In this moment, we must build, love, nurture, and protect our communities.

Dear CPR Community,

There's a lot to process from this week's elections. We've been hearing from New Yorkers and others across the country who are scared, angry, anxious, loving and ready to put in work.

One thing we know for sure - for those of us who care about racial justice, police accountability, and ending discriminatory profiling, this next period is going to be challenging. For those of us who are Black, Indigenous, Latina/o, Arab, Asian, women, LGBTQ and/or gender non-conforming, youth, low-income, homeless, immigrant, Muslim, people with disabilities, elders, progressive activists, limited english proficiency, anti-racist, and many other identities -- our communities are, and will be, facing attacks that are emboldened by elected and appointed officials whose rhetoric and policies will not prioritize justice for all.

In this moment, we need to build.

We need to build, love, nurture, and protect strategic organizing.  And we need to do it together -  while centralizing and prioritizing the perspectives of those who are being/will be directly impacted by violence - police and state violence, emboldened vigilante violence, and structural violence in its many forms.
 
We need to build, love, nurture and protect the grassroots community organizing infrastructure that we will need to fight and build out strategic movement-building, defend against the worst of what's to come, and transform our communities into the safe havens we need them to be. 
 
We believe Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) is essential community organizing infrastructure.  We and our members - particularly the grassroots organizing groups - will need your continued support in this coming period, in whatever ways you're able to give. 
 
Giving can be: 

  • your time [look up member & partner groups here to consider volunteering].

  • protesting at rallies/marches [Join us & other NYers this Sunday, Nov. 13 to rise up against anti-immigrant, sexist & racist agenda.]

  • financial contributions that help sustain our work and movement.

  • checking in on your neighbors to make sure they are ok. 

  • observing and documenting police misconduct (cop watching) to hold police accountable.

Giving can be many other options.  In whatever ways you can give, please do. 

Together, we will build, love, nurture and protect our communities. Thank you for what you're able to do everyday.

In community,

Joo-Hyun, Mandela, Manny & Krystal
On behalf of the Communities United for Police Reform team