Our commitment to building anti-racist community
SVPLA stands firm in our commitment to building anti-racist community, and we grieve in wake of the murder of George Floyd and for the long history of racism and anti-Black racial terror in our country. We redouble our commitment to anti-racist reflection, action, and accountability every day, year round, and we invite you to join us.
Invest: Get to know the incredible cohort of systems change leaders in our Systems Change Accelerator who are working to create more just systems, and consider contributing financially to their work. We want to specifically uplift the work of our Systems Change Accelerator cohort members who are working to dismantle mass incarceration and radically reimagine our systems of care:
The Anti Recidivism Coalition (ARC) - read their statement on George Floyd here. Learn about the importance of local justice work, including ARC’s efforts with #CheckTheSheriff Coalition to ensure transparency and accountability of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) - are working as part of the powerful national movement to divest from incarceration and invest in public health. Read their #Budget2SaveLives report here.
Initiate Justice - read Inside Organizer and Board Member Rahsaan Thomas’ powerful article on how extreme sentence enhancements punish society. Initiate Justice activates the power of people inside and outside of prisons to end mass incarceration.
Learn: Consider joining our Anti-Racism for White People community, and read our thoughts on what anti-racist white people can do in this moment and beyond.
Reflect: Read Ibram X. Kendi, who implores us to examine “Who Gets to Be Afraid in America?” and Tamika Butler, who shares the daily, existential terror of living under white supremacy in “Stop Killing Us: A Real Life Nightmare.” Roxane Gay further writes powerfully in "Remember, No One is Coming to Save Us" that "For black people, normal is the very thing from which we yearn to be free."
Heal: As you navigate the feelings that arise for you in the wake of these acts of violence, we also want to uplift SVPLA's Wellness & Operations Manager Alli Simon's meditation and mindfulness practices.
Advocate: lend your voice to the efforts of The People's Budget, to tell decision-makers that the City of Los Angeles’ 2020-21 budget must divest from traditional forms of policing and state-sanctioned violence, and invest in universal, basic needs - housing, healthcare, mental health, and wellness. Take action by completing the survey, calling your Councilmember (sample call-in script here), and sharing the digital toolkit resources.
As we continue to work towards a more just and loving LA, we ground our work in the principles of anti-racism and the conviction that what was “normal” was not a state that we want to return to.