RACIAL EQUITY AND POLICING

Montgomery County

America’s history of racial inequality continues to haunt us. Many of the issues we face today are shadowed by an underlying narrative of racial difference and bias that compromise our progress.  Our nation, now more than ever, is in desperate need of truth and recovery. That process is sequential: we must first tell the truth about our past before we can overcome it.

 

Bryan Stevenson, Director, the Equal Justice Initiative

To confront racism in our own community, we must begin with education — about white supremacy, white privilege, and the history of racism in Montgomery County. To that end, JUFJ co-sponsors educational programming on equity issues, including discussion groups, workshops, and film screenings.

We believe that education must lead to action to change the systems built on racism and white supremacy here in Montgomery County. In 2021 alone, police in Montgomery County have killed five young Black men. JUFJ is a member organization of multiple coalitions working to hold police accountable for these continued killings and advocating for changes in police policies and practices that harm people of color in our communities.

Want to learn more about the coalitions working to reimagine public safety in Montgomery County? Head to our partners’ websites to learn about the Silver Spring Justice Coalition, Racial Justice NOW!, and Young People for Progress, which is the lead organization of the Decriminalize Montgomery County Campaign. In addition, we are a member of the Montgomery County Racial Equity (MORE) Network, which advocates for using an equity lens in all County decision making and is working to hold County leadership accountable to the Racial Equity and Social Justice legislation  passed in 2019.

To get involved in these efforts, join us for our next monthly Racial Equity and Policing meeting, attend a virtual watch party, or contact an organizer to learn more.

Current Campaigns

Students who are suspended, expelled, and arrested in schools are more likely to enter juvenile and adult justice systems in a process known as the School to Prison Pipeline. Racial disparities exist in the MCPS School to Prison Pipeline, where Black children are twice as likely to be suspended or referred to juvenile services than their white peers for similar behavior

Restorative Justice is a holistic proactive and responsive approach to school discipline and school culture that is proven to lower suspensions and shrink the pipeline when implemented with fidelity. Unfortunately, our County has yet to fund this data-proven program at the levels needed to be effective across the school system.

JUFJ, along with our partners in Racial Justice NOW! and the Montgomery County Decrim Campaign, are advocating for fully funded Restorative Justice in MCPS, so that all schools treat children with dignity, accountability, and respect. 

Want to get involved or learn more? Email devorah@jufj.org

As legislation related to policing, and police spending, comes up at the County Level, JUFJ’s Policing Legislation and Budget workgroup works with our partners to respond to incoming legislation.

This workgroup also works on non-legislative initiatives related to policing, like the County’s Reimagining Public Safety Taskforce and Police Department Audit.

Interested in joining the Policing Legislation and Budget workgroup? Email devorah@jufj.org.

JUFJ and our partners worked to elect youth voices to the Accountability Commission on Policing (formerly PAC), the County’s watchdog Body on policing issues.

The ACP meets once a month on the second Monday of the month. JUFJ and our partners follow along with the meetings and strategize with members of the ACP on how to make change.

Interested in joining an ACP meeting? Email devorah@jufj.org.

Related Events

  • Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policing Team Meeting

    April 9 | 7:00 pm8:30 pm

    Jewish sacred texts declare that destroying even one life is akin to destroying a whole world. But here in Montgomery County, lives are destroyed every day, especially Black and brown lives, by our systems of policing and school discipline. Join us for our next team meeting to discuss ongoing campai…

  • What’s At Stake in the Montgomery County Board of Education Primary Elections?

    April 28 | 3:00 pm4:00 pm

    How is the Montgomery County Board of Education structured? Who are the candidates running for the primary election this year? How are Board of Education races different from the other races on the 2024 primary ballot? And why do Board of Education races matter, especially for the issue areas JUFJ f…

  • Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policing Team Meeting

    May 7 | 7:00 pm8:30 pm

    Jewish sacred texts declare that destroying even one life is akin to destroying a whole world. But here in Montgomery County, lives are destroyed every day, especially Black and brown lives, by our systems of policing and school discipline. Join us for our next team meeting to discuss ongoing campai…

  • Montgomery County Racial Equity and Policing Team Meeting

    June 4 | 7:00 pm8:30 pm

    Jewish sacred texts declare that destroying even one life is akin to destroying a whole world. But here in Montgomery County, lives are destroyed every day, especially Black and brown lives, by our systems of policing and school discipline. Join us for our next team meeting to discuss ongoing campai…

Campaign Staff