Ways You Can Help

Submit Testimony to Divest from the DC Police

june 16th deadline

Mayor Bowser wants to increase the DC police budget to over half a billion dollars, while cutting funding for violence prevention programs and the Office of Police Complaints.Demand DC reinvest in vital programs that promote community-based solutions to public safety and advance racial equity in our city.Click here for a template script.Three ways to submit your testimony1. Record a 3-minute video of your testimony and upload it to the Committee's Dropbox folder. You can easily do this from your smartphone or computer.2. Call 202-350-1362. These voicemails will be transcribed, shared with the D.C. Council, and uploaded to the Committee's website.3. Email written testimony to [email protected]A few tips for your testimony:1. Include your first and last name, and if you're submitting your testimony via video or voicemail, please also spell your name.2. If you're representing an organization, please also include your title and organization's name.3. Limit audio and video testimony to three minutes.4. Consider sharing your testimony on social media with the hashtag: #DefundDCPoliceSee here for more ways to take action to #DefundMPD.See here for an in-depth messaging guide.

Upload video testimonyCall 202-350-1362Email [email protected]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Dear DC Council,My name is [Full Name] and I live in [Ward or Neighborhood] in Washington, DC. I ask that the over half a billion dollars in MPD funds in Mayor Bowser's budget proposal be reallocated to pay for non-police resources, that no new jails are built, that DC schools are police-free, and that the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget advances racial justice and equity.The district's budget must:
- Increase funding for the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement
- Expand violence prevention programs
- Increase funding for trauma-informed mental health care in schools and communities.
- Provide COVID-19 relief funding to everyone in DC, including undocumented residents
- Allocate more resources toward affordable housing, healthcare, public transportation, services for the homeless, public schools, and sustainable living-wage jobs.In the Mayor's proposed budget, MPD receives over one-third of the funds appropriated for Public Safety and Justice. In comparison, only 5% goes to youth rehabilitation services.To make it worse, one of the only areas of the MPD budget that has been cut is the office that responds to Freedom of Information Act requests--one of the few ways for the public to hold the police accountable.DC is facing 1.5 billion dollars in revenue loss due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but the proposed budget aims to increase MPD funding by over 18.5 million dollars.In addition to reallocating the police budget, DC should raise revenue by increasing taxes on the District's wealthiest residents and most successful businesses to ensure everyone pays their fair share.DC needs a just recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 and a moral budget that supports thriving communities. DC needs a radical shift in our priorities. I urge you to invest in care over punishment, and in community over imprisonment.Thank you,
[Full Name] [spell it out]
[Ward or Neighborhood] Resident- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -See here for more ways to take action to #DefundMPD.See here for an in-depth messaging guide.

Pressure Elected Officials

Each of these actions only takes between 1-5 minutes.Pressure local elected officials to divest from institutions of state violence and invest in the resources our communities really need: affordable housing, stronger education and childcare, community-based solutions to violence, better public transportation, and good jobs.

Support Black-led organizing

Donate to these groups organizing mutual aid networks and black resistance to white supremacy in DC.

Use Social Media

Follow and use these hashtags to stay updated on and support ongoing organizing to make DC safer for everyone:
#DefundDCPolice
#PoliceFreeSchools
#StopMPD
#DivestFromMPD
#WeKeepUsSafe

On Twitter, follow these accounts:
Black Lives Matter DC
Freedom Fighters DC
Law 4 Black Lives DC
Stop Police Terror Project DC
Black Swan Academy
Sanctuary DMV
SURJ - DC
Occupation Free DC
No New Jails DC
DecrimNowDC

On Instagram, follow these accounts:
Black Lives Matter DC
Freedom Fighters DC
Law 4 Black Lives DC
Stop Police Terror Project DC
Black Swan Academy
Sanctuary DMV
SURJ - DC
Occupation Free DC

On Facebook, join the DC Mutual Aid Network.

Educate yourself

The Movement to Defund the Police
An article from Washington City Paper about demands from DC residents to defund the police.

Alternatives to Calling the Police
An incredibly helpful resource, in flowchart form, of alternatives to calling the police when you need help.

Building a Police-Free Future: Frequently Asked Questions
An 8-page zine from activists in Minneapolis answering some common questions about what police abolition can look like. See it on Instagram or as a PDF.

Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital
Buy from these Black-owned bookstores in DC: Mahogany, Sankofa, Loyalty
Loan it from the DC Public Library

Read The End of Policing by Alex Vitale and Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis.

Check out this graphic from Critical Resistance comparing police reforms to abolitionist visions.

Learn about the #8toAbolition campaign.

Take a look at Mariame Kaba's Transform Harm project.

Visit The Digital Abolitionist website for more resources on learning about abolition.

Check out these anti-racist and abolitionist reading lists from DC's own Loyalty Bookstore, from Ibram X Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist, and from Abolitionist Futures

Check out these anti-racist and anti-capitalist watch lists from Vulture, Buzzfeed, Distractify, and Indypendent