ACLU: 'Black People Are Being Murdered and Brutalized by Police with Near Impunity'

Black people are being murdered and brutalized by police with near impunity. Act with us to end police brutality, demand racial justice, and defend our right to protest. Your donation will fuel our legal battles and urgent advocacy efforts.

The ACLU also calls for an analysis of possible “reparations” to be paid to African-Americans, referencing congressional bill H.R. 40, sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), entitled “the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.”

On a slide entitled, “DIVEST FROM THE POLICE. INVEST IN COMMUNITIES,” the ACLU states, “Police brutality against Black and Brown people must end. It will take a complete reimagining of policing in America. Join us in our vision.”

“Systemic racism” is a feature of the United States, the ACLU alleges:

When the Constitution was written, ‘We the People’ did not mean all of us. Slavery created a legacy of oppression for Black people that is woven into our institutions today — from education and health care to the criminal legal system. We need structural reform to dismantle the deep-seated racism and inequity that permeates our institutions — including law enforcement.

Black people are over-policed, overrepresented in jails and prisons, and disproportionately subjected to police brutality. In the wake of the countless Black lives lost at the hands of police, we’re demanding justice and fighting for a reimagined vision of policing in America — one that limits the scope, power, and responsibilities of police. Valuing Black life doesn’t just mean spending less on police — it means investing more in Black communities. To create a world where “we the people” truly means all of us, we must dismantle systemic racism and work to repair centuries of harm inflicted on communities of color.

The ACLU holds 501(c)(4) nonprofit status with the IRS, which designates it as a “social welfare organization” which provides the organization with exemptions from some federal income taxes.