Editor’s Note by Rivera Sun
#GeorgeFloyd #BreonnaTaylor #IRunWithAhmaud – Racial justice campaigns defined Summer 2020. The murder of George Floyd catalyzed the largest mass protests in United States history. At least 20 million people participated in the weeks-long demonstrations. 10,000 people were arrested. Demonstrators faced heavy police repression. And though the headlines screamed about fires, looting, and violence, the data collected by civil resistance researcher Erica Chenoweth and her team revealed that 96-98% of those 20 million people were nonviolent as they took action.
The protests spurred widespread changes – some grandstanding and posturing by corporations, others meaningful and significant policy shifts. In reviewing the gains of 2020, there were a heartening number of important changes. While we know there’s more work to be done, these achievements remind us that organizing makes a difference, that resistance is not futile, and that when we mobilize in sustained, widespread action, movements can win concessions and meaningful change.
Minneapolis, Louisville, DC, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Albuquerque, Berkeley, Charlottesville (VA), Burlington (VT), Austin passed reforms and/or defunded the police departments to fund social service programs. New Hampshire, Minnesota and Pennsylvania passed police reform packages. Schools in Minneapolis, Oakland, and Portland kicked cops off campus.
When we face seemingly insurmountable challenges to achieving full measures of racial justice, these stories give us a sense of potential. Change is possible. It is hard-won. It is long overdue. But the summer uprisings won changes that can be built upon. This Special Report helps us see what was achieved by the millions of courageous and determined, outraged and persistent people who rose up for change.
As an ally,
Rivera Sun, Editor
Photo Credit: Demonstrators campaign for justice for Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY.
You can support Nonviolence News in our efforts to collect the length, breadth, and depth of nonviolence in action in our world today. Donate here>>
#GeorgeFloyd
George Floyd Protests Lead To Arrests Of Other 3 Officers And The First Officer’s Murder Charge Upgraded: Without people taking action, none of this would have happened. Read more >>
Minneapolis City Council Announces Intent To Disband Police Department: The police department will be replaced with a community-led public safety model. Read more >>
#BreonnaTaylor
Breonna Taylor’s Family Gains 12 Significant Police Reforms: The settlement includes an overhaul of the execution of simultaneous search warrants, mandates that a commanding officer review and give written approval of all search warrants, documents aimed at calculating the specific dangers of a warrant location, and more. Read more>>
Louisville City Council Passes “Breonna’s Law” And Bans No-Knock Warrants: After protests over the murder of Breonna Taylor, the city ends the policy that lead to her death. Read more >>
Louisville Metro Council Votes To Put Police Dept. Under Watch Of Civilian Review Board: The newly established board will consist of 11 members who will work alongside the inspector general. Through a majority vote, the board can authorize the inspector general to investigate police complaints. Additionally, the board will be able to look over police reports for quality and accuracy, as well as completed internal affairs investigations into police killings. Read more>>
#DefundPolice & Reform
Los Angeles Voters Deliver Huge Win For #DefundPolice: LA’s “Yes on J” campaign flipped the message from defunding cops to investing in everything else. It worked brilliantly. LA defunded $100 million from LAPD. Read more>>
DC Passes Emergency Police Reform Legislation: Following weeks of protests from groups including the Stop Police Terror Project DC, the D.C. Council passed emergency police reform legislation. While good, this is a temporary fix and police budget cuts still aren’t guaranteed. Read more>>
Protests Win City Council Votes to Defund More Police Units: In Portland, OR, city council members gave credit to activists for securing long-sought votes to defund police units. Read more >>
Camden, NJ, Overhauled The Police According To “The Consent of the People”: Following the demands and priorities of the people they “protect and serve”, this police department found ways to improve at a time when murder rates were high. If Camden, NJ can do it amidst a murder crisis, anyone can. Read more >>
San Francisco Police Replaced By Professionals for Non-Criminal Calls: The change is part of a four-part plan to address police brutality and systemic racism in policing in the city. Read more>>
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Defunds Police, Funds Social Responders: This police department had one of the worst 30-year track records of brutality in the United States. Read more>>
Berkeley Replaces Police At Traffic Stops With Unarmed Alternatives: Activists say it’s a step in the right direction in stopping racial profiling, but there is more work to be done, and the alternative department needs to take care not to replicate the disproportionate and unfair treatment of Black and Brown people. Read more>>
