@BlackMastodon#Abolition#BlackMastodon#BlackTwitter#ReducingPoliceViolence#CommunityEmpowerment@BlackMastodon
The group is part of Brownsville Safety Alliance, a coalition of organizations that are committed to creating a model of what a community can look like when it starts to take responsibility for safety. For 5 days several times a year the groups help keep the community safe. This program works with city support and the police have buy in. 2/5
@BlackMastodon#Abolition#BlackMastodon#BlackTwitter#ReducingPoliceViolence#CommunityEmpowerment@BlackMastodon
The police are there but the default position is to allow Brownsville in Violence Out (wearing purple and gold) handle problems. They are a gun violence reduction group but many of them have community credibility. People listen to them. But at the same time the other members of Brownsville Safety Alliance have tables set up to give residents assistance with other issues. 3/5
@BlackMastodon#Abolition#BlackMastodon#BlackTwitter#ReducingPoliceViolence#CommunityEmpowerment@BlackMastodon
They work with some incredibly complicated issues like intimate partner violence, an attempted robbery of a bodega (that’s a corner store for you non-native New Yorkers), teens engaged in disruptive behavior, and talking people into turning in weapons. The neighborhood reaction is mostly positive and supportive. The NYT story was posted on 06/04 if you have access. 4/5