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Episode 7: Justice For Black Lives Winnipeg

Jus­tice For Black Lives Win­nipeg is a small group of com­mu­ni­ty orga­niz­ers who believes in and advo­cates for the erad­i­ca­tion of the indus­tri­al prison com­plex as well as the mil­i­tary-indus­tri­al prison com­plex and all actors of those sys­tems. They are choos­ing to start with defund­ing, dis­man­tling, and abol­ish­ing the Win­nipeg Police Ser­vice. They do not sup­port sys­tems which police, pun­ish, bru­tal­ize and mur­der BIPOC on a reg­u­lar basis; there is no way to find jus­tice with­in such institutions.

Crime is sim­ply an out­cry for unmet needs. Needs must be met in the com­mu­ni­ty (food, hous­ing, trans­porta­tion, health­care, men­tal health sup­port, harm reduc­tion ser­vices, spir­i­tu­al sup­ports, addic­tions sup­ports, free exten­sive com­mu­ni­ty activ­i­ties, etc.) through redi­rect­ed funds from the exten­sive police bud­get in order to make Win­nipeg a safe and enjoy­able place to be for all mar­gin­al­ized people.

As was clear­ly dis­played by our event and acknowl­edged by the WPS pub­licly, the com­mu­ni­ty does a damn good job at keep­ing every­one safe. Ulti­mate­ly, the peo­ple keep the peo­ple safe, not the police. This is why they know vol­un­teers, as well as com­mu­ni­ty owned, oper­at­ed and run services/​organizations will be able to effec­tive­ly take over what legal respon­si­bil­i­ties the police cur­rent­ly have. Thus, trans­lat­ing into real safe­ty for all.

Jus­tice For Black Lives Win­nipeg demands that the City of Win­nipeg work with a col­lab­o­ra­tive group of BIPOC grass­root orga­niz­ers to deter­mine where all redi­rect­ed funds from the defund­ed police bud­get should be dis­trib­uted with­in the com­mu­ni­ty. Those direct­ly on the ground doing the work them­selves know what is required, their voic­es need to be heard.

Jus­tice For Black Lives Win­nipeg demands that the City of Win­nipeg work with a col­lab­o­ra­tive group of BIPOC grass­root orga­niz­ers to deter­mine where all redi­rect­ed funds from the defund­ed police bud­get should be dis­trib­uted with­in the com­mu­ni­ty. Those direct­ly on the ground doing the work them­selves know what is required, their voic­es need to be heard.

To donate to, or sup­port, the impor­tant work being done by Jus­tice For Black Lives Win­nipeg vis­it their web­site.

Guests

  • Kameshia Hope

    Kameshia (she/her) is Indigenous to Trinidad, living on Treaty 1 territory. She is very passionate about helping others and adding value to her community. Kameshia is an entrepreneur and creator of designbraidz where she promotes and helps others enhance their natural beauty. She is also the creator of shoptalks204 where raw conversations happen about the issues that plagues our community with the goals of transforming and improving lives. She is here to bring unity to eradicate racism for the upcoming generations. It's time we address the systematic racism within the school system. Let us bring to light these issues so we can effectively combat it. Remember to always be kind to yourself and be the change you want to see because IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU!

  • Jayda Hope

    Jayda Hope is a 21 year old, Black female community organizer born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory. She is a small business owner who enjoys creating and using her business to pour back into her community. Jayda is a talented public speaker and workshop facilitator. She believes abolition is truly the only way to move forward as preventative measures are what we as a society need, not the reactive ones which police, and policing provide. Black folks on treaty 1 territory deserves love, compassion and proper support, not racism and brutality.

  • Mahlet Cuff

    Mahlet Cuff (she/they) is an 20 something year old interdisciplinary artist and curator. She is the founder and co-community organizer with Justice 4 Black lives Winnipeg where she advocates for abolition and safety of all Black people. In her lifetime she hopes to see that the abolishment of the police and other systems of oppression will no longer be existent. As well, her passion for community organizing comes from a place of care, community building, providing support to marginalized people. She is also a part of multiple artist collectives such as Rind and Patterns Collective.

  • Ella Taylor

    Ella Taylor (they/she) is a 22 year old community organizer, criminal justice student, and abolitionist living on Treaty 1 territory, with familial connections on Treaty 5 territory. She is biracial Ethiopian Aquarius, who loves to sing, read, and write in their spare time. They have 3 cats and 1 dog.