Organizing Ourselves for Justice

Breonna Taylor mattered. Her life mattered.

The injustice of the grand jury’s ruling in Louisville is not new or unique. Time and again, we have seen the judicial system work in a way that guarantees no justice for harm perpetrated by the state - especially when the state kills Black people. While we are enraged at this lack of justice, we also know that the US “criminal justice system” was never designed to provide real justice.

Here in New York City, last week Hawa Bah held a vigil and rally in Harlem marking the eight-year anniversary of her son Mohamed Bah’s killing by the NYPD—for which there has been no justice and no accountability. This week also marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of Antonio Williams. Join us as we stand with the Justice Committee today at 5 pm in the Bronx at a memorial vigil and march with Williams’ family to demand justice, transparency, and accountability.

This consistent lack of accountability, as well as scandals such as the cover up of Daniel Prude’s murder by Rochester police, remind us that if there is anything like justice for Breonna Taylor, Mohamed Bah, Antonio Williams, Daniel Prude, and their families and friends, it is, as Mariame Kaba and Andrea Ritchie wrote, more than the system that killed them can deliver.

In the short term, however, we stand in solidarity with the demands of BLM Louisville. To support organizers on the ground in Louisville, take these actions and see the Moving Resources section below.

This was a week that reminds us why we are in this fight.

At SURJ, we organize white people because it is our responsibility to undermine and dismantle the white support that makes verdicts like this week’s acceptable. It is our job to organize a critical mass of white folks working for transformation.

One part of that work in New York City is building and sustaining a connected SURJ NYC. Mobilizing white folks in the numbers we need to enact real change takes behind-the-scenes coordination, and we’re looking for more support to make SURJ NYC as effective as possible in engaging in transformative action for racial justice.

If you are an active member of SURJ who is interested in helping to think about and coordinate the overall work of the organization, please consider joining the Coordinating Committee (CC)!

The CC serves as a center for communication and coordination by making decisions not covered by working groups; tracking work happening across the chapter, sharing information, and identifying opportunities for collaboration; and facilitating strategic discussions about the direction of SURJ NYC. You don’t have to be an expert of any sort, you just need to have been involved for at least three months and be excited to think about how to push SURJ forward. Read more here, and express interest by October 22nd using this form.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Environmental Racism & Climate Change

With wildfires raging along the West Coast and a record number of hurricanes ravaging the Southeast, it couldn’t be more clear that we are in the midst of an environmental crisis. That’s why this week is so important. From September 21-27, we are observing Climate Week NYC, the largest climate summit of the year. And as white folks fighting for racial justice, it’s crucial that we center BIPOC communities when discussing the effects of climate change.

BIPOC communities are among those most deeply affected by climate change, and a recent study found that they are also shown to care the most about this urgent issue. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the lack of preparedness for public emergencies, especially for our most vulnerable and at-risk communities, and the ongoing climate crisis will only exacerbate the situation in months and years to come.

In 2019, Trump acted on his promise to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, and he continues to deny climate change despite the evidence to the contrary. Polls show that although Democrats are now more likely to believe that human activity is causing climate change, Republicans are no more likely to believe this than they were in 2008. They also expressed less concern about its impact now than in 2008.

While New York City’s government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, there is still a lot of work to be done to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. With the shameful history of redlining in the city, a majority of BIPOC have been segregated and forced into neighborhoods that “often experience higher temperatures and greater exposure to deadly heat waves than their non-redlined neighbors due to negligent urban planning and decades of disinvestment in the housing stock. These areas are concentrated with high-density buildings and heat-absorbing impervious surfaces, while lacking tree cover and vegetation that might mitigate heat.”

Environmental inequality leads to a wide range of issues, including a higher rate of pre-existing conditions. The fact that large corporations and the government have long exploited and neglected BIPOC folks has put these communities at an increased risk for pollution and other climate impacts, making them more vulnerable to other environment-adjacent crises, such as COVID-19.

Environmental justice is racial justice, so addressing climate change must involve dismantling white supremacy and centering BIPOC communities. This is an uphill battle, but it’s a battle we must fight. To do so, we need:

  • Better city preparedness plans that account for both extreme weather and infectious disease events.

  • Affordable and green housing and infrastructure built into COVID recovery efforts - like those proposed by #BoldNextStepsNYC.

  • Investments in clean public transportation, energy, and more.

  • The support of policies like the Green New Deal that address environmental, racial, and economic inequity.

Want to get involved? Here are some way to take action this week:

  • Plant trees to help remove pollution, store and absorb carbon emissions, increase canopy coverage, and provide cooling to communities. If you’re a property owner, you can request a Street Tree from the city.

  • Support local food, energy, and housing co-ops in your neighborhood.

  • Contact your representatives to tell them to support the Green New Deal and climate action and vote for candidates who support it.

  • Attend Climate Week events or actions this week.

  • Calculate your carbon footprint.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Back to school: education and equity

As students and teachers across New York City prepare to go back to school, we recognize that issues of access and segregation within our school system will be exacerbated this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. New York City has one of the most segregated school systems in the country, which has created extreme pockets of poverty for many majority-POC communities. This disparity has led to lower academic achievement and fewer resources for those schools, including programming or parent fundraising to support arts programs, after-school enrichment, and other activities. While the Department of Education’s Diversity Plan includes small steps toward addressing these issues, even that modest achievement is in danger of being derailed as the COVID-19 pandemic bleeds into this new school year, meaning BIPOC and low-income students are in danger of being even more impacted by institutional racism..

Roughly 61% of students will return to school in a blended format of remote/in-school learning by September 21, but the problems of unequal access to resources and technology that supports remote learning have not been solved. Teachers have also expressed concerns over their safety and the safety of their students — especially after 55 Department of Education (DOE) staff tested positive for the virus after returning to their buildings in the last week. There were also reports of bugs, unsanitary conditions, lack of PPE, and inadequate ventilation that has already shut down 21 schools leading the United Federation of Teachers to ask for a delayed opening until conditions improve. This coupled with other staffing issues and a deficit of nurses for each school will only further exacerbate problems.

