According to the website Killed by Police, law enforcement officers have sent over a thousand people to early graves so far this year. The overwhelming majority of those killed were young black men. As each killing was reported, members of Support the Dream Defenders group joined in the community mourning for those gone too soon, and added our voices to the chorus of condemnation for a system that remained unresponsive to our concerns. We railed at a culture that seemed to place little or no value on human life in general, and even less on the black life in particular. We cried along with heartbroken mothers, and we howled with despair at our helplessness.
And then Darren Wilson decided that he would kill Michael Brown because he could.
Police murdered an unarmed boy and left his body lying in the street unattended for over four hours and something shifted in our collective consciousness. Enough was enough! We had to act, and we did.
As one awesome member of our group puts it:
In times of uncertainty and turmoil in the past, Americans have fought back in four principal ways: at the ballot box, by long-term populist appeals, with protests, and through legal action.
Come take this leap of faith over the Great Orange Divider with us.
The Making of a Law
The Michael Brown Over-Policed Rights Act of 2015
The purpose of this law is to stop systemic police brutality. The law has two main components: It requires police departments to report detailed statistics regarding all incidents involving the use of force. It permits residents of police jurisdictions using too much force to sue that police department. Two versions are available: one for the federal government and one for state governments.
The Results so Far
- Copies of the MBOPRA have been sent to every member of the Congressional Black Caucus
- Copies have been sent to most national and state level civil rights organizations
- Our law is currently in the hands of federal legislators as it was included in the package sent to congress by the NAACP.
- We managed to get no less a person than NAACP's Washington Bureau Director and Senior Vice President for Advocacy, Hilary Shelton, to offer to guide us. That was a huge deal!
- We have spoken to a representative of the national ACLU who expressed a desire to "partner" with us. A huge deal!
- We are still asking for DailyKos members to send copies of the proposed Federal and State laws to their representatives
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Bringing the Fight to the Enemy
Our traditional news media will report that GOP Governors have "snubbed" President Obama by refusing to accept federal aid offered to them through the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion Program. The fact is, what they have done is really condemn their poor to unnecessary suffering at best, and early graves at worst. Millions will be denied the ability to get free preventative care which includes birth control, blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, high cholesterol medication, and dental help.
From the NY Times:
The 26 states that have rejected the Medicaid expansion are home to about half of the country’s population, but about 68 percent of poor, uninsured blacks and single mothers. About 60 percent of the country’s uninsured working poor are in those states. Among those excluded are about 435,000 cashiers, 341,000 cooks and 253,000 nurses’ aides.
We thought that we'd use the Freedom of Information Act to force these governors into explaining their unconscionable actions.
FOIA Requests
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to [Government] records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from public disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.
So far seven Kossacks have volunteered to bring the fight to their Governors.
Moving Forward
Support NAACP Laws:
- The End Racial Profiling Act of 2013 (ERPA) was proposed by Representative John Conyers in the House and Sen. Ben Cardin in the Senate. The ERPA defines racial profiling and outlaws it. See more about it here.
- The Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act of 2000 (LETAIA) has been written but has not yet been proposed as a bill in either the House or the Senate. The LETAIA sets out standards for the use of force by the police here.
FOIA Requests: If you live in any of the following 13 states, we need your help: Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Remember, the goal is to get the Governors to tell us why they have refused the Medicaid Expansion Program, and how that act impacts the lives of citizens of their states.
Volunteers for MBOPRA: We still need DKos members to be sending off copies of this law to their representatives. The status quo is unsustainable and we must let our voices be heard. Can I get a volunteer?
Recall of Bob McCulloch: Robert P. McCulloch, the lead Defense Attorney for murderer Darren Wilson Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, Missouri, must go. According to It's the Supreme Court Stupid:
MO does not permit recall for state officials. However, it permits localities which include it in their charter to set rules for recall. St. Louis County Charter Article IX permits recall. To petition for a recall, petitions totaling at least 20% of the vote in the last gubernatorial election must be submitted. St Louis County cast a total of 517,120 votes for governor in 2012 Thus, to begin a recall election for McCullough would require 103,424 signatures.
We will need to get 103, 424 signatures in St Louis County. We will need to have a plan of action to support the activists who will be on the ground.
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So, how did we do? Do you have a report? What would you like to see us focus on next year?
Community, Thanks!
Many members of Support the Dream Defenders contributed to this group diary. We thank the hundreds of members of the Daily Kos community who have supported and participated in this project, including the following Kossacks whose suggestions we included into our statute: 2thanks, FogCityJohn, Gooserock, annominous, JoanMar, Yasuragi, jeeugena, FarWestGirl, terrypinder, thanatokephaloides, shanikka, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, Denise Oliver Velez, JamesGG, inhibitedagitator, Tim DeLaney, nextstep, dfsly, duhban, joedemocrat, Joffan, Mannie, Tortmaster, SoCalSal, dfsly, tmservo433, and JekyllnHyde. Lastly, thanks to the core members of this team who steadfastly support each other, from JoanMar and 2thanks.
Happy Holidays to all and see you in 2015!