500 signatures reached
To: Charlotte City Council
Charlotte for Black Futures
We demand divestment from the police force.
-We demand Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools cut ties with CMPD.
-We demand that all local colleges and universities cut ties with CMPD.
-We demand no police budget increases in the 2021 Charlotte City Budget.
We demand investment in the health and prosperity of our communities.
-We demand all city council members donate all contributions received from police PACs for their re-election to NC BLOC Local Power Fund: Charlotte.
-We demand any proposed budget increases for police be diverted to increases in salaries for other city workers, affordable housing, reentry programs, transportation, mental health and other community health and wellness infrastructure.
-We demand a reallocation of at least 5% of the police budget to increases in salaries for other city workers, affordable housing, reentry programs, transportation, mental health and other community health and wellness infrastructure.
We demand acknowledgement and accountability for our pain and injustice.
-We demand that Charlotte issue a proclamation apologizing for their historic role in slavery and the lasting, negative impact of slavery on current generations of Black people.
-We demand a board and task force to explore monetary reparations for Black individuals in Charlotte.
Why is this important?
Black people in Charlotte are hurting, in solidarity with Black people globally. The police and vigilante murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, James McScurlock, and others who's names we do not know weigh heavy on our hearts.
They also remind us of what we've experienced and what hurts us in our city. We have felt the weight of police murder and police brutality in our city. Most visibly, we have felt it with Janisha Fonville, Jonathan Ferrell, Keith Lamont Scott, Danquirs Franklin. We have felt the sting of teargas in our eyes and we have felt the weight of police batons on our bodies. And we have seen police choose to incarcerate more Black people, knowing that COVID-19 runs rampant in our jails and prisons.
We know that the history of this dates back to the transition from slave patrols to police departments, meant to uphold laws that have never prioritized Black people.
This does not create public safety. Police violence and community safety go hand in hand because when the city funds police, they fund their violence and take that money away from the things that keep us safe.
Housing keeps us safe. Closing the wealth gap keeps us safe. Mental health care keeps us safe. Education keeps us safe. Access to food keeps us safe.
We keep us safe and the more we are cared for, the safer our communities are.
Black folks in our city are powerful. The resilience and creativity we've developed and curated alongside generations of oppression is unparalleled.
We know a future where we all thrive is possible when that creativity and resilience is unleashed.
That is why we must meet these demands and continue to build the world we want to see upon them.