And these conditions will likely worsen for schools that cater to Black, Brown, and low-income students if Governor Cuomo cuts aid by 20%, which would result in the loss of 9,000 DOE jobs. This cut would disproportionately take from high-need schools, which traditionally serve mostly Black and Brown students. High-need school districts will face a $2,626 per student cut, while wealthier school districts — which can absorb a cut and maintain programming, staffing and student services — are facing a per student cut of just $873. This is another example of Cuomo’s trend of balancing the state budget at the expense of students who need funding the most.

In response to everything above, statewide rallies were held on Saturday with demands including access to high speed internet and devices for every student funded by an increase in taxes on the ultra rich.

Want to get involved? Here are some ways to take action this week:

Housing is a human right

As the pandemic continues, the need for housing justice remains urgent; we must recognize that the denial of resources for survival and quality of life is a form of racist violence. In recent weeks, this issue has intensified on Manhattan’s Upper West Side (UWS), where one of NYC's most affluent neighborhoods is divided over the presence of several hundred homeless people placed in three local hotels.

The placement was part of a city-wide effort to move 10,000 people experiencing homelessness from dorm-style shelters, where residents face a 60% higher rate of positive COVID cases than in the general population. And while NYC's population is 24.3% Black, 29.1% Latinx, and 32.1% white, its homeless population is 58% Black, 31% Latinx, and 7% white, creating a contentious debate around race in a neighborhood that has historically resisted affordable housing.

Some UWS residents have aggressively pushed back against this housing initiative on social media, using damaging myths about homelessness to support their agenda. A Facebook page called Upper West Siders for Safer Streets features a slew of disturbing, racist statements about the new hotel residents, referring to them as creatures, animals, and subhuman-- with calls to animal control to “clean up the neighborhood.” The group garners support with false crime and sex offender statistics while suggesting vile, dehumanizing deterrent strategies such as leaving excrement on park benches. Rather than a compassionate response or efforts to pool wealth/resources into humane solutions, there have been callous, victim-blaming calls for displacement, with hotel residents even being harassed in the street.

The West Side Community Organization has raised $100,000 via GoFundMe, hired an ex-Giuliani aid, and threatened a lawsuit against the city demanding the removal of the hotel residents. While DeBlasio has previously said that homeless folks would not be moved back to shelters until there is a vaccine, he and other elected officials are caving to pressure to return them sooner, though with no firm timeline in place. Should the hotel residents be moved back, the Legal Aid Society is threatening a lawsuit against the city in response.

Given the significant racial disproportion of our homeless population, this issue is part of a bigger picture of housing discrimination amongst investors and urban planners. Though accusations of racism have been met with complete denial, cries for "not in my neighborhood" (NIMBY) and gated community policies are racist.

Housing is a basic right. As white people in NYC, we must be aware of in our role in gentrification and housing discrimination against both the homeless and BIPOC. To “other” marginalized groups who lack the support needed to survive is to further white supremacy and cause harm against us all.

This week, we urge you to speak out and support by:

  • Reading and signing the UWS Strong open letter to the mayor! Volunteer to help out, share with neighbors in your building/area, and join the UWS Open Hearts Facebook group.

  • Contacting UWS elected officials. Join the phone/email zap to cancel rent and house the homeless by clicking here for a handy call tool. You can also find elected officials who represent the UWS here and sample scripts below to call, tweet, and email.

  • Emailing surjuws@gmail.com to join SURJ Upper West Side residents in ongoing support of housing and racial justice on the UWS. And if you’re interested in housing justice across NYC, join SURJ NYC’s Housing Justice Working Group or a Housing Action team for your neighborhood.

Until next week, may we continue to learn and take action on behalf of all New Yorkers.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

Come to Our Chapter Meeting!

It’s been a summer like no other. George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin galvanized a historic uprising for the liberation of Black and Indigenous folks and people of color, with many white folks experiencing a long-overdue awakening to the reality of racism and anti-Blackness in this country. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, issues of health, economic, and housing injustice have also been brought to the forefront-- further exposing the system of white supremacy and its devastating inequities.

Although this moment has forced many white people to confront their complicity and complacency, we still have a long way to go. A recent NPR/Ipsos poll found that only 51% of white people believe further change is necessary to ensure equal rights for Black Americans, compared with 89% of Black, 66% of Asian, and 63% of Latinx respondents. Just 36% of white participants answered yes when asked if they had “personally taken any action to better understand racial issues in America” since Floyd’s killing in May, while only 47% expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement

As white folks fighting to dismantle white supremacy, it can often feel as though we haven’t done enough. That’s true. But instead of allowing ourselves to feel defeated, this is the time to get energized. We’re here to provide a supportive community for you to dig in, no matter where you are in your antiracism journey...so join us! This month’s chapter meeting will allow us to reflect and recalibrate: it’s the perfect place to start or continue your work in the movement. The meeting will also be an opportunity to find out more about our neighborhood and working groups, and connect with like-minded members of your community to address local inequities or get involved with whatever it is you’re most passionate about, from spreading awareness to fighting to end mass incarceration to developing antiracist parenting practices, and beyond.

We must continually challenge ourselves to fight this broken system, even when it feels easier to turn away. Set concrete goals for yourself and make antiracism a part of your routine. Consider setting aside a certain amount of time each day or week to do something: have that difficult conversation with your racist family members; create an anti-racism book discussion group; sign petitions; contact your legislators; watch (and resource!) BIPOC art and listen to BIPOC voices; make donations… there are myriad ways to take action, and we’re here to support you along the way.

This work won’t earn us a medal, and we don’t do it in search of validation. But white supremacy has created a system of toxicity and brutality that hurts every one of us, regardless of race - even if it manifests very differently for us as white people. So get active - the movement needs you, and we’re so glad you’re here! See you this Thursday at 6:30.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

Policing is White Supremacy

The fight against police violence is far from over. The recent shootings of Trayford Pellerin in Lafayette, LA and Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI mark another horrible moment in our country’s long history of white supremacist state-sanctioned violence. It is vital that we keep pushing for an end to this racist system.