Burlington, VT, Passes “Fair and Impartial Policing” Law: The resolution closes loopholes in the city’s current policy and prohibits local police from working with immigration enforcement agencies. Read more >>
Charlottesville, VA, City Council Votes To Ban Militarized Police: The city took action to halt the increasing use of militarized policing that’s being seen in cities across the US. You can do the same. Read More>>
Community Peacemakers in Chicago Offer a Proven Alternative To Policing: As calls to defund police grow, peacemakers on the front lines of Chicago’s gun violence epidemic have dramatically reduced homicides and shootings. Read more>>
Seattle Votes To Defund Police By 50%: A majority of the city council backed the plans laid out by advocates to defund police and fund other kinds of crisis intervention teams. Read more>>
Austin, TX, Cut Police Budget By A Third: The Austin City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to cut its police budget by $150 million and reinvest the money in social services days after a similarly sweeping defunding effort in Seattle led to the resignation of Police Chief Carmen Best. Read more>>
Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon Pause Facial Recognition Software Projects For Police: Citing concerns of racial profiling and privacy rights violations, tech giants pull back from supporting facial recognition software projects. Read more >>
Colorado Judge Temporarily Bans Tear Gas Against Protesters: Placing a restraining order on police, the judge says the use of tear gas violates one of the many freedoms the United States was built on. Read more >>
Oakland Judge Issues Restraining Order Restricting Police Use of Tear Gas, Flash Bangs, and Projectiles: The decision follows a similar restriction placed on the Denver police by a Colorado judge. Read more>>
Colorado Law Ends Police Immunity: Colorado is the first state to remove immunity for police who commit civil crimes and make them personally liable for damages. This is a first step in making police accountable for their actions and it is being met with opposition by police. Read more>>
Lights On! Program Interrupts Potential Police Violence With Taillight Vouchers: Broken taillights are grounds for a police pullover, and a source of fear and suspicion between police and citizens. Even the fines burden poor people who can’t afford to fix their taillights. The new program might help break the cycle by giving taillight fixing vouchers to cops to hand out to drivers. Read more >>
Cops Out Of Schools
Minneapolis School Department Terminates Contract With MPD: The school department has ended its controversial “school resource officers” program which placed cops in public schools. Read more >>
Portland, OR, School Department Ends Cops In Schools Program: Following on the heels of Minneapolis School District ending the school resource officers program, Portland School District also halted the presence of cops in public schools. Read more >>
Oakland School Board Votes To Remove Police: The “George Floyd Resolution” eliminates the school district’s police force of 10 sworn officers and 50 unarmed campus safety officers. Read more>>
LA Teachers’ Strike Wins Racial Justice Policy Change: In the wake of last year’s strike by Los Angeles teachers, random searches of students are coming to an end districtwide — landing a blow against racism in schools. Read more >>
Portland State University Disarms Campus Cops: Portland State University said Thursday it will disarm its campus police force, more than two years after officers from the department shot and killed a Black man who was trying to break up a fight close to campus. Read more>>
Statues & Symbols
Virginia Governor Announces Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue: The monument has been under pressure from anti-racist activists for years. Now, it’s finally coming down. Read more >>
US Marine Corps Bans Public Displays Of Confederate Flag By Members: “The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremists and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps,” the marine statement said. “This presents a threat to our core values, unit cohesion, security, and good order and discipline. This must be addressed.” Read more >>
NASCAR Bans Confederate Flags: The racing organization’s step is as significant as the NFL’s statement in support of #TakeAKnee protests. Read more >>
NASA Renames Headquarters After Mary W. Jackson: One of the “Hidden Figures” behind the computing and mathematics of the space program, Mary W. Jackson, a Black woman, is finally receiving public recognition for her genius work. Read more>>
Virginia Ditches Confederate Holiday: The state scrapped Lee-Jackson Day and decided to make Election Day a holiday instead. Read more >>
Land O Lakes Butter Drops “Indian Maiden” After Years Of Indigenous Pressure: The logo had been objected to because it sexualized, objectified, and stereotyped Indigenous women. Read more >>
Charlottesville, VA, Finally Takes Down Confederate Statue Near Site Of 2017 Unite The Right Rally: Three years and many deaths later, Charlottesville finally took down their confederate statue that stood near the site of the violent #UniteTheRight rally. Read more>>
Robert E. Lee High School In Virginia Decides To Change Name To John Lewis: Following the civil rights leader and congressman’s passing, the school decided to make a historic name change. Read more>>
