written by Ernesto Saavedra

August 10, 2015, in solidarity with others across the nation, Fresno Community members disrupted “business as usual” and stopped traffic because Black Lives Matter. At the end of the action, Rhea Martin and Stephanie Kamey were targeted and given citations for “jay walking” and labeled by the police as leaders of the action in an attempt to silence our voices.

This action and others to come require commitment and solidarity and we are asking you to stand with us by investing in local grassroots organizing and actions that unapologetically target White Supremacy in its many forms.

All donations, big and small, are accepted and will be used specifically to support these actions and cover any costs that come with them. These include but are not limited to action costs such as banners, flyers, posters, permits, refreshments, as well as potential legal costs.

We lift up and demand justice not just for Michael Brown, Jr., but for Sandra Bland, for Cary Ball, for Yvette Smith, for Kajieme Powell, for Dontre Hamilton, for Taneisha Anderson, for Vonderrit Myers and for far too many more.

Our demands:

1. The De-militarization of Local Law Enforcement across the country

2. A Comprehensive Review of systemic abuses by local police departments, including the publication of data relating to racially biased policing, and the development of best practices.

3. Repurposing of law enforcement funds to support community based alternatives to incarceration and the conditioning of DOJ funding on the ending of discriminatory policing and the adoption of DOJ best practices

4. A Congressional Hearing investigating the criminalization of communities of color, racial profiling, police abuses and torture by law enforcement

5. Support the Passage of the End Racial Profiling Act

6. The Obama Administration develops, legislates and enacts a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice

We see these events as vicious and relentless attacks by those in power in an institutionally racist system that will stop at nothing to preserve and protect ‪‎White Supremacy. Continued police brutality resulting in the deaths of black bodies by law enforcement must come to an end and law enforcement around the country must be held accountable