Here in New York, advocates for justice have been fighting for transparency and accountability to expose the truth of policing and push for change. In June, a bill to repeal section 50-a was signed into law by Governor Cuomo, the result of a four-year campaign by Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) to pass the #SaferNYAct package. 50-a was passed in 1976 and used by the NYPD to hide disciplinary records from the public under the guise of “protecting” the privacy of NYPD personnel. The repeal provided much needed transparency to NYPD disciplinary records which were historically shrouded in secrecy.

The repeal of 50-a is currently under attack by five NYPD police unions, joined by the corrections and firefighter unions. Just one month after the New York State legislature passed the repeal, the unions sued to block the City of New York from publishing databases containing officer misconduct and discipline information. Does this sound familiar? It should: earlier this year, district attorneys and police unions pressured the legislature to roll back recently-passed reforms on state bail and discovery law. This is part of a broader pattern of the racist criminal justice system, as police unions mobilize against progress. Despite these efforts, a broad coalition of New Yorkers has won a step forward for transparency on police harm and NYPD’s systemic refusal to discipline officers:

In July, CPR, represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit brought by the unions.

On Tuesday, August 18, citing papers filed by CPR, US District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied (with certain exceptions) the police unions’ request for a preliminary injunction to prevent NYC from publishing the databases..

On August 20, the NYCLU released their database of NYPD misconduct. The NYCLU had obtained the full records through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request before the misconduct databases became the subject of the lawsuit filed by the unions. The database contains comprehensive information on over 320,000 misconduct complaints dating back to before 1985. The entries are all related to filings at the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and include only a portion of overall complaints.

This dismantling of police secrecy is long overdue, and as white folks fighting for racial justice, we need to remain vigilant. For information on how to get involved in the Police Accountability Working Group, along with other actions to take next week, read on! As always, we’re glad you’re here and look forward to continued learning with you.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Constant Vigilance

Last week, we discussed the USPS and the Trump administration’s attempt to leverage a false narrative around mail-in voter fraud in order to justify cuts and undermine the election. As white folks fighting for racial justice, it’s important that we remain vigilant for misinformation being spread on multiple fronts — from science and medicine to politics and racial justice. Since we’re online now more than ever, attention-grabbing headlines can distract from the actual issues, creating devastating effects for individuals, communities, and even entire nations.

Disinformation campaigns — no longer the work of fringe ideologues — are increasingly used to leverage mainstream political power, with the same far-right groups spreading COVID misinformation fueling conspiracy theories surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests. Particularly troubling is how successful the radical right has become at providing “alternate facts” when it comes to key scientific issues such as COVID-19 and climate change — and sometimes these posts have no obvious political agenda or origin point. Often the messages are incoherent and come from an array of niche extremist groups, making them even harder to source and combat.

These sensationalized viral posts pull attention from real issues, encouraging a dangerous trend of outrage without evidence. For example, the recent explosion of #savethechildren across social media platforms led to rallies in multiple cities earlier this month. Both the QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy theories are using the hashtag to spread false claims about sex trafficking by public figures since 2017. In practice, however, anti-trafficking policing disproportionately targets poor folks, migrants, and POC sex workers. These viral and overwhelmingly false conspiracy theories take away from the actual work that groups like GEMS, GLITS, and Lysistrata MCCF are doing to combat trafficking.

False information can also cause direct harm, as in the swatting of a BLM activist by the LAPD, with recent evidence showing that Black folks in the US have been specifically targeted in disinformation campaigns coming out of Russia since 2016. Not only have coronavirus conspiracy theories stoked xenophobia and anti-Asian racism, but they have dire impacts on the health of BIPOC communities most affected by the pandemic.

As white folks looking to dismantle white supremacy, where we put our energy and focus matters. It may be tempting to get involved in an online debate with a conspiracy theorist or vent frustration over the latest inflammatory post, but that will only further amplify the misinformation. It’s important to evaluate what we post: Even if it’s not a conspiracy, is it performative? Have we checked facts, found multiple sources, and actually read past the headline? Have you talked to family members and loved ones about their news sources, providing them with fact-checked, well-sourced information?

We are striving to better understand the ins and outs of the issues we care about, looking to those who have already been working in the movement for ways we can best support them. We also look for ways to connect with those around us to have these conversations. Not sure how to get involved? See the SURJ NYC calendar for upcoming Calling In workshops.

For more information on those and other ways to get involved, read on!

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Why we’re talking to you about the postal service

With the election just months away (and prominent in the news cycle), we must remember that communities of color are most likely to be directly impacted by racist policies, laws, and systems. We’re already seeing blatant voter suppression and gerrymandering, evident in primaries earlier this year. And with some states holding “all-mail” elections and many others urging voters to vote-by-mail in light of the pandemic, the Trump administration’s false narrative of voter fraud and cuts to the United States Postal Service (USPS) have become contentious and urgent issues. As white folks fighting for racial justice, part of our work is seeing how racism shows up everywhere - including in cuts to the USPS.

Reporting an operating revenue of $71.1B and a debt of $11B at the end of 2019, the USPS has faced financial challenges since the passing of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) in 2006, which forced the agency to pay 70 years worth of pensions and retirement funds in advance. With additional pressure from the pandemic and no stimulus funding, the USPS is now on the brink of collapse. Current estimates say it may run out of money by the end of the summer.

Post office closures would disproportionately affect rural and unbanked communities, who rely on the USPS for shipping and other key services. Those who lack access to bank accounts utilize post offices for money orders to pay bills. Low-income rural populations, 22% of whom are people of color, depend on them for community connection and delivery of crucial items such as masks. People with disabilities, 55% of whom are Black or Latinx, rely on the USPS for life-sustaining medications and supplies.

Closures would also impact USPS workers, 40% of whom are people of color, 20% of whom are Black, and 40% of whom are women. During the pandemic, these workers have risked their lives in an environment lacking PPE and adequate sanitation to provide services to communities that may not otherwise have them. Thousands of workers have tested positive for COVID, and with Trump’s newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the solution has been to cut costs by reducing retail and work hours, resulting in significant delays to mail delivery.

