Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • The City that Really Did Abolish the Police Audio icon

    A decade after Camden crime and police relations hit bottom, and five years after President Obama lauded its new police department as a model for reform, the city's successful reboot of its police force offers both encouragement and cautionary notes for a radical makeover of a police department. Excessive force rates and homicides have both dropped. A toothless disciplinary system has been replaced. But, while residents agree conditions have improved, they point to a number of changes still needed after the entire department was replaced.

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  • The Camden Police Department Is Not A Model For Policing In The Post-George Floyd Era

    Hailed as an example of a successful, radical makeover of a police department, Camden's policing actually represents only a slight shift, from mass incarceration to its close cousin, mass supervision through surveillance and a continued reliance on broken-windows-style over-policing. Much of the city's reform consists of slick rebranding; for example, hot spots policing turns into "guardian zones," but the effect on residents is similar. Policing and conditions have improved, but not for the reasons that police reformers would like to think.

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  • Black Technologists Create New Virtual Gathering Spaces for Support & Networks Amid Pandemic

    Spurred by the trend towards digital conferencing during the Covid19 pandemic, Black technologists created virtual gatherings to support communities who are generally underrepresented in the tech industry. “Quarantine Con” and “In Streaming Color,” were aimed at elevating the voices of people of color in the tech industry. Their success led to other events in different industries such as a virtual gym, a culinary showcase, wealth building, and mental health. While the events are open to everyone, the organizers say that they want to normalize the appearance of Black experts.

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  • There's already an alternative to calling the police Audio icon

    CAHOOTS, the 31-year-old program considered a model for the growing number of community-based crisis programs, fielded more than 24,000 calls in 2019, less than 1% of which required police involvement. The program's unarmed first responders use "unconditional positive regard," meaning support and acceptance for people in a mental health crisis. Although Eugene is relatively small, its proven system of de-escalation, meant to avoid police violence, has now been adopted in Denver, Oakland, Portland, and elsewhere.

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  • Community groups have consistently failed to improve policing. These advocates are pushing a new way.

    Civilian oversight panels serving as watchdogs and disciplinary enforcers for police departments have a generally poor record of effectiveness, thanks to multiple structural flaws. But examples of successful oversight are multiplying, and thanks to protests of police violence many more cities are working to establish bodies with real power to investigate wrongdoing in specific cases and effect change throughout an agency. One city getting high marks for its program is Denver, where the Office of Independent Monitor succeeded in pressing for new use-of-force rules, which cut incidents by 21% in a year.

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  • Designed to Save Lives: Artists Craft Coronavirus Messaging for Underserved Communities

    Artists are designing bold and direct messaging to provide Covid-19 information to underserved populations. The messaging is explicit, often highlighting the role of racism in health disparities seen with the virus, and it is culturally specific to the intended audience. Messaging is offered in multiple languages and the information and images speak directly to the cultural norms of specific groups. Messaging is also delivered in a variety of ways, from fliers disseminated in Black churches to including brochures in bags of free groceries to hanging posters in residential buildings.

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  • What Estonia could teach us about internet voting in a post-pandemic world

    Estonia’s i-Voting system is currently used by 46.7% of voters and allows them to vote from home using a government-issued smart card. To vote, residents need a computer with a card reader or can have their encrypted ID linked to their cell phone SIM card. They can track their vote with a QR code and are able to change their choices any time during the 10-day voting period. Estonia is currently the only country to use this method, in part because eroding government trust has prevented the use of centralized systems that track personal information.

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  • Major Labels Are Donating Millions for Racial Justice. That Isn't Enough

    In the aftermath of George Floyd's death, the 'big three' major record labels - Sony, Warner, and Universal have taken meaningless actions to address the racial inequity in the music industry. Donations, diversity panels, and statements of support fail to address the lack of diversity among executive leadership, or the lack of ownership and power the artists have over their own music, nor do they address the lack of diversity in the types of artists being invested in or the lack of professional support for black artists. Their gestures are only paying lip service to racial justice.

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  • This is how the Police Advisory Commission should work in Philadelphia

    Truly independent citizen review boards can serve as an effective check on police misconduct if they are structured properly, but too many cities are like Philadelphia, where a lack of power and resources means they serve mainly as window dressing. The history of the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission shows how initial efforts by community groups to establish real oversight fizzled through political gamesmanship and limits on the panel’s power to investigate and discipline. More promising models exist in Phoenix, Denver, and St. Louis.

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  • Promotoras: A community model with heart — and teeth

    Promotoras is a model used in Latin America since the 1950s, where respected community members perform health outreach and host events to answer questions about healthcare access and treatments. The program seeks to ensure that Latinx communities are not prevented from receiving quality healthcare because of traditional obstacles such as distrust, lack of transportation, lack of insurance, or language barriers. Research and surveys consistently show that this model achieves success by improving access to health services for the majority of people they interact with.

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