The Honorable Barack Obama

President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Wa s h i n g t o n , D C 2 0 5 0 0

8.25.2014

DEAR PRESIDENT OBAMA:

In cities across America, local law enforcement units too often treat low-income neighborhoods
populated by African Americans and Latinos as if they are military combat zones instead of
communities where people strive to live, learn, work, play and pray in peace and harmony. Youth of
color, black boys and men especially, who should be growing up in supportive, affirming environments
are instead presumed to be criminals and relentlessly subjected to aggressive police tactics that result
in unnecessary fear, arrests, injuries, and deaths.
Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teen shot multiple times and killed by a Ferguson, MO
police officer, is only the latest in a long list of black men and boys who have died under eerily similar
circumstances. Investigations into the Ferguson shooting are ongoing, and many of the specific facts
remain unclear for now. However, the pattern is too obvious to be a coincidence and too frequent to be
a mistake. From policing to adjudication and incarceration, it is time for the country to counter the
effects of systemic racial bias, which impairs the perceptions, judgment, and behavior of too many of
our law enforcement personnel and obstructs the ability of our police departments and criminal justice
institutions to protect and serve all communities in a fair and just manner.
In addition, the militarization of police departments across the country is creating conditions that will
further erode the trust that should exist between residents and the police who serve them. The
proliferation of machine guns, silencers, armored vehicles and aircraft, and camouflage in local law
enforcement units does not bode well for police-community relations, the future of our cities, or our
country.
And surely neither systemic racial bias nor police department militarization serves the interests of the
countless police officers who bravely place their lives at risk every day.
In light of these dangerous trends, we, the undersigned, call on the Administration to pursue the
following actions:
Training: Racial bias is real. Whether implicit or explicit, it influences perceptions and behaviors and can
be deadly. Law enforcement personnel in every department in the country, under guidelines set by the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), should be required to undergo racial bias training as a part of
ongoing professional development and training.
Accountability: Police departments should not be solely responsible for investigating themselves.
These departments are funded by the public and should be accountable to the public. Enforceable
accountability measures must be either established or reexamined for impartiality in circumstances
where police shoot unarmed victims. DOJ must set and implement national standards of investigation
that are democratic (involving independent review boards broadly representative of the community
served), transparent, and enforceable.
Diversity: Police department personnel should be representative of the communities they serve. Police
departments must adopt personnel practices that result in the hiring and retention of diverse law
enforcement professionals. Using diversity best practices established in other sectors, DOJ must set,
implement, and monitor diversity hiring and retention guidelines for local police departments.

Maya Rockeymoore, President &

CEO
Center for Global Policy Solutions

Khalil Gibran Muhammad,

Historian
A u t h o r, C o n d e m n a t i o n o f B l a c k n e s s

Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder

& CEO
PolicyLink

Lester Spence
Associate Professor of Political
Science and Africana Studies
Johns Hopkins University
Howard Dodson, Director
Howard University Libraries

Chris Rabb
Te m p l e U n i v e r s i t y F o x S c h o o l o f
Business
S o c i a l I m p a c t F e l l o w, I n n o v a t i o n
and Entrepreneurship Institute

S u s a n Ta y l o r, F o u n d e r
National CARES Mentoring
Movement
Editor Emeritus, Essence Magazine

W i l l i a m D a r i t y, J r.
Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of
P u b l i c P o l i c y, A f r i c a n a n d
African American Studies and
Economics, Duke University

K a t h l e e n K e n n e d y To w n s e n d
Former Lt. Governor State of
Maryland
Former Chair Robert Kennedy
Memorial

Khephra Burns
Writer

M a n u e l P a s t o r, P r o f e s s o r
University of Southern California

The Honorable Steven Horsford

Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives

Hugh B. Price
Former President & CEO
National Urban League

Kimberley C. Ellis, Ph.D.

American and Africana Studies
Scholar
C E O , D r. G o d d e s s A r t s , E d u c a t i o n ,
and Management

The Honorable Elijah E.

Cummings
Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable Marcia Fudge

C h a i r, C o n g r e s s i o n a l B l a c k C a u c u s
M e m b e r, U . S . H o u s e o f
Representatives
john a. powell
D i r e c t o r, H a a s I n s t i t u t e f o r a F a i r
and Inclusive Society
University of California, Berkeley
Kevin Powell, President
BK Nation
S h u a n i s e Wa s h i n g t o n , P re s i d e n t &
CEO
Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation
John H. Jackson, President & CEO
Schott Foundation for Public
Education
Rashad Robinson, Executive
Director
ColorOfChange
Heather Booth, Consultant
Democracy Partners

C h r i s M e s s e n g e r, E x e c u t i v e
Director
Boston Mobilization

Antonio Gonzalez, President

W i l l i a m C . Ve l a s q u e z I n s t i t u t e
R e v e r e n d L e n n o x Ye a r w o o d ,
President & CEO
Hip Hop Caucus
Robert Borosage, Co-Director
C a m p a i g n f o r A m e r i c a s F u t u r e