While investment in the USPS would mean expanded banking, passport, and even tax services for the country, the Trump administration and its billionaire cronies have continued to undercut, underfund, and undervalue the Postal Service. If the USPS were to fail, we risk dire consequences for both workers and consumers, especially the disabled and people of color in poor, rural communities.

At a time when we need radical transformation to uplift Black and Brown communities, cuts to the USPS’ essential services are a direct threat to democracy. With the current hazards of live voting, we need a functioning Postal Service for voters, especially those from marginalized communities, to cast their ballots. Limiting voters’ ability to participate in the election via mail-in-voting will inflict damage on the entire US population.

Support the USPS by contacting your officials (text USPS to 50409) or buying some stamps. If you’re eligible to vote in NY, you can also request your ballot by mail here by October 27. And talk about this with your families and friends.

As the election looms, we look forward to learning and unlearning with you, and fighting for liberation on all fronts.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Resist Evictions Today!

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the important role housing justice plays in the racial justice movement. Since then, you’ve organized with your neighbors, taken action to fight the eviction moratorium, and made calls to demand that lawmakers #CancelRent. We’re energized by your collective action - and we need to keep it up.

Little has changed over the past few weeks when it comes to state action to prevent the impending housing crisis. This past Friday, the federal government let the supplemental $600 in unemployment benefits expire. Should there be no additional relief, over 40% of renter households across the nation will be at risk of eviction. In New York State, the three-bill package, desperately needed to address the rent, eviction, and homelessness crises, sits untouched by legislators. Last month, Governor Cuomo launched the NY Rental Relief program, which provides barely a shred of aid to those who need it most. Even more troubling is the fact that the eviction moratorium in New York is set to expire on Thursday. When this happens, housing courts will be flooded with new eviction cases for non-payment of rent. Hundreds of thousands of families -- disproportionately Black and Brown -- will be on track to lose their homes in the midst of the worst public health crisis in over a century. White people have long participated and benefited from the racist housing system, acting as cogs in the machine of displacement and violence against Black and Brown people. But the machine cannot continue to grind if the cogs refuse to turn.

Join the Housing Justice for All and Right to Counsel coalitions for a series of actions this week! Watch for updates here.

On Monday, August 10th we’ll be at the final event of the week, a BIG Shutdown the Courts action. Sign up to join a SURJ NYC housing-action team to act together on the 10th and beyond!

To learn more, join this Thursday’s SURJ NYC Chapter Meeting for an important and urgent discussion on Housing Justice. Read below for Chapter Meeting details, along with other upcoming events and ways to be involved this week. Be well, and we look forward to seeing you this Thursday!

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Showing up beyond the headlines

It's been just over two months since George Floyd’s murder sparked the beginning of the current uprising around racial justice. Many white folks across the country have been activated to engage in anti-racist work for the first time, while others have deepened their level of engagement or recommitted to the work with new energy. Wherever you stand, it is imperative that we continue to center the Black Lives Matter movement and the lives of Black and Brown folks — even as headlines change.

In recent weeks, the media has been dominated by reports of the frightening and unconstitutional response to the BLM protests in Portland. As we see people brutalized and arrested by unidentified military personnel in unmarked vehicles, much attention has been given to the Wall of Moms, leaf blower dads, and wall of veterans. While some of the actions of these groups provide a powerful model for ways white folks can show up for Black lives, it is vital that we de-center white narratives and bring focus back to the reason these protests are happening. Much of the public narrative has focused on the white wall of moms, but it is Black mothers who have always been on the front lines of the movement, struggling to protect their children and facing the pain of losing them to racist police violence.

While we may be frightened by the prospect of a fascist police-state, we must also recognize that people of color have long been living under such conditions. From the earliest origins of police forces emerging as slave patrols, to mass incarceration and the brutalization of Black people by police, to ICE raids and detentions throughout the country, to the aggressive military response at Standing Rock, Black and Brown communities have been continually targeted by the state. As we track the events in Portland and hear the administration’s threats toward other cities, we can’t get distracted.

The fight for racial justice is not new just because many white folks are new to it, but the movement has recently expanded in ways that hold the potential for transformative change. This is a good time to ask ourselves how we can stay engaged and build momentum for the long term. What can we do to evolve from performative activism to sustainable activism?

One way is to learn about the local, grassroots groups that need support on an ongoing basis — whether it’s SURJ NYC’s partners or other organizations in the community. Move resources, commit to giving monthly donations and building a consistent practice of redistributing wealth, while also cultivating a habit of de-centering the white experience from your anti-racist work.

Instead, look to uplift voices that have been historically silenced and follow the long-standing leadership of Black and Brown activists. And embrace that working to dismantle white supremacy is a life-long process. Whether SURJ turns out to be your long-term organizing home, or we just help you get what you need to do this work elsewhere, we’re glad you’re with us today, and we’re here to support you in moving into lifelong, multiracial action for racial justice.

Read on for more specific ways to show up in the coming weeks, and take good care.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but our systems do

Four months after NYC’s first case, COVID-19 is still in full force across the country and planet. The virus has illuminated racial disparities in healthcare and other systems that existed long before March. While New York State has flattened the curve, the impacts of structural racism continue to be felt.

With Black people dying from the virus at 2.5 times the rate of white people and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) set to end this coming weekend, Black communities have been most directly affected by the pandemic.

In 2018, 22% Black Americans lived in poverty,compared to 9% of white Americans, and are less likely to be insured, resulting in inequity in access to quality healthcare. These circumstances create vulnerable communities and contribute to underlying medical conditions, all of which create further complications with COVID-19.

Further, even if healthcare is accessible, the medical system in this country has historically asserted race as a biological, not social, construct. This medical racism is perpetuated through differential treatment, racism in the field, and implicit bias. During COVID-19, it has been seen as doctors being less likely to refer their Black patients for testing and the disproportionate rate at which Black people are impacted.

