Everyone deserves to feel safe, secure, and protected in their community. This is especially important for Black people, who are often the most disadvantaged by the very systems meant to keep us all safe. That is the essence of our work at the Center for Policing Equity (CPE): True liberation for Black people and all the groups of people who create the rich tapestry of the American experience. The urgent need to create this reality is not easy. There are many ups and downs, successes and setbacks. Yet for the team at CPE, and in other spaces across the country, there is no more important mission; it carries forward the efforts of those who came before us, builds on the work of today, and seeks to create a better future for our children, and their children.
Thanks to the generous support of the donors who power our work, over the last year, we published field-leading policy papers on Mental Health Emergency Response and Police in K-12 Schools, in addition to hosting companion webinars; launched Unlocking Democracy, a community empowerment program based on the idea that government—and public safety—should be of, by, and for the people; launched our Stop the Stops Campaign in support of legislation to end low-level pretextual traffic stops in California, Connecticut, and Virginia; and worked with communities, policymakers, and law enforcement to assess the nature of public safety in localities across the country, developing evidence- and community-led recommendations for redesigning public safety systems.
GivingTuesday, the annual global day of giving devoted to supporting nonprofits in the week following Thanksgiving, falls on November 28 this year. The funds CPE raises every GivingTuesday play a central role in our ability to partner with communities and produce better public safety outcomes, creating lasting and meaningful change. If you haven't given to CPE in the past, GivingTuesday is a great time to start! And if you're already a donor, GivingTuesday is a great opportunity to invest just a little more in the work of making policing less racist, deadly, and omnipresent in Black communities.
As you look ahead to Thanksgiving and the holiday season, we hope that you'll also plan to participate in GivingTuesday by supporting CPE—stand with us and allow us to continue to advance on the road to Black liberation.
Individuals like you power all of our work. Consider donating today to support programming like this and other critical public safety redesign work.