— rae Glover (@GloverRae) January 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/SteveTripp4/status/689851800871010304
@deray Will Detroit or other Michigan cities be included later? Thanks for collecting this essential information.
— GLNAWI (@glnawi) January 20, 2016
It’s all of these right-wing Republican mayors, we’re telling you.
@deray Minneapolis not surprising. Alot of cops usually use agression to "de-escalate" situations around here, and have no mutual respect.
— ひDrew (@TruDrew87) January 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/bernt_bread/status/689833199715930112
https://twitter.com/SteveTripp4/status/689852519028162560
Be patient. Campaign Zero calls for an end to the policing of minor offenses like marijuana possession, disorderly conduct, and trespassing. Also, active officers and prospective hires would be required to be tested for “unconscious” or “implicit” racial bias.
@deray @eyokley Interesting stuff, but the planning team should include someone with police experience to round it out.
— Graham Campbell (@GrahamCC) January 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/maxdecoy/status/689872373613498368
As promised in his State of the Union address, perhaps through this effort we’ll hear the voices of unarmed truth and unconditional love, as the president does in “the protester determined to prove that justice matters — and the young cop walking the beat, treating everybody with respect, doing the brave, quiet work of keeping us safe.”
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