The staggering difference in care and treatment of the virus can even be seen through the incomplete racial data that has been collected. As the CDC faces racism within its own ranks and the Trump Administration has mandated hospitals to send their data to a different federal database, many are concerned that the statistics may be manipulated to show more positive results.

Without accurate data, we do not have the information necessary to fully understand the impact of COVID-19 on the communities most at risk. The reopening has forced workers to return to jobs that are not only low-paying, but also put their lives—and those of their families—in danger. The end of FPUC will only exacerbate this harm.

While Democrats have pushed for another stimulus package that would extend the FPUC and ease the economic struggle of over 25 million workers, many leaders are still advocating for the economy to reopen. Senators from some of the states with the highest proportion of Black recipients have been the most vocal opponents of the FPUC, complaining that the benefit is too high and that it discourages people from going back to work. It is yet another attack on the health and livelihoods of Black, Brown, and low-income communities.

Reopening, cutting off much-needed aid, and racial bias in data collection and treatment of this virus continue to put these communities at extreme risk, leaving them further vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19.

It is our responsibility as white folks committed to anti-racist work to continue to support those who are most impacted at this time.

To take action today, use this tool from our partners at RAPP to call your legislators and urge them to pass five bills on the #RoadToJustice.

And as always, read on for ways you can plug in and show up this week.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Housing justice is racial justice

The COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected Black people and people of color not only in infection and death rates, but also in terms of financial stability and shelter. We’ve seen how the pandemic has exacerbated harm caused by racist systems across the board. As a result, half of Black tenant households in New York City have fallen behind on their rent as of late May and early June 2020. Evictions primarily target Latinx and Black tenants. Additionally, homelessness is shown to have a direct correlation to the spread of COVID-19. As of Sunday, 1,293 people experiencing homelessness have contracted COVID-19 and 100 have died, according to the Department of Homeless Services.

As white folks who have benefited from the history of racist housing, lending, and real estate policies in this city, our fight for racial justice must include work for housing justice.

And there’s a lot happening right now.

Some good news: the New York state universal eviction moratorium has been extended until August 6th. That's an important partial victory! There will be no evictions, for anyone, for any reason, across New York state until August 6th. While this is certainly a win, we cannot stop fighting. Despite the extension, the courts are allowing landlords to file new eviction cases — meaning that the courts will be flooded when the moratorium expires. Additionally, existing cases from pre-pandemic suits are resuming due to the courts' reopening on July 7th.

Despite the extension of the eviction moratorium, landlords are trying to evict tenants outside of the legal process. Last Tuesday, Equality for Flatbush put out an urgent call to head to 1214 Dean Street in Crown Heights to block an illegal lock-out of tenants by the landlord. Approximately 100 tenants, neighbors, and supporting activists converged at the building to support this action, chanting, “No landlords, no cops, all evictions have to stop.” Ultimately, the landlord vacated and tenants were able to return home.

However, we know there are likely to be more evictions coming this summer unless legislators take action to cancel rent.

Coalitions across the state, including our friends at Housing Justice for All (HJFA), have been organizing around the #CancelRent campaign, calling for Governor Cuomo and legislators in Albany to forgive all rent, mortgage, and utility payments accrued during COVID-19. We now have a bill, introduced by Manhattan Assembly member Yu-Line Niou and Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar: the Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020!

The fight to pass this bill and cancel rent is going to need all of us. So here are two ways you can take action to #CancelRent today:

And, as always, see below for more ways to plug in and show up.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

What's next?

As we work to build a future without police, we’ve focused our efforts and actions over the past few weeks around defunding the NYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice. But late last Tuesday, the City Council passed a budget for this fiscal year with nowhere near the demanded $1 billion cut from the NYPD. To learn more about the outcome of the budget vote, please read the full statements from our partners Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) and the Justice Committee:

  • CPR: The City Council failed New Yorkers today. Instead of shrinking policing, the Council moved cops from the NYPD to other agencies, refused to institute a hiring freeze on police and failed to take meaningful steps to shrink the NYPD’s massive, and abusive presence in our communities.

  • Justice Committee: Our communities have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and the economic and police violence crises that have coincided with it, yet, in spite of this, the City administration has chosen to forsake our health, safety and well-being and continue the trend of treating the police as if they are above the law, even in the budget.

While De Blasio has touted the budget changes as defunding the NYPD by $1B, the changes do little more than shuffle money and power between agencies. Ultimately, this continues the oppression of primarily Black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods, and will only further the policing and incarceration of children and adults across the city.

Reflecting on the vote last week, it’s important to remember that the fight to defund the NYPD has been going on for a long time, led by Black and brown folks whose communities have been the most devastated by the city’s racial injustice. For those of us newer to the movement, it is vital that we continue to stay engaged for the long term.

Whether supporting urgent actions (such as #CancelRent to provide safe housing for all), calling in our family, friends, and neighbors, or continuing our own political education, there are many ways white people must take action to dismantle white supremacy. By listening to and learning from those who have been most directly impacted, we can grow and act in a way that’s both respectful and accountable.

The movement has built great power, and it’s important that we don’t lose momentum now.

If last week has left you wondering what’s next, check out the list below for ways to dial in, move resources, and join us in conversation and action.

In solidarity,

SURJ NYC

A Future Without Police and Prisons

We’ve fought for the demand: Cut at least $1 billion from the bloated NYPD budget and reinvest this money into programs and services that provide necessary resources to Black, brown, and low-income communities. As we wait to see how City Council votes on the budget today, it is important to remember that, no matter the outcome, the work does not stop here.

The call to defund the NYPD is one piece of the larger movement aimed at shifting the cultural framework from “crime and punishment” to “harm and repair.” In this new framework, we can create a world without police or prisons. And so we might ask, without the prison industrial complex (PIC), how can we actually address harm?

This question has bridged movements fighting state and interpersonal violence, and particularly violence toward women of color. Scholar and organizer Ruth Wilson Gilmore summarizes the revolutionary breadth of this work: “Abolition is a movement to end systemic violence, including the interpersonal vulnerabilities and displacements that keep the system going. In other words, the goal is to change how we interact with each other and the planet by putting people before profits, welfare before warfare, and life over death.”

