Campaign News

03.27.2020

WASHINGTON -- In response to passage of the CARES Act, the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statement:

“Today, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion package to respond to the coronavirus crisis. In the weeks before, our communities fought tooth and nail for the protections we desperately need -- health care and cash payments for all people, regardless of immigration status. A moratorium on evictions. Election protection. A dramatic reduction of the number of people detained in jails, prisons and immigrant detention facilities. Cancellation of student debt. We called our elected representatives. We told our stories. 

“But the forces that we are up against are great. President Trump, right wing Republicans and their billionaire funders used the urgency of response to COVID-19 to do what they always do: protect the wealthiest families in the nation, while working to transfer wealth and rights from the most marginalized Americans to those who have marginalized us.

“The vast inequality in the United States means that Black and Brown people, working people, immigrants and people who are immuno-compromised will bear the worst effects of COVID-19 and the economic recession it has caused. This bill is nowhere near what we need.

“The relief cannot stop here. We need more for our communities and not one more dollar for corporations.

“The priority of our government needs to be solely focused on helping people survive the pandemic and the economic suffering unleashed by this crisis. This is not the time to send people back to work, risking their lives in the process. That will only prolong the pandemic and result in more deaths. Now, Congress must now advance a package to support workers, save lives and put in place measures that will make everyone less vulnerable to health, economic and climate catastrophes. In order to do that, we need to put in place measures that meet the needs of those most vulnerable: gig economy workers, immigrants, people who are incarcerated, domestic workers, healthcare workers, and small business owners.

“In every corner of this country, families are suffering. What this crisis has shown is our society is as strong as the most vulnerable. As long as millions of people continue to live paycheck to paycheck, and millions more are without healthcare or paid sick days, we will be at the mercy of a virus and other disasters. As long as we continue to put billions of dollars in jails and detention centers, instead of hospitals and schools, we will be vulnerable. This crisis offers an opportunity to invest in people so that we not only survive, but thrive. Congress has a historic opportunity to use its power to build a better country out of this crisis. We will push them to meet that challenge.” 

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Media Contact: Lia Weintraub, lweintraub@populardemocracy.org, 202-618-2482

Youth leaders have won significant reductions in arrests and summons in NYC schools, but Black and Latinx students continue to face the brunt of racially discriminatory school policing.

NEW YORK, NY -- Last week, the NYPD released their most recent data on school safety. The report, which is the first full quarter of school year data since the new school climate reforms were announced last year, shows that overall numbers of school arrests and summons have gone down significantly, but racial disparities in policing action remain high. 

Key analysis of the data:

The overall number of arrests decreased by 54.4% and summons decreased by nearly 59% as compared to last year’s data at this time. 

Black students represent 25.5% of district enrollment, yet were 54.8% of all students arrested. While this proportion is lower than corresponding data from 2018 (in which Black students were 60% of those arrested), it is still more than twice the representation of Black students in the district.

In addition to the racial disparities remaining high, the number of juvenile reports increased by 34% in the past year and by 82.3% in the past three years. In addition, 90.2% of students who received juvenile reports last quarter were Black or Latinx, a proportion which has not reduced since 2018.

The data validates calls by youth-led organizations and allies across the city for the Mayor to end arrests, summons, and juvenile reports in schools for non-criminal violations and misdemeanors. 

In response to the data, representatives from Urban Youth Collaborative and the Center for Popular Democracy released the following statements:

“These decreases in arrests and summons are a direct result of years of organizing by Black and Latinx youth, including leaders of Urban Youth Collaborative, who have called for the city to end arrests and summons in schools and stop the mass criminalization of youth of color,” said Kesi Foster, Organizer, Make the Road New York & The Urban Youth Collaborative.

"This data is only scratching the surface of what Black students and other students of color go through on the daily. Normal youthful behavior of Black and Brown students is still being criminalized. School is a place to learn and should be a place for all students to feel safe but we don’t feel safe with metal detectors and police. The city is trying to normalize police being involved in every part of our lives, but that’s not right, and it’s not what we need. We need to remove police and metal detectors and invest more funding in social, emotional, and mental health support and staff,” said Keneisha Buckley, a 15-year old youth leader at the Rockaway Youth Task Force. 

"The reduction in the number of arrests and summonses in schools is a welcome change, driven by the work and vision of Black and Brown young people," said Kate Terenzi, Staff Attorney for Education Justice Campaigns, Center for Popular Democracy. "While arrests and summonses have gone down, we have seen a dramatic increase in juvenile reports and essentially no change in the racial disparities. The progress on arrests and summons that we see today must be followed by truly dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline which will mean creating police-free schools, and a complete end to arrests, summonses, and juvenile reports for misdemeanors and violations in schools."

