Why we the people of America must stand unified to demand Justice and Liberty for all. The dream of America was founded on the prin- ciple of ensuring every citizen the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As our country has grown, we have watched helplessly as our government fails to uphold these principles. https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdis- playdocumentpdf/?cote=SDD/DOC(2018)1&docLan- guage=En https://www.businessinsider.com/what-amazon-ceo-jeff- bezos-makes-every-day-hour-minute-2018-10 https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-current-pover- ty-rate-united-states#:~:text=The%20official%20pov- erty%20rate%20is,poverty%20rate%20was%2013.9%20 percent. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/ examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/ https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2013/acs/ acsbr11-17.pdf Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarcer- ation in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/adminis- trative/market_research/national-lawyer-population-de- mographics-2009-2019.pdf https://www.prisonpolicy.org https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019038.pdf https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/ https://policeviolencereport.org/ no rights reserved HiPowerPress 2020 JohnnyHiPower@gmail.com SOURCES “blacks [are] nearly four times more likely than other residents to live in neighborhoods where the poverty rate was 40% or higher [...] high-poverty neighborhoods in America often are characterized by poor schools, reduced ac- cess to healthy food, high crime rates, and weak social institutions” 99% of police killings from 2013-20019 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime Police spend 7x as many hours training to shoot than they do training to de-escalate situations ~35% of Americans have an immediate family member who has been to prison or jail. 1/5 of the worlds prisoners are incarcerated here in the U.S. These citizens will face discrimination in voting, housing, employment, etc. which has negative multi-generational impacts. National Poverty Rates By Race Facts & Statistics 27.% 26% 23.2% 11% American Indians/Alaskan Natives Black Hispanic/Latino White In the U.S. . . . -1 in 3 black men will be imprisoned -1 in 6 latinos will be imprisoned -1 in 17 whites will be imprisoned Black Americans are only 13% of U.S. Population Yet make up 40% of Incarcerated population 85% of Lawyers are White, 5% are black, 5% are Hispanic More black men are in prison or jail, on proba- tion or parole than were enslaved in 1850, prior to the civil war (1) 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 8 (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) On Justice And Equity The citizens of this great country deserve more. As we work day in and day out, contributing to the millions of dollars CEOS take home every year. Jeff Bezos makes $2,489 per SECOND , while his company, Amazon, paid $0 in taxes in 2018. Meanwhile, 12% of Americans live in poverty . Many of us struggle to find the money to put food on the table, pay medical bills, and provide a proper education for our children. As our political leaders continue to stuff their pockets, and bow to the demands of the rich, the poor and working class are left struggling. The laws and policies they create do little to address the growing inequality of wealth in our country. By fixing the problems that make life so hard for the most vulnerable Americans, we will all benefit greatly. By fixing these problems, we will all enjoy more freedom. By fixing these problems, we will be able to grow our econo- my. By fixing these problems we will grow our country into a nation that is respected and once again a beacon of freedom and equality. Now lets take a look at the way our system fails those who are already struggling. By doing this, we can get a deeper understanding of the frusturation which has recently led to massive protest The average wealth owned by a white family is $171,000. The average wealth owned by a black family is $17,150. White families have a net average of 10 TIMES the wealth of a typical black family Why is our society like this? Where does this inequity come from? In order to understand how we got to this point, its important to look at the history that has led us to the present situation. Black Americans have faced unequal treatment for the 400 years they have been a part of Amer- ica. Its a common misconception that after slavery was abolished, and after the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, all the problems for Black America simply went away. Black communities have faced decade upon decade of segregation, job discrimination, dis- proportionate school funding and infrastructure funding, unfair media portrayal, higher arrest rates, stronger criminal sentencing and a host of other issues. All of these issues are stacked againt Black Americans and cause their commu- nities to suffer. The inequalities in our system force people of all races to be forced into a des- perate poverty from which there is little chance for escape. The war on drugs was started specifically because Nixon saw Black Communities as a threat , and under the pretext of fighting crime, intentionally began to destroy Black communi- ties. “You want to know what this was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You under- stand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.” “...household net wealth is most unequally distributed in the United States, where the richest 10% of households own 79% of total wealth, while the richest 1% holds 42%” “Again we have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor – both black and white , both here and abroad.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. ~John Erlichman, Counsel and Assistant to president Nixon Together, we can build a better world that takes care of everyone, not just those who are born into wealth. 1 2,3 4