[Occupymendocino] Fwd: Pres. Obama needs you

[Irene L. Malone]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org" <info at colorofchange.org>
> Date: January 16, 2015 3:01:31 PM PST
> To: "Irene Malone" <irenelsm at mcn.org>
> Subject: Pres. Obama needs you
> Reply-To: "Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org"  
> <info at colorofchange.org>
>
> President Obama has the power — and responsibility — to help end  
> the nationwide crisis of police violence and its unjust consequences.
>
>
> Urge Pres. Obama to issue an executive order directing the  
> Department of Justice to rigorously enforce and expand civil rights  
> law and federal bans on violent and discriminatory policing:
>
>
>
> Dear Irene,
>
> There is an epidemic of racial bias, police violence, and a lack of  
> accountability in our country's police forces. Thousands have been  
> killed.1 Millions more have been sucked into the criminal justice  
> system by racially-biased practices — stripped of their rights and  
> unable to gain employment because of discrimination.2 The federal  
> government could, at the direction of President Obama,  
> significantly change these conditions — but it's not happening yet.
>
> The Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI could enforce our civil  
> rights laws much more aggressively — the laws Martin Luther King,  
> Jr. and others gave their lives fighting for — holding officers and  
> police departments accountable when they target and kill Black  
> people across the country. And the federal government could lead  
> the way towards ending employment discrimination against people  
> who've been incarcerated. But these things won't happen unless we  
> demand them. President Obama has already taken a number of  
> important steps to reform policing — but it's not nearly enough,  
> and there's much more he can do.3
>
> This Tuesday, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union  
> address. Please join us in calling on him to crack down on violent  
> and discriminatory policing by issuing an executive order directing  
> the DOJ to enforce our civil rights laws more aggressively, and to  
> remove unjust barriers to employment targeting the formerly  
> incarcerated. It only takes a moment.
>
> There are plenty of laws on the books that, if enforced, could hold  
> officers and police departments accountable for discrimination and  
> unjust violence.4 Everyone knows that local police departments and  
> local prosecutors rarely hold their own officers accountable. But  
> the federal civil rights laws fought for and achieved by Martin  
> Luther King and others allow the federal government to enforce the  
> law. The federal government is supposed to intervene. But year  
> after year, we see more injustice, brutality, and death, with  
> little or no accountability.
>
> We cannot afford to wait any longer for tangible police  
> accountability and long term, structural change to keep our  
> communities safe.5 And an executive order from President Obama  
> would go a long way in moving the Department of Justice into  
> action. Without the President's leadership, the federal government  
> will continue with business as usual: more lives tragically lost,  
> the occasional investigation, and no justice.
>
> Join us and our allies at the PICO National Network and others in  
> calling on President Obama to direct the Department of Justice to  
> enforce our nation's civil rights laws, and to take leadership in  
> ending police violence and employment discrimination against the  
> formerly incarcerated. And when you do, please ask your friends and  
> family to do the same.
>
> Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a reminder of progress made,  
> promises unkept and a time for action. A radical and fierce civil  
> rights leader, Dr. King gave his life to holding national leaders  
> accountable for addressing racial discrimination head on and ending  
> the oppression of poor people and people of color across the world.  
> His bold vision, strategies and tactics were based on an  
> unrelenting love of Black people, justice, and faith in the power  
> of movement building and civil disobedience to change the world.  
> Dr. King saw racism, war, police violence, poverty, and voting  
> suppression as inextricably linked. And his legacy is alive and  
> well within today's growing new civil rights movement to end state  
> violence targeting Black and brown communities.
>
> With only two years left in his presidency, this is President  
> Obama's moment to define his legacy on civil rights and the  
> criminal justice system. And with a lot of different forces  
> pressuring the President, we need to make sure he hears a chorus of  
> voices demanding that he prioritizes ending discriminatory policing  
> and violence, and addressing the collateral consequences of mass  
> incarceration in a racially-biased criminal justice system.
>
> Tell President Obama we expect him to do more than make speeches  
> this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Now is the time to honor Dr.  
> King's legacy and restore integrity to our nation's justice system  
> by aggressively enforcing civil rights laws.
>
> Thanks and peace,
>
> Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Lyla, Jamar and the entire ColorOfChange.org  
> team
>
> References
>
> 1. "Killed By Cops 2000-2014" ColorOfChange, 12-1-14
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4534?t=7&akid=4044.1023540.-CAiv0
>
> 2. "Ban the Box," National Employment Law Center,
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4536?t=9&akid=4044.1023540.-CAiv0
>
> 3. "President Obama Announces Task Force on 21st Century Policing,"  
> White House 12-18-14
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4537?t=11&akid=4044.1023540.-CAiv0
>
> 4. "Federal officials may use little-known civil rights statute in  
> police shooting cases," Guardian 12-24-14
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4535?t=13&akid=4044.1023540.-CAiv0
>
> 5. "National policing crisis calls for national action,"  
> ColorOfChange 09-30-14
> http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/federalpolicingreforms/? 
> t=15&akid=4044.1023540.-CAiv0
>
>
> ColorOfChange is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black  
> folks and their allies, and win real social and political change.  
> Help keep our movement strong.
>
> If you're absolutely sure you don't want to hear from ColorOfChange  
> again, click here to unsubscribe.
>

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