Sports
NBA Players Strike Wins Use of Stadiums for Polling Stations, Other Reforms: Following a multi-team strike protesting police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake earlier this week, players and league officials reached a deal Friday to resume the NBA playoffs, and agreed to use the league’s stadiums as voting locations for the November general election. Read more>>
National Football League (NFL) Condemns Racism and Police Brutality, And Admit They Were Wrong About #TakeAKnee: In two statements, the commissioner and the league reversed prior stances. Editor’s Note: Is this just virtue signaling and window dressing? Maybe. But it’s also a clear signal to the fan base (including those who hated the #TakeAKnee protests) that racism is no longer an acceptable ideology for the NFL. Read more >>
Black Athletes Donate $100,000 to Help Pay Debts of Former Felons in Florida So They Can Vote in 2020: More Than A Vote, a group founded by LeBron James and others in June to fight against voter suppression, says it will donate $100,000 to help pay the outstanding debts of people who have already served time for their felony convictions but are still unable to vote in Florida. Read more>>
Redskins Announce Formal Review of Name: Under pressure from corporate sponsors, Native Rights activists, stadium owners and public officials, the Washington football team announced that they would start the process of changing the name, which is viewed as derogatory toward Natives. Read more>>
International
In New Zealand, A Racist Statue Was Removed Amid Maori Protests: As Confederate and Columbus statues topple across the United States and King Leopold’s statue is removed in Belgium, Maori in New Zealand campaigned for the removal of another racist statue. Read more >>
Netherlands Prime Minister Says Stereotyped “Black Pete” Will Disappear From Christmas Traditions: The blackface character has long been protested as stereotyping and racism. Read more >>
Canada’s Largest First Nation Police Force Has Never Killed Anyone: In its 26 years of existence, officers with Canada’s largest Indigenous police force have never shot and killed anyone and no officer has died in the line of duty, despite a grinding lack of resources and an absence of normal accountability mechanisms. The key difference? Relationship. Read more>>
New Zealand Shifts Policing Priorities and Approaches: Nimble, culturally nuanced and collaborative, this Māori-led response gets to the roots of family violence. Read more>>
South African Stores Toss TRESemmé Hair Products After Racist Ad Causes Massive Protest Campaign: The ad triggered protests led by opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who called the ad “racist” and “dehumanizing.” Read more>>
And More …
‘This Is Why We March’: Poll Shows Overwhelming US Support for Police Reform, Increased Accountability: Nearly a month into the nationwide uprising over racial injustice and police brutality, Americans across the political spectrum agree that policing in the U.S. must undergo serious reforms in order to serve the public, according to a poll released Tuesday. Read more>>
Communities Hit Hardest By Racism Have Solutions Worth Investing In: This Chicago loan fund has proved that the communities it serves — disinvested and portrayed in mainstream headlines as violent and hopeless — are full of people who have more than just vision; they can also borrow money for community improvements and pay it back. Read more>>
Los Angeles Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis: The metropolis passed an anti-racist policy agenda, becoming the 37th county in the country to declare that racism is a public health crisis. Read more>>
Eco-Equity? Houston Finally Prioritizes People of Color When Building Flood Protections: The new controversial plan, #HoustonNow, no longer gives funds to the city’s richest neighborhoods first. Read more>>
Asheville, North Carolina Agrees To Pay Reparations: The unanimously passed resolution does not mandate direct payments. Instead it will make investments in areas where Black residents face disparities. Read more>>
Los Angeles County Expunges 66,000 Marijuana Convictions: The convictions date from 1961 to present. The county’s district attorney cited that it was a needed action to bring relief to people of color who are disproportionately impacted by drug laws. Read more >>
Oscars Adds Diversity Criteria To Avoid Another #OscarsSoWhite Scandal: Five years after the hashtag shamed the film industry for an all-white Best Picture slate, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will require films to be more diverse for top-prize consideration. Read more>>
Cancelation of Cop Shows Signals a Cultural Shift in Glorifying Police Violence: Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, discusses how these shows do not show the realities of racist policing. Read more>>
Reddit Bans Hate Speech: Long overdue, the company finally updated their policies to ban hate speech and removed 2,000 forums from its site, including a major site for followers of Donald Trump. Read more>>
Facebook Bans Boogaloo Groups: Under pressure from advertisers and racial justice activists, Facebook banned extremist “Boogaloo” groups. Read more>>
