2022 Black Well-being Final w links for Web 11.29.22 - Flipbook - Page 44
BLACK WELL-BEING REPORT 2022
BLACK FUTURE CO-OP FUND
Contextual Factors
Related to Public Safety
Washington state’s history of leading the way ...in harm
It is important to know Washington state’s history of criminalization. It
run by the government. Washington was the last state with active
was the first in 1993 to enact the harmful 3-strikes sentencing policy.
gallows; the Washington Supreme Court only ruled the death penalty
Washington blocked state funding from funding education of people
unconstitutional in 2018.112
it incarcerated. It eradicated parole, gave juveniles life without the
possibility of parole, and led national models for long-term solitary
Change has been extremely slow. Only in 2021, following the Blake
confinement.
Decision, a simple drug possession is now a misdemeanor rather
than a felony.113 Better aligned with principles of transformative
In 1887, it was the horrific treatment of people in Walla Walla in
justice, rather than charging a person with a crime and incarcerating
which local sheriffs rented out jailed people for free labor that
them, they are to be diverted to services at least twice.114
created what we know as the Washington State Penitentiary, now
5.8
%
of population
18
%
of incarcerated
28
%
of those are serving
life without parole.115
Understanding abolition and transformative justice
Transformative justice, whether interpersonal or systemwide, is about addressing
harm in ways that don’t cause more harm or profit off of people being harmed.
“It is extremely hard for
the advocates doing
this work to show up
each day when they see
their communities being
harmed and killed.”
More than that, it’s about focusing on healing, connection, and restoring us all to a
– Washington domestic violence
advocate118
know originated from slave catchers. Enslaved people were the first abolitionists
right relationship with one another. It means abolishing harmful systems.
Our vision does not stop at addressing the incarceration and overrepresentation
of Black people in Washington prisons and jails. Across our communities, we are
discussing what needs to happen for Black Washingtonians to be and feel safe.
Most community solutions don’t mention incarceration or more policing, which we
in this country. Locally, we can look to the 1965 Freedom Patrols as a part of the
foundation for the conversation on police accountability.116 Today, many of us are
remembering, learning, and revisiting the concept of abolition.117
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