Thomas M. Shapiro, Director

Institute on Assets and Social
Policy Brandeis University

Brad Learmonth, Director of

Programming
Harlem Stage

Marcia L. Dyson, CEO

W o m e n s G l o b a l I n i t i a t i v e

The Honorable John Lewis

Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives

R a b b i L a u r a G e l l e r, S e n i o r R a b b i
Te m p l e E m a n u e l o f B e v e r l y H i l l s
Julianne Malveaux, Founder
Economic Education
Henry A.J. Ramos, President &
CEO
Insight Center for Community and
Economic Development

Carrie Mae Weems

Artist
T h o m a s A . L a Ve i s t , P r o f e s s o r
Johns Hopkins University
Steve Phillips, Chairman
P o w e r PA C +
Barry Scheck, Professor of Law
Cardozo Law School

C r a i g Wa t k i n s
Dallas County District Attorney

M e l i n d a F. E m e r s o n
SmallBizLady
P u b l i s h e r,
S u c c e e d A s Yo u r O w n B o s s . c o m

Bakari Kitwana, Executive

Director
Rap Sessions: Community
Dialogues on Hip Hop

David Hall, President

University of the Virgin Islands

Harry E. Johnson, President/CEO

The Memorial Foundation

R o b e r t a Wa l l a c h
Actor/Artist

M a r i a Te r e s a K u m a r, P r e s i d e n t
Vo t o L a t i n o

Ben Cohen, Co-Founder

B e n a n d J e r r y s I c e C r e a m

Rabbi Camille Shira Angel

Congregation Shaar Zahav

R o g e r H i c k e y, C o - D i r e c t o r
C a m p a i g n f o r A m e r i c a s F u t u r e

Richard E. Fredricks, President

Maritime Solutions, Inc.

Larry Cohen, Founder & Executive

Director
Prevention Institute

Wes Moore, CEO

BridgeEDU

Demilitarization: Deterring crime and protecting communities should not involve military weaponry.
Effective policing strategies and community relationships will not be advanced if police departments
continue to act as an occupying force in neighborhoods. The Administration must suspend programs
that transfer military equipment into the hands of local police departments and create guidelines that
regulate and monitor the use of military equipment that has already been distributed.

B i s h o p W a l t e r S . T h o m a s S r.
P a s t o r, N e w P s a l m i s t B a p t i s t
Church

Heather McGhee, President

Demos

Stephen Maynard Caliendo

P r o f e s s o r, N o r t h C e n t r a l C o l l e g e
C o - D i r e c t o r, T h e P r o j e c t o n R a c e i n
Political Communication

Howard Pinderhughes, Associate

Professor
University of California, San
Francisco

Te r r y L . L i e r m a n , F o u n d i n g
Partner
S u m m i t G l o b a l Ve n t u r e s

R i c h a r d L . Tr u m k a , P r e s i d e n t
AFL-CIO

Rabbi Barbara Penzner

Te m p l e H i l l e l B n a i To r a h , B o s t o n

Larry Irving, Co-Founder

Mobile Alliance for Global Good

Wm. Jelani Cobb, Director

Africana Studies Institute
University of Connecticut

Oversight: If somebody isnt tasked with ensuring the implementation of equitable policing in cities
across the country, then no one will do the job. The Administration must appoint a federal Czar, housed
in the U.S. Department of Justice, who is specifically tasked with promoting the professionalization of
local law enforcement, monitoring egregious law enforcement activities, and adjudicating suspicious
actions of local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding.

Patricia Cruz, Executive Director

Harlem Stage

A v i s J o n e s D e W e e v e r, P r e s i d e n t
and CEO
Incite Unlimited

Engagement: Too often law enforcement personnel hold stereotypes about black and brown youth and
vice versa. Lack of familiarity breeds lack of understanding and increased opportunities for conflict.
Police departments must break through stereotypes and bias by identifying regular opportunities for
constructive and quality engagement with youth living in the communities they serve. The
Administration can authorize support for youth engagement activity under existing youth grants issued
by DOJ.

Examination and Change: It is possible to create police departments that respect, serve and protect all
people in the community regardless of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, physical and mental ability,
gender, faith, or class. The Administration must quickly establish a national commission to review
existing police policies and practices and identify the best policies and practices that can prevent more
Fergusons and vastly improve policing in communities across the nation.

Gary Orfield
P r o f e s s o r o f E d u c a t i o n , L a w, U r b a n
Planning
C o - D i r e c t o r, C i v i l R i g h t s P r o j e c t
UCLA

Vic Rosenthal, Executive Director

Jewish Community Action

Derek Fonzworth Bentley

Wa t k i n s
Founder
Fonzworth Bentley Leadership
Institute

J i m Wa l l i s , F o u n d e r & P re s i d e n t
Sojourners

Bruce Gordon
R e t i r e d G r o u p P r e s i d e n t , Ve r i z o n
Communications
Former CEO, NAACP

G e o r g e F r a s e r, C E O
FraserNet, Inc.

