It has been more than two weeks since Baltimore police killed Freddie Gray and no officer has been fired, arrested, or prosecuted. Local officials don’t even have answers to the most basic questions: Why did police violently arrest Gray? Why was this healthy 25-year-old’s voice box crushed, his spleen ruptured and 80% of his spine severed after 45 minutes with Baltimore law enforcement? ¹

The lack of accountability for Gray’s killing is unacceptable and the solution to Baltimore’s policing crisis is not martial law or more militarized policing. Right now, we need widespread public pressure to ensure the necessary leadership and independent oversight to bring Gray’s killers to justice and overhaul the Baltimore Police Department. Without independent oversight it’s unlikely that Gray’s killers will be held accountable. Local prosecutors work too closely with police on a day to day basis to hold them accountable — and they almost never do.²

Demand that Governor Hogan appoint Maryland’s Attorney General to assist in the case.

To be Black in Baltimore means every day is a risk. In a city overcome with racism, police violence, and a police union blocking reform,³ even the most simple activities — a walk down the street or the drive to work — could mean an unlawful arrest or deadly attack at the hands of law enforcement. According to an investigation by the Baltimore Sun, in just 5 years, 100 Baltimore residents have won $5.7 million worth of settlements relating to police brutality and civil rights. The stories are shocking, yet almost none of the officers were held accountable:⁴

Jerriel Lyles, who was attacked by police on his way out of a convenience store: “The blow was so heavy. My eyes swelled up. Blood was dripping down my nose and out my eye.”
Starr Brown, a pregnant woman slammed to the ground and kneed in the back by police after calling them for help: “They slammed me down on my face…The skin was gone on my face”
An 87-year-old grandmother, who was attacked after calling an ambulance for her wounded son, was told: “B****, you ain’t no better than any of the other old black b**** I have locked up.”

Following Freddie Gray’s killing, a community tired of living under siege and facing decades of employment discrimination and decimated public housing is rising up to demand change.⁵ Last night, as the National Guard moved into Baltimore, images of militarized police tear gassing and beating protestors, fires, and outrage once again flashed across our TV screens. The best way to restore peace to Baltimore is for Governor Hogan and local leadership to undo the structural racism targeting its people. But right now, police are preparing to announce even harsher measures to crack down on the protests — like a curfew for youth⁶ — that will likely continue to escalate an already unacceptable level of confrontation and violence between police and citizens.

Protestors in Baltimore are showing the same courageous resistance and vision for a better country that we see coming out of Ferguson, Madison, New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and other cities across the country. And just as in Ferguson, justice for the brutal police killing of Freddie Gray depends on Governor Hogan’s leadership to do more than ramp up law enforcement.

Tell Governor Hogan and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to bring in Attorney General Brian Frosh to help secure justice for Freddie Gray.

Thanks and peace,

— Rashad, Matt, Arisha, Lyla, Shani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team

April 28th, 2015

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

References

1. “Nonviolence as Compliance,” The Atlantic 04-27-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4768?t=6&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

2. “Why I Don’t Trust Baltimore Prosecutors with Freddie Gray Case,” Legal Speaks 04-22-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4769?t=8&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

3. “Maryland Cop Lobbyists Helped Block Reforms Just Last Month,” Intercept 04-28-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4770?t=10&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

4. “Undue Force,” The Baltimore Sun 09-04-2014 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4771?t=12&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

5. “Baltimore’s shame is America’s shame: How job flight and police brutality spelled doom for Freddie Gray’s neighborhood,” Salon 04-28-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4772?t=14&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

6. “Gov. Larry Hogan promises more than 1,000 additional troops, vows to prevent rioting,” The Baltimore Sun 04-28-2015 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/4773?t=16&akid=4315.1174326.07z6yO

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Real NRA: Making A Killing

05/01/2015 Nativegrl77

With only one day left to meet our goal, we are within reach of funding our new feature length documentary The Real NRA: Making A Killing.

If you haven’t given yet, please contribute what you can today. Any amount large or small will be matched if we meet our $125k goal!

Director Robert Greenwald just got back from filming families torn apart by needless gun violence. Watch one of the remarkable stories Robert was able to capture for this film.

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It is more important than ever to tell these stories and call out the NRA and gun companies for profiting off of these families tragic and heartbreaking losses.

You can produce this film by contributing what you can today.

We will never be able to match the money of the NRA and gun companies, but by telling these heartbreaking stories through film, we can energize this movement and be a real force for change on this profit-driven public health crisis. We are not making this documentary to seek profit or notoriety; we are making this documentary to facilitate real change in our lifetimes and make the world a better place.

With only one day to meet our goal we need your help, contribute now.

Thanks for your support.

Jim Miller, Executive Director
Brave New Films

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Twelve by 2020

05/01/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Sen. Murray and Rep. Scott Introduce The Raise The Wage Act To Raise The Minimum Wage To $12

Today, Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Bobby Scott released the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, get rid of the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, and tie future increases to the median wage. This legislation would not only be a huge step forward for low-wage workers, but also for the recognition that growing our economy requires investing the workers that make it run, from the middle out, not the top down.

For decades, the value of the federal minimum wage has continued to fall, forcing low-wage workers to fall further and further behind. Raising the minimum wage is a key step in building an economy that works for everyone and investing in the everyday working Americans who strengthen our economy. Here are just a few of the many necessary things the Raise the Wage Act does:

Give 38 million workers a raise. Raising the minimum wage to $12 will help nearly 38 million workers, 90 percent of whom are adults, and more than 25 percent of whom are parents.

Help working women get ahead. More than half of all workers who would earn a raise from the Raise the Wage Act are women. The vast majority of women who would receive a raise are over the age of 25 and one-third of the women who would be affected are mothers.

Give workers $100 billion in increased earnings. According to the Economic Policy Institute, workers would see earnings increase by more than $100 billion over the next five years, money they would likely spend in their communities, helping to boost local economies.

Eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. Under the Murray/Scott plan, the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers—which has stayed stagnant at $2.13 an hour for more than 20 years—would be eliminated, a vital step for millions of sub-minimum wage earners.

Help families make ends meet. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, increasing the minimum wage to $12 an hour would reduce taxpayer spending on food stamps by $5.3 billion annually, by helping to lift families out of poverty, allowing many who currently turn to nutrition assistance to make ends meet.

BOTTOM LINE: Americans who work hard and play by the rules should never have to live in poverty. Investing in workers honors the hard work of millions of Americans and puts money back in the pocket of families. What’s good for workers and families is good for the economy.