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Thought Leadership

CNN: 3 Black Leaders Offer One Practical Solution to Reduce Police Assaults on Black Motorists

Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson contributes to this op-ed on the DOJ’s move to investigate Memphis police for their use and abuse of force, which led to the death of Tyre Nichols. Unnecessary traffic stops continue to kill Black people all the time. Of the more than 1,000 people killed by police each year, 10% involve traffic stops. Nearly half of these are for issues as minor as a broken taillight or tinted windows. There’s no reason to send armed cops to deal with these issues. He writes with the presidents of the Vera Institute for Justice and Center for American Progress, “As three Black men, we know firsthand the worry of whether the everyday act of driving will end in tragedy for ourselves, our brothers and sisters, or nieces and nephews and children… Changing the way traffic stops happen in this nation is foundational to any discussion about police reform. By reforming them, federal, state and local leaders can save countless lives.”

Read the full article at bit.ly/3ZY4FF8

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THE HILL: To Keep People Safe, Congress Should Invest in What Communities Need

Color Of Change’s Interim Vice President Sakira Cook writes alongside Civil Rights Corps’ Thea Sebastian about the rush to pour more money into policing. As politicians rush to pass “public safety” bills, pointing to rising crime rates and fears that violence is increasing, they rarely ask what communities want — or if these bills will do anything to keep them safer. Color Of Change recently released an evidence-based policy blueprint on the kinds of investments that prevent violence and harm. Its key insight is simple: just as in public health, prevention and proactive investments in the “social determinants of safety” are our most effective way to keep individuals, families, and communities safe. It’s time that our policies and reliance on heavy-handed policing give way to this reality.

Full article at bit.ly/3SRaUIn

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ESSENCE: Biden’s Plan to Increase Police Budgets Won’t Make Us Safer

Color Of Change’s Sakira Cook writes about how President Biden’s plan to increase police budgets is the opposite direction we ought to be headed — investing in community programs proven to keep communities safe. In a Philadelphia neighborhood, the addition of streetlights, painted sidewalks, public transit, and parks was tied to a 76% decrease in homicides. Summer job programs for young people have reduced their arrest rates for violent crimes by 45%. Meanwhile, over-policing Black and Brown neighborhoods just leads to more police violence. Biden plans to add 100,000 police officers to our streets and allocate $13 billion to the COPS hiring program. “Too many officials,” Sakira explains, “continue to implement a police-only approach to our safety – these solutions alone do not work and have proven to cause more harm to our safety and overall well-being.” It’s time for politicians to divest from this failed approach and advance real solutions to creating healthy, thriving, and safe communities.

Read the full article at bit.ly/3ZQueZ2

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TAMPA BAY TIMES: Warren’s Firing Hurt Black Residents in Hillsborough

Community activist and Color Of Change member Joyce Jackson writes about what Black people lost when the Hillsborough state attorney was unjustly ousted. Joyce’s son has been barred from voting since he was arrested at age 17 on a drug charge, even though he only was sentenced to probation, and at 41, has never been in trouble since. State Attorney Andrew Warren was a champion for people charged with nonviolent misdemeanors and oversaw a 69% reduction in the number of cases where children are tried as adults. He also stopped prosecution of minor bike citations when Tampa police were writing thousands of tickets for “biking while Black.” But after he stood up for abortion rights and Black women across the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis had him removed. He has sued to get his job back and judges now have the power to reinstate him.

Read the full article at bit.ly/3IH5TgM

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NEWSONE: Fulton Co. Prosecutors Share Blame For Jail Overcrowding

Color Of Change’s Vice President Sakira Cook writes about how Georgia’s Fulton County jails are so overcrowded that hundreds of people are malnourished and sleeping on the floor–waiting to learn their fates for minor offenses. Prosecutors have the unique power to fix overcrowding in what is, unsurprisingly, a predominantly Black area. Because of felony prosecutor Fani Willis’s inefficiency and indifference, half the jail population have not even been formally charged with a crime. Fulton County puts its residents behind bars at a rate nearly 3x other urban counties. It’s time to stop prosecuting minor offenses that pose no threat to public safety–unnecessarily costing people their jobs , their families, and their health.

Read the full article at bit.ly/3wE2slJ

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MIAMI HERALD: Don’t Ignore Effects of ‘Don’t say gay’ and ‘Stop WOKE’ on LGBTQ+ Students of Color

Color Of Change contributes to this op-ed on how LGBTQ+ students of color will be harmed by Florida’s new ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. It will almost certainly erode the confidence of queer students and hurt their mental health. Multiple studies find students typically feel better about themselves and more supported by friends after coming out. Under ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ they’ll be forbidden to discuss gay issues at school while staff are encouraged to report LGBTQ students to their parents. States with LGBTQ+ friendly protections report less depression and isolation. And the opposite is true too. A few months in, it’s crucial we evaluate the impact of the law, especially alongside other harmful policies like the ‘Stop WOKE’ Act, which limits the discussion of race and gender in classes, furthering censoring and devaluing queer youth of color.

Read the full article at bit.ly/3wGUQig

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