St Louis acts for racial justice and police accountibility

On Wednesday, CTA chapter leader Jenn spoke at a press conference announcing the newly formed Don't Shoot Coalition, which was formed in response to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson and will work for police accountability and systematic change of the factors that brought about his death. "We know that Mike Brown is not the first black man to be targeted by police, and unfortunately we know that he is not the first unarmed black man to be killed by police. What happened in Ferguson is not an isolated incident. Increased aggression in policing and arrests is a daily reality across the country for low income and minority communities who are targeted by a much larger system: Mass Incarceration and The Prison Industrial Complex." said Jenn.

Last year, Catholic Action Network, a CTA affiliate, co-founded the Coalition to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex so when they heard of the events in Ferguson it was natural that they get involved.  Locally, they are promoting roundtable discussions on racism and white-privilege workshops and getting involved in initiatives like the Don't Shoot Coalition.  They've also encouraged other CTA chapters to educate themselves. They recommend that everyone check out the new website www.handsupunited.org, which was created by a coalition they're involved with in St. Louis in response to the killing of Mike Brown and the larger systemic racism in policing in our communities. "This website and movement is being directed by young people of color and I think it is important that we follow their lead in this work for justice.  There are links on that site for how people can support Ferguson and also how they can plan events in their own cities,” says Jenn. "We know that extrajudicial killings targeting young black men happen all over the country, and we are working to build a national movement to address this problem. People can get involved from wherever they are by looking for events in their area, or planning events in coordination and solidarity with events being planned here in the St. Louis region."

Jenn will also be leading a workshop at this year's Conference which will focus of CAN's work with the Coalition to Abolish the Prison Industrial Complex and response to the events in Ferguson.