The recently released Department of Justice investigation of the Ferguson Police Department and the Presidential Task Force on 21^st Century Policing Interim Report were the direct results of bold and sustained organizing efforts nationwide. The expressions of anger and anguish from communities too long impacted by abusive criminal justice and policing practices forced the federal government to respond. The publication of the DOJ Investigation reiterated what we already know—policing and criminal justice practices in Ferguson are racially discriminatory and result in the systemic targeting, harassment and imprisonment of black people. The Presidential Task Force’s far-reaching recommendations make clear that the problem is not unique to Ferguson and that there is much work to be done nationwide to ensure that our criminal justice system does not continue to inflict violence upon the communities it purports to protect.

The Department of Justice’s Investigationexposed rampant racism and unearthed policing practices motivated by profiteering not safety. The investigation restates many of the findings published earlier this year by our partner, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), in their report “Transforming St. Louis County’s Racist Municipal Courts.” The findings suggest systemic discrimination and brutality—from the streets to the court houses. These practices of discrimination and profiteering are not unique to Ferguson. Nationwide unchecked aggressive and discriminatory police departments are incentivized to serve as conveyor belts to jails and prisons. Black and brown people in our country are three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop than white motorists, twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience use of force during encounters with the police. Over 1.68 million black men are under correctional control in the US, not counting jails. That's over three times as many black men as were enslaved in 1850. And black women are three times more likely than white women to be incarcerated. It is clear that Ferguson is not an anomaly.

The DOJ Investigation and Presidential Task Force on 21^st Century Policing Interim Report are important articulations of the scope and severity of discriminatory and exploitative criminal justice policies. We support the work of our partners from St. Louis, to Wisconsin, to Minneapolis to New York who continue their fight to curb police brutality and re-make the criminal justice system through sustained and creative organizing. We know that change will only come with continued pressure, action and organizing.