From here we may wonder how we will make these changes. What will we transform?

Transformative justice, a political framework and approach for responding to violence, harm and abuse, emphasizes community accountability: non-state responses and interventions to address the conditions that give rise to violence within a particular community. This means not only fostering healing for survivors of violence and abuse, but also developing processes enabling accountability and transformation for those who cause harm. It is the work of cultivating strong and supportive interpersonal relationships and, ultimately, safety within community—countering violence with nurturance and support.

While learning from and engaging in practices developed by BIPOC organizers, queer and trans people, survivors of gender-based violence, people with disabilities, sex workers, and formerly incarcerated people, we as white people at the same time need to reckon with our own role in the prison industrial complex (PIC).

How have we internalized the narratives of punishment and carceral “justice”? How are we entangled in the interests of the prison industrial complex? And what actions are we taking to cut those ties and transform ourselves and our society?

Let’s continue to deepen our understanding of safety and accountability by listening, learning, and investigating together. We’ll be digging into this at our July chapter meeting this Thursday - we hope to see you there! See below for more about that, as well as other ways to plug in.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

From "Crime and Punishment" to "Harm and Repair"

At what age did we first see a TV detective slap handcuffs on a “perpetrator," enacting “justice” just before the nightly news? The culture of white supremacy weaves police propaganda into our daily lives so thoroughly that it becomes difficult to even imagine a world without some force ensuring that a punishment answers every crime.

If “crime” is made synonymous with “harm,” and punishment is the correct response to crime, we might believe that prisons, police, and the criminal legal system are capable of righting wrongs and keeping us safe. We can learn from the work of abolitionist writers and organizers, however, that this is a fantasy - and a dangerous one.

All humans do harm to each other. The kinds of harm that we each cause—and whether it is defined as a crime or not—depends on our circumstances. But labelling some of us as “criminals” dehumanizes individuals and, by association, entire communities. This dehumanization justifies violent policing and surveillance of poor Black and brown neighborhoods. Prisons deal in isolation and abandonment⁠; despite the premise of “rehabilitation,” a cage offers no space to nurture trauma, to process remorse, or to take accountability for causing harm. Further, a racist police state means that Black and brown folks are disproportionately likely to be locked up for charges that have nothing to do with causing harm in the first place. These carceral systems only serve to generate more harm and perpetuate trauma. Safety and healing can never be born from oppression and violence.

When we have been hurt, or when we have been responsible for hurt, how do we hope it will be addressed? Would punishment repair the harm? Would it address the circumstances that informed the harm? Would it ensure that the harm is not repeated? If you consciously reframe your conversations around repairing harm rather than punishing infractions, where might that change your interactions with friends, strangers, family members… and yourself? Pay attention to where there's the instinct to punish ourselves or each other and find opportunities to make space for repair instead.

When we aim to repair harm, rather than punish crime, everything changes.

Next week, in preparation for our July chapter meeting, we will discuss the work of abolitionist organizers, including frameworks for addressing harm without carceral models. In the meantime, we recommend reading adrienne maree brown’s brief and beautiful piece “we will not cancel us.”

And, as always, see below for more ways to show up. Take care.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Defund NYPD for #NYCBudgetJustice


Defund the police.

These words have powerfully entered mainstream American consciousness over the past couple of weeks. They’ve been spoken on TV, yelled at protests, and printed on signs and in headlines. The idea, which is not new, has also been getting backlash from people and institutions who argue that what we really mean is reform the police. We know reforming the police does not work because it has been tried over and over again.

As we grieve and demand justice for even more Black people murdered in recent days, including Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, Dominique “Rem'mie” Fells, Riah Milton, and Rayshard Brooks, we follow the lead of organizers who are fighting to end police brutality as one manifestation of the violence of white supremacy.

We’re part of a movement that’s demanding that the NYPD budget be cut by at least $1 billion this year. We do mean defund the NYPD. We mean invest in communities instead.

We’ve been told the police serve and protect. But policing as an institution in the United States was not created to keep people safe. Policing in the South emerged from slave patrols, and throughout the country it was designed to protect private property, control the working class, and maintain white supremacy. (For more, see Alex S. Vitale’s book The End of Policing, which you can download for free here.)

So it should not be surprising that for as long as policing has existed in the United States, cops have harassed, brutalized, and outright killed Black people, brown people, Asian people, Indigenous people, LGBTQ folks, disabled people, poor people, and immigrants.

Even beyond the NYPD’s deeply violent response to protests over the past couple of weeks, their response throughout the pandemic has provided one more example of how the NYPD works: handing out masks to white people while violently attacking and arresting Black and brown New Yorkers for social distancing violations. Violence and disdain for Black lives should not be paid for and shielded by our tax dollars - especially when those tax dollars have been siphoned out of our social services that do serve and protect New Yorkers.

And yet, in the midst of this pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed an executive budget that slashes and eliminates funding for essential education, health, and social services across the board. What’s not cut is the NYPD’s bloated funding. New Yorkers depend on these services to be healthy and safe, and are critical to Black, brown, and low-income New Yorkers —the very same communities most harmed by the NYPD.

In response, our friends at Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) are demanding #NYCBudgetJustice, and that City Council Defund NYPD by at least $1 billion in fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1, 2020.

We’re closer than we’ve ever been to taking this crucial step towards budget justice: on Friday, New York City Council proposed to cut $1 billion from next year’s budget. This is a rock-bottom minimum. It comes in response to massive organizing by movement leaders, and it’s going to take continued pressure to make sure that City Council follows through. As CPR said in their statement:

“Our hundreds of coalition member groups… want to make clear that public safety requires a minimum in $1 billion in NYPD cuts that includes not only a hiring freeze and reduction of officers, but also a complete removal of police from schools and social services, including homeless outreach, mental health response, and youth programs and outreach… New Yorkers must continue to protest, march, and call their City Council Members and Mayor de Blasio to let them know that we won’t settle for less than $1 billion in NYPD cuts - and that these funds must be reinvested in real community health and safety in the neighborhoods devastated by both the pandemic and violent policing – our Black, Latinx and other communities of color. This is not a time to let up....”

