http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/251661-black-lives-matter-unveils-national-platformAugust 21, 2015, 01:41 pm
Black Lives Matter unveils national platform
By Mark Hensch
The Black Lives Matter movement announced on Friday that it has an official platform for curbing police violence and reforming criminal justice in the U.S.
The social activism group released its most comprehensive policy outline to date on a website titled Campaign Zero.
“We can live in an America where the police do not kill people,” the group said on its new Internet portal.
“Police in England, Germany, Australia, Japan and even cities like Newark, N.J. and Richmond, Calif. demonstrate that public safety can be ensured without killing civilians,” the group said.
“By implementing the right policy changes, we can end police killings and other forms of police violence in the United States,” it added. “We must end police violence so we can live and feel safe in this country.”
Black Lives Matter’s new website calls for sweeping legislative reforms at both the state and federal levels.
The coalition is calling for restrictions on the use of deadly force by law enforcement, outlawing military supplies to police departments and training against racial bias.
It is also pushing for a federal database documenting all incidents featuring police brutality, its website said.
Friday’s release of a formal Black Lives Matter manifesto comes as the group’s impact on the 2016 presidential race is rising. Black Lives Matter protesters have shoehorned racial and criminal justice issues into next year’s election by repeatedly interrupting White House hopefuls during recent months.
“America is finally waking up to this very necessary and critical conversation about race, equity and preserving the life and dignity of all citizens,” Campaign Zero activist Brittany Packnett said on Friday, according to The Guardian.
“These policies, like our resistance, will save lives and introduce a new way of viewing political strategy,” added Aurielle Lucier, another Campaign Zero representative.
Black Lives Matter members have particularly pressured the 2016 Democratic presidential field. Activists have interacted with former secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thus far on the campaign trail.
Black Lives Matter initially sprang up in 2013 following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager.
The group is now working for better relations between law enforcement officials and the minority communities they serve.
