Fearless Dreamer

Calling all adults and young people invested in Black youth's initiatives. We are hosting an Orientation. Join us and register here at tinyurl.com/Aug7BsaOri

This Sat April 15th, there will be an orientation from 3pm-4pm. The orientation goes over the onboarding process, membership expectations, upcoming events and connects you to the person who will be leading your onboarding process. Sign up at tinyurl.com/415VBSAORI

.@MatthewFrumin you had it right when you attended our candidates forum with @DcgirlsC . "focus resources on the children who appear to be the most at risk of engaging in violent criminal activity through violence interrupters, mentoring and support programs" This is safety!

.@CMZParker5 you had it right when you were on SBOE to declare that schools should divest from policing and invest in resources that create healthy, safe, more just learning environments!

FACT: School police ARE police. Increasing their footprint also increases the likelihood particularly for Black and/or disabled youth to be arrested, emotionally or physically harmed.

.@chenderson @charlesallen you had it right. School is for learning & for the most marginalized youth the presence of police impede upon that. FACT: SROs in DC have counted on schools to serve warrants, make arrests and gain intel for non-school related events.

FACT: Schools are better positioned to address the above needs with policies & resources that approach violence as a public health concern, create healing spaces, expand the # of care-based adults who can build authentic relationships with youth, address teacher turnover....

.@CMLewisGeorgeW4 @CM_McDuffie @BrianneKNadeau you had it right. Police in schools does NOT equate to safety! FACT: Schools have been forced to rely on SROs to address students' responses to trauma, normal adolescent behaviors, or survival behaviors.

.@CMRobertWhiteDC @AnitaBondsDC you had it right. Police respond to violence, they do not PREVENT it. FACT: Access to quality mental health professionals addresses the root causes of violence and prevents violence from happening. That is safety!

4. They are still lacking in mental health professionals. 5. Schools still don't have any violence interrupters or restorative justice practitioners. The phase-out of SROS is NOT the issue. Redirect this energy to truly INVESTING in our schools. That is what creates safety.

Make it make sense. School leaders are requesting more support! Police can NOT be the default! 1. City leaders are cutting school budgets. 2. Students are without teachers in core classes. 3. Schools are without full-time librarians & nurses.

YALL🤦🏾‍♀️ Give it up already! The council had it right the first AND second time they decided to phase out SROs in schools. Reliance of policing for safety is simply ineffective, inefficient and poor policy making that ignores the root causes of violence in our communities.