Join us to take action for for #NYCBudgetJustice. The budget deadline is June 30, so the time is now.

Call, email, and tweet your City Council Member to lift up CPR’s demands. Click here for call scripts and more information. (Not sure who your Council Member is? Find out here.)

Finally, a reminder that organizing works: Last week organizers across New York celebrated passage of the Safer NY Act, a series of bills that boost police transparency and help increase accountability in New Yorkers’ encounters with police. CPR, Justice Committee, and families with loved ones killed by police in the past 30 years led the push for these laws, while making it clear they’re still fighting for justice for the murders. This legislative win is a victory for the organizers and families who had been fighting for this for years. We at SURJ NYC are grateful for each of you who made calls demanding the repeal of 50a.

Unprecedented public pressure matters.

Together, our next goal is to make sure that the NYPD budget is cut by at least $1 billion this year. Please join us in keeping the public pressure up, and moving our collective energy towards the budget!

And as always, see below for more ways to show up.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Why organize with white people?

If you’re new to SURJ, a huge welcome from all of us.

In the past week, so much has happened. We are in the middle of an uprising.

Today, the New York State Senate reviews the bill to Repeal 50a, the police secrecy act. Yesterday, they passed the Police-STAT Act. The Minneapolis City Council committed to disbanding their police department and creating a transformative model for cultivating safety in the city. In New York City alone, hundreds of thousands of people have marched for liberation. Right now we are all holding rage and grief for continued state-sanctioned violence targeting Black lives; we are also holding love and hope for every person joining in the movement.

This week has shown how powerful action is. But unless we also dismantle the white supremacy we carry with us and around us, no policy change will ensure justice.

One of the key reasons we organize with white people is that rooting out our internalized white supremacy is a lifelong project requiring difficult emotional work, but it can’t be the centerpiece of our anti-racist efforts. Learning must be in support of action, not a substitute for it. Nor can we expect multiracial organizing spaces to help us with discomfort, shame, or the other negative feelings associated with this effort—there is more important work to be done in those spaces.  

In SURJ, we can support each other in understanding and countering white supremacy in ourselves and in the world around us, while also showing up in multiracial spaces responsibly and sustainably.

The SURJ commitment to taking action in relationship with Black and POC-led organizations allows us to fight together for collective liberation, following and being held accountable to their movement leadership. Doing both kinds of work together—and calling more and more people to join us—is how we undermine large-scale white support for white supremacy and build real justice.

This model for organizing serves other purposes too. There are as many reasons to organize with white folks as there are white folks organizing together. Here are a few more from our members:

  • “For me, anti-racist action is also a spiritual path. In the process of our organizing, SURJ NYC is also a peer group where there is loving space for me to process the fear, shame, and despair which often come up when I try to put my anti-racist values into words and into practice.” - Tom

  • “I have 50 years of whiteness to understand and parse through. Cousins to collect. Family to work with to understand our privilege. My work is calling folks in so future generations don't repeat our mistakes. This is white people work for white people to do.” - Westlake

  • “New York State legislature is often divided by "Upstate vs. Downstate," which is just coded language for "white/rural vs. black/urban," and the passage of a law is often contingent on what people think of it "Upstate." As white people organizing alongside people of color to build the future we want to live in, we have a responsibility to move a critical mass of our fellow white people in order to build a multiracial majority with enough power to win electorally, legislatively, and beyond.” - Ryan

  • “My most useful skills are leadership skills. But as a white person, I feel clear that it’s not my place to lead in this movement. To dismantle white supremacist systems, we have to take the lead from the people who know what’s needed, and that’s the folks who most directly experience systemic, racist violence and harm. In SURJ, our partners tell us where white folks are most useful to them in order to win, and I use my skills to get as many white folks there as possible. That’s how my labor can have the biggest impact." -Grace

Whether SURJ turns out to be your long-term organizing home, or we just help you get what you need to do this work elsewhere, we’re glad you’re with us today, and we’re here to support you in moving into lifelong, multiracial action for racial justice. There’s a lot more to do.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Let this moment radicalize you

First of all, hello. If this is your first time here, welcome. This is a powerful moment to join the movement for racial justice. If you've been here for a long time, we’re glad to be in this with you, learning how to be actively anti-racist and fight for collective liberation.

It’s been a weekend of uprising throughout the country against the continued murders of Black people and police violence.

Again and again we have seen that police exist to protect the property, convenience, and comfort of white people at the expense of Black lives and livelihoods. This is not “safety.” It is white supremacy.

Each time a white woman like Amy Cooper puts on a performance of distress, each time a gentrifier calls in a noise complaint, and each time a white liberal critiques righteous rebellion because of property damage, they are flaunting and enforcing their white supremacy. White supremacy creates a system where white people can call on the state to disrupt their Black neighbors’ lives, even to the point of brutality and death, to avoid even a moment of discomfort or personal accountability.

White people have been raised to see the police as an all-purpose solution. This is an idea that has been increasingly reinforced in NYC with disastrous consequences. It is visible in the Mayor's proposed NYC budget, which responds to the pandemic by maintaining approximately $6 billion in NYPD funding while slashing $2 billion from social services, healthcare, and education. This is all while the NYPD has displayed ongoing brutality to New Yorkers during COVID-19 homeless sweeps and social distancing enforcement, roles that police officers are not trained for and should never have been assigned.

Now, as our city rises up in rage and mourning for Black folks including George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, David McAtee, Eric Garner, Delrawn Small, Saheed Vassell, and centuries of white supremacy, the NYPD is escalating with extraordinary violence.

When the police have been increasingly empowered with military equipment, bloated budgets, and an absence of consequences for repeated brutality and murder; when they have been directed to target Black, brown, and low-income communities; and when white people have been encouraged to see their violence as the “correct” way of handling every public dispute or social concern, this violence is the unavoidable outcome.