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Media Contact: Trisa Taro, ttaro@populardemocracy.org

01.13.2020 

SAN JUAN, PR -- Following the recent series of earthquakes since the start of the new year in Puerto Rico, causing an island-wide blackout, leaving thousands homeless, and causing structural damage to hundreds of buildings, schools, and main roads, an estimated two thousand people have been housed in shelters, and thousands more have pitched tents in their backyards. The Center for Popular Democracy - a national network of community organizations - and the Maria Fund  - created after the historic 2017 hurricane - made a call to funnel resources to community groups on the ground and address the real issue at hand. 

“From the Hurricanes of 2017 to the earthquakes of this year, Puerto Rico continues to grasp for recovery under decades of political mismanagement and budget cuts that have crippled its infrastructure and driven hundreds of thousands out. In order to ensure that Puerto Ricans achieve a just recovery, we must address the root of the issue,” added Julio Lopez Varona, co-director of community dignity campaigns of the Center for Popular Democracy. “The debt is a burden to the recovery of the island and it must be canceled to put the needs of the people first, not Wall Street. Long-term investments in infrastructure, including building schools and shelters up to code, solidifying the power and water grids, securing hospitals and roads, protecting pensions, and providing safe housing alternatives for low-income families, are just a few of the basic needs that should be immediately championed. Anything less is placing a band-aid on an open wound, expecting it to just go away.”

The Maria Fund plans to move rapid response funding to the network of social justice initiatives and grassroots community organizing groups that are supporting the people most impacted by the recent earthquakes that have devastated areas of the south of Puerto Rico. Here is more detailed information of the immediate needs of the organizations located in these areas. 

“The disastrous response of the local and federal governments are connected to an agenda that doesn’t center the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. This agenda has created a crippling debt, promoted budget cuts, poor maintenance of infrastructure, privatization, and displacement. The frontline groups who are stepping up at this moment know this, and the relief response they are organizing is part of a commitment to demanding structural changes for the long-term”, added Xiomara Caro, Executive Director of the María Fund. 

These rapid response funds will also be made available to the network of 49 organizations, many of which have already decided to step up and organize needs assessments, delivery of emergency supplies, service brigades to refugee camps, legal education, emotional support, and demanding equitable and systemic changes to improve their immediate and long-term reality, among other strategies. See here this broader list of organizations. 

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Media Contact: Inarú Melendez, imelendez@populardemocracy.org, 413-331-9530  

11.20.2019

WASHINGTON -- Today, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives that would supply 12 million units of affordable housing, including 8.5 million units of public housing, over the next 10 years. The $1 trillion investment would create public housing and private, permanently affordable rental units, virtually ending our current affordable housing crisis. Representative Omar’s legislation also prohibits discrimination against residents based on sexual orientation, gender, criminal history or immigration status, and invests in services for those experiencing homelessness, like employment or education assistance, childcare and financial literacy classes. Lastly, the legislation would create a Community Control and Anti-Displacement Fund within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to protect families from the worst effects of gentrification and displacement.

The Center for Popular Democracy and members of our network endorsed the legislation and released the following statements:

Dianne Enriquez, co-director of community dignity campaigns, Center for Popular Democracy

“Representative Omar’s bill proves that it is possible for every person in the United States to have a stable, affordable place to call home. Not only does the legislation create 12 million units of affordable housing, it also makes sure that all future funding needs are fully met so that public units do not fall into disrepair. This provision, plus wrap-around services for people experiencing homelessness, would help to end our housing crisis. We are already paying the costs for the affordable housing crisis through skyrocketing rents and a growing homeless population. Instead of allowing our crisis to worsen, let’s invest in the affordable housing we need. I am proud to endorse the Homes for All Act because we need a broad reimagining of our affordable housing system.”  

Elianne Farhat, Executive Director, Take Action Minnesota

"Every person has dignity and deserves a place to call home. The Homes for All Act that Rep. Omar introduced today and is an important step forward in providing enough housing for everyone to thrive. Homelessness and affordable housing shortages affect every urban and rural area in our country. It requires large scale investments and bold action from Congress. We are proud to endorse this bill.”

Other organizations within the Center for Popular Democracy network who endorsed the legislation include: Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha, Take Action Minnesota.

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