Background

FCNL is proud to introduce the 2020-2021 Advocacy Corps. These 20 young people will advocate for immigration reform from August 2020 to May 2021. The organizers will engage their local communities, build relationships with members of Congress, and advance FCNL’s work towards peace and justice.

One of the keys to reforming police is to turn off the pipelines that are fueling the growing militarization of local enforcement agencies.

Friends across the country are speaking out against racism and police violence. Here, we excerpt some of the minutes and statements that they have shared with us.

At FCNL, we embrace having a multitude of voices and talents working together to strengthen our impact in the world. In keeping with the Quaker testimony of equality, we strive to be an organization that welcomes, values, and respects the different perspectives of every individual.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) seeks a society with equity and justice for all. How does that translate into our legislative priorities and into the organizational culture of FCNL? How do we live into that vision and become an anti-racist organization?

George Floyd should be alive today. As should Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and the hundreds of other Black women and men who recently died due to police brutality and racism.

The world changed following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black women and men. Millions of people were motivated to publicly protest these brutal murders and to proclaim that Black lives matter. Their deaths were the tipping point that roused the public’s conscience to confront racism publicly.

The United States supports the regular budget of the United Nations through the Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account. This account also funds the work of more than 40 U.N. affiliated agencies as well non-U.N. multilateral organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Before the COVID-19 pandemic set in, so-called “ghost guns” were already on the rise. Since then, we’ve seen an increase in these untraceable guns at crime scenes and mass shootings. The panic buying of guns due to COVID-19 further fuels this already troubling trend.

At the heart of the American policing problem is the increased militarization of the American police force. Simply put, police have become an occupying force in Black and Brown communities that do far more harm than good.