CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Building a Fair System of Justice Together
Say their names
We stand in solidarity with everyone grieving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others who have been victims police violence, and we condemn the ongoing racist justice system practices that have plagued communities of color for centuries.
This country has a shameful history of violence by law enforcement targeting people of color. However, the police are but one part of a justice system that has left a legacy of destruction among mothers, fathers, children, and families of color. Whether as a result of the school-to-prison pipeline or disparities in arrest and sentencing, the U.S. legal system is unfairly and unjustly applied in profoundly different ways to people based on the color of their skin.
It’s long past time that the systems of racial bias and oppression that caused the deaths of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, and others be dismantled. We must reckon with racism and seek to reform not only the legal system, but all systems — healthcare, education, housing, employment, and others — built on the foundation of white supremacy and seek to build systems that live up to our American ideals of fairness and justice.
As Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham Jail in 1963, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Inspired by his words, in memory of those who have been killed, and in honor of and in solidarity with all people directly impacted, we will continue to work every day with so many who are fighting to create a justice system that is truly just.
-From all of us at JPI
