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The “People’s Justice Guarantee” is a big plan from Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
She wants to tackle several key issues that particularly impact Black people. Some include:
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Legalize marijuana
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Abolish the death penalty
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End cash bail
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Decriminalize sex work
She’s NOT scared. And this is just the beginning...
Ayanna is pushing to reduce the prison population by 80% (yes, you read that right). How?
Well, for starters, she wants to stop punishing offenses like drug possession and respond to them with civil citations instead. Her goal is to accomplish this all by 2035.
Her resolution also includes “universal health care, a $1 trillion investment in housing, a $15 minimum wage and federal job guarantee, some form of reparations for descendants of slaves” among other things. She wants to address socioeconomic factors that influence crime, too!
Pressley says the “resolution calls for a bold transformation of the status quo - devoted to dismantling injustices so that the system is smaller, safer, less punitive, and more humane.”
Her plan is the product of a lot of different people coming together at the grassroots level to offer input.
Representative Pressley is putting forth a big plan that’s clearly thanks to the tireless work of Black organizers and activists who have been making these demands for years. We have them to thank for influencing the conversation in such a huge way. Let’s keep pushing!