Let this moment radicalize you.

Commit to learning, unlearning, and taking action with accountability.

Here are a few pieces of recommended reading (or listening!) around policing and how to show up responsibly to protest.

** If you download for free, consider donating the cost of the book to a bail fund. See below.

We invite you to join SURJ NYC's chapter meeting on Thursday, and commit to taking daily anti-racist action and joining the long-term movement to dismantle white supremacy, internally and systemically.

Read on for more information on that, as well as other ways to show up.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Bail Funds and Protest Support

While we’ve tried to keep this list up-to-date, several of the most prominent bail funds across the country are saying they’re received an influx of donations and urging folks to direct money elsewhere, and things are moving fast. So please do a little research to see if bail funds you’re supporting are still actively soliciting donations (most have Twitter accounts with up-to-date information), and prioritize bail funds coming from Black-led organizations.

We're going on strike (rent strike)

As we approach another month, we’re coming up on another day rent is due. And that’s rent that many New Yorkers are unable to pay.

The New York universal eviction moratorium is set to expire June 20th: the moratorium through August 20 is currently extended only to tenants who qualify for unemployment benefits or who are experiencing a “financial hardship” as a result of COVID-19.

Evictions at any moment are dangerous, and we know that housing is one of the most glaring racial justice issues in New York City. That's not new! But the #CancelRent strike is a critical moment to take personal action in mutual interest with our neighbors.

We’re got some short stories from two SURJ NYC members who have joined the rent strike:

Greg: “As May approached, my roommates and I spoke and decided to reach out to the other tenants in our small building in Bed-Stuy, who we did not know well. On a conference call, we started off simply: ‘How are you?’ We listened to people’s stories about declining income, job uncertainty and the monthly stress of rent. Someone said of the economic and employment crisis: ‘It’s not our fault, or particular to our building. Tens of millions of Americans cannot pay rent.'
Two days before the first of the month, we decided to form a small tenant association and join the strike: we did not pay in May, and we sent a certified letter to our management company demanding they cancel rent. They started calling all of us to scare and intimidate us, but we’ve learned not to answer any individual communication. If they want to communicate, they have to use the tenant association email: we’ve shifted the power dynamic and will not be bullied. We’re fighting in alignment with millions of New Yorkers facing eviction, homelessness and health crisis. We refuse to pay to uphold a system that puts landlords’ and investors’ profit ahead of people’s well being.

Jennifer: I have lived in El Barrio for 10 years. I’ve tried to organize in my building, but so many long-term tenants have been displaced, and now I have health reasons that prevent me from interacting much. But in mid-April I posted signs on my door and window saying I was gonna go on strike and to contact me if you want to. On Met Council calls I found other East Harlem tenants to connect with. The morning of May 1, I saw photos of a “CANCEL RENT” banner drop and felt not alone. I sent my check with ‘cancel rent’ written on it and an email CCing my council member, assembly member and state senator. And I got one other tenant in my building to agree he would go on strike in June. Landlords claim 25% of tenants did not pay in May. We need more to join us in June to pressure owners to pressure Cuomo and create an impossible to evict situation.

If you are personally still able to pay the rent, joining the strike is a powerful way to take meaningful action in solidarity with those who cannot. The more folks who go on strike, the more power we can build: this keeps all of us safer against retaliation, and also makes us all more likely to win. We need to come together to withdraw consent, withhold rent and assert our collective power to demand Cuomo #CancelRent and all utility bills, freeze increases and grant automatic lease renewals.  

We’re starting a SURJ NYC Rent Strike group to organize for housing justice, share resources, and support one another. We know June 1 is close, but there is still enough time to organize!  Sign up here! Whether you’re coming with “But HOW do I do this?” or “‘Ahh this is really scary!” - we’ve got you.

In addition to our own SURJ NYC Rent Strike group, we encourage all tenants to learn more about the rent strike by attending community Zoom calls of any of the Housing Justice for All coalition groups:

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC

Two actions for NYC budget justice

We’re going to keep it short this week: we’ve got a couple of concrete actions for you to take.

There’s a crucial fight going on over the New York City budget. City Council is conducting hearings before they pass the budget, so it’s time for us to weigh in. Right now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to shift the conversation around where and how the city invests in safety.

Mayor de Blasio’s proposed budget includes cuts to essential social services across the board, and outright cancellation of the summer youth employment program. What’s not cut, though, is the NYPD’s bloated funding. This is not just a crisis response but comes against a backdrop of consistently increased spending on policing under de Blasio—from $4.6 billion in 2014 to $5.6 billion in 2019—even as crime has dropped to historic lows. The services the Mayor wants to cut now are services New Yorkers depend on to be healthy and safe, and are especially critical to Black, brown, and low-income New Yorkers —the very same communities the NYPD criminalizes, abuses, and locks in cages while leaving alone white and higher-income New Yorkers. There is also a real danger that the budget as currently proposed will result in the police being more integrated into social services—which we know is especially dangerous for communities of color.

As Joo-Hyun Kang, director of Communities United for Police Reform, said, “Budgets are moral documents, so now is the time to step back and assess what our priorities should be.”

We must take action this week to refuse the city’s prioritization of violent, racist policing over crucial public services. Please join us in taking these two actions:

  1. This Thursday, the NYC City Council will hold the only hearing including a chance to testify on the Mayor’s Executive Budget. Please submit an online testimony! You have 72 hours after the hearing finishes to submit. And tune in at 9:30am on Thursday to watch the hearing; testimony begins at 11:30am. We’ll be watching together on Zoom, so please come join us to yell and tweet together! Amplify the testimonies on social media using #NYCBudgetJustice.

  2. Call and email your City Council member for #NYCBudgetJustice! Some City Council members have already suggested a willingness to cut the budget for police and jails, so we need to call them to see how serious they are and push them to hold the line. Use the call script here and report back here. We also need people to call other SURJ NYC members and ask them to call their Council members.

And, as always, read on for more ways to plug in and show up. Take good care of yourselves.

In solidarity,
SURJ NYC