We, as the State Board at March for Our Lives California, refuse to stand idly by the institutionalized racism of our nation that continually delegitimizes Black individuals everywhere. We stand for the prevention of anti-Blackness everywhere, and we are outraged at the injustices against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, and countless others who preceded them.
As an organization committed to a safer California, and ultimately a safer America, we recognize the intersectionality of gun violence prevention with a multitude of other social and political issues, including the failure of our nation to support and celebrate Black lives.
We understand that these instances have occurred as a result of a faulty system inherently built on racist and discriminatory ideals. Our administration has failed us for far too long, and we call on our representatives in power to institute meaningful change that will end the systemic police brutality and trivialization of Black lives.
We stand with organizations such as Black Lives Matter, ACLU, Black Visions Collective, and NAACP.
As such, we make the following demands of legislators across the state, and encourage that these demands and others be applied statewide.
Address police brutality as a strand of systematic oppression as opposed to individual isolated incidents.
Support our First Amendment rights to speech, assembly, and press, particularly concerning recent protests.
Demilitarize police.
Defund the police and invest in community intervention programs, including violence intervention.
Support grants to small businesses owned by people of color.
Establish a commission against police brutality in every city.
Outline stronger use of force standards.
Establish a system of mandatory data collection on police affairs.
Make police records viewable to the public.
Create a community review board for police complaints and policies, establish independent police/sheriff review commissions, and have independent investigations
End policies that promote mass incarceration, including stop-and-frisk policies.
Ensure representation of people of color in the police force.
Train for racial bias, as well as interactions involving mental health during Peace Officer Standards and Trainings (POST) certified academies and private security training.
Create a one-strike rule for police: Once an officer commits an act of police brutality, their POST certification should be revoked for a minimum of 5 years, and only reinstated after another POST training session.
These demands are heavily inspired by community based organizations that are leading the fight for radical justice. Find a non-exhaustive list of such organizations here. Only through these actions can we truly uphold a safer and freer America. We are acutely aware of the racism perpetuated by the system, and the legislators who sit idly by and watch their communities suffer from police brutality against Black individuals. The time to take action is now. We demand change.
In solidarity,
March For Our Lives California State Board
This post reflects the views of the March for Our Lives California State Board. Our contact information can be found here.
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