Jamal Simmons, Co-Founder

F LY C L I Q U E . c o m

Joseph Jones, President & CEO

Center for Urban Families

Makani Themba, Executive

Director
The Praxis Project
R e v. D r. R o d n e y S . S a d l e r, J r.
Associate Professor of Bible
Union Presbyterian Seminary
Madeline McClenney-Sadler
President, ExodusFoundation.org
C a t h e r i n e M u t h e r, P r e s i d e n t
Three Guineas Fund
Russell Simmons, CEO
Rush Communications
Michael Skolnik, President
Global Grind
Angela Rye, President & CEO
I M PA C T S t r a t e g i e s

F r e d R o b i n s o n , J r. , P r e s i d e n t
Full Spectrum Enterprises

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia,
Professor
Brandeis University

C a r l e e n Ly d e n - K l u s s , C o - F o u n d e r
& Executive Director
N A M E PA

Ann Cook
Educator

Fred Azcarate, Executive Director

USAction

Hadar Susskind, Director

Bend the Arc Jewish Action

Cynthia Nixon
Actress

S t o s h C o t l e r, C E O
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership
for Justice

Staceyann Chin
Writer
Janet Dewart Bell
Communications and Policy
Consultant
The Honorable Gwen Moore
Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives
Elsie Scott, Director
R o n a l d Wa l t e r s C e n t e r
Howard University
Clay Maitland, Managing Partner
International Registries
Ellen Stone Belic
Stone Family Foundation
Lisa Hasegawa, Executive
Director
National Coalition for Asian Pacific
American Community Development
William Julius Wilson, Professor
Harvard University
Gregory A. Cendana, Executive
Director
Asian Pacific American Labor
Alliance
Myron Dean Quon, Esq.,
Executive Director
N A PA FA S A
Rosie Abriam, President & CEO
T h e C e n t e r f o r A PA W o m e n
Ben de Guzman, Co-Director for
Programs
National Queer Asian Pacific
Islander Alliance
Fabian DeRozario, President
National Association of Asian
American Professionals

B a o Va n g , P r e s i d e n t & C E O
Hmong National Development
Mary E. McClymont, President
Public Welfare Foundation
Wa d e H e n d e r s o n , P re s i d e n t &
CEO
The Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights
Deepak Bhargava, Executive
Director
Center for Community Change
C . A . D a n G a s b y, O w n e r / P a r t n e r
B. Smith Enterprises
Dayna L. Cunningham, Esq.,
Executive Director
MIT Community Innovators Lab
Lori Villarosa, Executive Director
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial
Equity
Gibor Basri, Vice Chancellor for
Equity and Inclusion
University of California, Berkeley
M a r y K a y H e n r y, P r e s i d e n t
SEIU
Nailah Suad Nasir
Professor of African American
Studies and Education
University of California, Berkeley
Michael Omi, Professor
University of California, Berkeley
M. Starita Boyce Ansari, Chief
Change Officer
MSBphilanthropy Advisors, LLC
Cedric Brown, Managing Partner
Kapor Center for Social Impact

S h e r r i D u n n B e r r y, D i r e c t o r o f
Programs
Community Partners

Freada Kapor Klein, Founder &

Partner
Level Playing Field Institute &
Kapor Capital

James Lewis, Issue Advocacy

Director
Yo u n g D e m o c r a t s o f A m e r i c a

B e n j a m i n To d d J e a l o u s , Ve n t u r e
Partner
Kapor Capital

D a e J . Yo o n , E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r
National Korean American Service
& Education Consortium

M i t c h e l l K a p o r, P a r t n e r
Kapor Capital

Henry Chalfant, President

Public Arts Film
J. Philip Thompson, Associate
Professor
Massachusetts Institute of
Te c h n o l o g y

Maya L. Harris
S e n i o r F e l l o w, C e n t e r f o r A m e r i c a n
Progress
V i s i t i n g S c h o l a r, H a r v a r d L a w
School
Va n J o n e s , P r e s i d e n t
# Ye s W e C a n & R e b u i l d t h e D r e a m

Kathleen Chalfant
Actor

Lisa Thurau, Executive Director

S t r a t e g i e s f o r Yo u t h

Timothy Silard, President

Rosenberg Foundation

Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein

Bethesda, MD

Jamal-Harrison Bryant
Senior Pastor & Founder
E m p o w e r m e n t Te m p l e

The Honorable Barbara Lee

Member of Congress
U.S. House of Representatives

D a r l e n e Ta y l o r, C h a i r
Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright
Foundation