Amber Goodwin
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

An Open Letter to the Community:

Last year we launched the Community Justice Reform Coalition; a national coalition focused on centering people of color in the fight to reduce gun violence and mass incarceration.

Next week the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) will be holding its biennial national convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The FOP is the nation’s largest fraternal organization of law enforcement officers. The group’s advocacy efforts include the support of policies that infringe upon the constitutional rights of people of color, lead to racial profiling and excessive force, and ultimately make communities of color less safe for law abiding citizens. The group often supports and shields officers engaged in violence against people of color.

We believe that all voices, including law enforcement officials, belong at the table. But the Fraternal Order of Police has a long history of misguided policy positions that are in direct opposition, and resistant to the anger, pain, and suffering of communities of color.

We learned this week that Everytown for Gun Safety, who previously supported the FOP’s conventions would no longer be continuing to support their convention after learning that Betty Shelby, Terence Crutcher’s killer, would be one of their speakers. Unfortunately, we also learned that Everytown and other groups may have future support of the FOP on a local and national level if and where their policies align. If Everytown, or any other public safety group continues to support the FOP, an organization that further marginalizes communities of color, that is a decision we cannot and will not support in any future partnership. This is counter to all that we stand for and counter to all the work we do to create more just and more safe communities.

This past July, we received a $25,000 grant from Everytown to support the Peacemaker Partnership Campaign. The Peacemaker Partnership is a national campaign to reduce homicides by firearms, decrease mass incarceration, and center communities of color in the fight to end gun violence in America through education, engagement, facilitation, and training. The vision of the partnership is to build safe and just communities.

As a matter of justice, we will create a CJRC Survivors Compensation Fund and donate all of the money we have received from Everytown to families and foundations that support survivors of gun violence in communities of color, and our first donation will go to the foundation established by the family of Terence Crutcher. We hope you will join us today in supporting their advocacy efforts by making a donation directly to their organization.

We urge the staff and members of Everytown for Gun Safety, and all gun violence prevention and public safety organizations to consider the message that working with the FOP — on any level — sends to communities of color and those directly affected by violence, especially violence at the hands of law enforcement officers.

We urge people everywhere to engage and listen to the voices of peace that are working in our communities everyday.

Amber Goodwin and Pastor Mike McBride

Co-Founders, Community Justice Reform Coalition

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Amber Goodwin

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