IfE, a global network, has endorsed the statement of demands and priorities for change developed by the US-based Movement for Black Lives. The statement was developed collectively by a group of 27 organizations (the “United Front”) that participate in the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement came about in response to the epidemic of police violence and killings of Black people in the United States.
The Statement includes a list of demands, each backed up by a detailed policy brief and many other references and documentation. Read a summary of the demands at the end of this article. You can read the full Statement and access the policy briefs and documentation here: https://policy.m4bl.org/. You can read more about who developed the statement and policy documents, and why they did it, here: https://policy.m4bl.org/about/ .
A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom, & Justice
END THE WAR ON BLACK PEOPLE: We demand an end to the war against Black people. Since this country’s inception there have been named and unnamed wars on our communities. We demand an end to the criminalization, incarceration, and killing of our people.
REPARATIONS: We demand reparations for past and continuing harms. The government, responsible corporations and other institutions that have profited off of the harm they have inflicted on Black people—from colonialism to slavery through food and housing redlining, mass incarceration, and surveillance— must repair the harm done
DIVEST–INVEST: We demand investments in the education, health and safety of Black people, instead of investments in the criminalizing, caging, and harming of Black people. We want investments in Black communities, determined by Black communities, and divestment from exploitative forces including prisons, fossil fuels, police, surveillance and exploitative corporations.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE: We demand economic justice for all and a reconstruction of the economy to ensure Black communities have collective ownership, not merely access.
COMMUNITY CONTROL: We demand a world where those most impacted in our communities control the laws, institutions, and policies that are meant to serve us – from our schools to our local budgets, economies, police departments, and our land – while recognizing that the rights and histories of our Indigenous family must also be respected.
POLITICAL POWER: We demand independent Black political power and Black self-determination in all areas of society. We envision a remaking of the current U.S. political system in order to create a real democracy where Black people and all marginalized people can effectively exercise full political power.
“We have come together now because we believe it is time to forge a new covenant. We are dreamers and doers and this platform is meant to articulate some of our vision… [and to] provide the stepping-stones and road maps of how to get there.” – Movement for Black Lives, 2016