“We can no longer increase the police budget. We have to do things that actually take care of human beings.” ‬ ‪ - Miski Noor, Black Visions
'These Protests Are the Community Grieving.' Time, Josiah Bates, May 29

We have not forgotten the many black and brown victims of police and vigelante violence lifted up by the #BlackLivesMatter Movement. We are still enraged by the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Dept., Reclaim The Block is calling for Minneapolis City Council to Defund the Police Dept.

The people’s rage in cities from Boston to LA is understandably boiling over.

What would it take to completely reinvision our communties?

Here in Massachusetts, activists have fought for over a decade to reform the criminal law system, as well as prisons and jails. The tortuous practice of solitary confinement was included in the reforms of the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018. The response? The Dept. of Corrections renamed the Restrictive Housing Units and reduced isolation time by 15 min, thus defying the mandated reforms.

Correction officers have yet to be be held accountable for the incident at Souza Baranowski in Jan 2020. The handful of correction officers that were put on temporary disciplanary leave following this incident were called back to work when the COVID19 crisis began - and were given a raise and a bonus.

The Restrictive Housing Oversight Committee, which is supposed to oversee the implementation of solitary confinement reforms, has cancelled its meetings during the pandemic - at the very moment when prisons and jails are being locked down, people in the prisons, jails and detention centers are being isolated, attacked, and at some facilties, legislative officials have been barred from entry.
The Dept. of Corrections alone, has a payroll for 2020 of $177 Million ($439 Million for 2019). The salary for a corrections officer is is as high as $260,000

Ending the state sponsored violence directed towards Black, Brown and Indigenous people requires a radical change to the systems that perpetuate this violence.

At UU Mass Action, we call for a recommitment to #BlackLivesMatter, an end to mass incarceration and the punative criminal law systems that perpetuate the systems of violence and investment in the communities that have been underfunded for far too long. We call on all UUs to join our frontline partners and answer their calls for action.

Laura Wagner, Executive Director, UU Mass Action

UUA 5/30/20 Post - Read Full Post, Actions listed belwo

Support the uprising and commit to joining other UUs in working to combat the violence of militarism and the police state: Share this message widely with your networks. Speak about your convictions in support of Black liberation. Articulate your support of Black organizing, grounded in your Unitarian Universalist faith. Have hard conversations with your family, your social networks, your neighbors. And sign up at this link to be connected with a network of UUs committing to learning, reflecting, and acting together.
Support the front line organizers providing leadership: Give your money, ask others to give, and take up a collection at this Sunday’s service in support of organizations like Black Visions Collective, Reclaim the Block, and Minnesota Freedom Fund.