#communitycontrolnow

“I can’t breathe, the pepper spray is hurting me.” These are the words spoken by Tauris Sledge, a highschool student attending Hamilton County Public school in the Chattanooga area. The police do not provide safety in our schools, they are a ticking time bomb of anti-Black racism, brutality, and violence against young people and children. Tyler McRae’s abusive behavior against young Black people is a systemic issue, and it’s not just a case of a bad apple; having police in schools is rotten to the core.

…

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has a history of violent offenses against community members, particularly Black people, in the Chattanooga area. School should be a learning environment and not a place of brutal punishment. Children and young people should be able to learn from their mistakes at school, or take a break from class when they’re not feeling themself, not face humiliation and police brutality for minor misbehavior or taking rest. School should not be modeled after the systems of brutality that impact our daily lives. This was an instance of kids being kids, and cops being cops.

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, and the Hamilton County Department of Education, both need to be held accountable for allowing Tyler McRae to be around children and work as a School Police Officer. The family of Tauris Sledge, his classmates, the students at East Ridge High school, the Chattanooga community, and Tarius himself deserve justice. The SRO contract with Hamilton County Schools states that “SRO’s are not to be used as disciplinarians”, and yet Tyler McRae was allowed to act as the School Police disciplinarian.

(Swipe right to view full statement or visit https://bit.ly/StopTheViolence-Schools)

#nocopsinschools #accountabilitymatters #communitycontrolnow #JusticeforTauris

“Kenosha, WI. I was raised in a city like this, only it was in the S.E. USA, instead of the Midwest. A place called. Chattanooga, Tennessee. It had more even of a racist violent city reputation than Kenosha The KKK was always strong in this NN. area, until Black people drove them out in the 1980's. In fact, during the 1980's-90's Chattanooga had more police killings than anywhere in the USA (for a city of less than 150,000 residents. when I finally left in 1999, 58 cases were unearthed by researchers and activists of city and area cops. It was suspected that the Klan killed or brutalized even more. You can only survive and win in such a place by organizing a resistance movement, which is what we did.” - Lorenzo Komboa Ervin (Former CCJ President)

The Chattanooga police department continues to brutalize and kill our people, all while receiving vastly more public money than any other government agency. Incarcerated people in Hamilton county jail and Silverdale detention center are experiencing continuous human-rights violations.

Join CCJ on Saturday, April 10th, 2021 at 2pm EST for the Care Over Cops and Cages: Rolling Block Party.  You’re invited to bring signs, banners, and car decorations to amplify the visions for what we want to build in Chattanooga for our health, safety, work, and land.

Imagine if, instead of the police, half a billion dollars were invested into resources for our community. Mental health services and trauma responders instead of police, accessible shelters for people experiencing house-lessness, and putting an end to the criminalization of our people. These are a few examples of the care that our communities deserve.

Artwork by @artofting

Today we honor and celebrate the life of our brother JaVario Eagle, Mr.Team💯

JV would have been 30 years young today, if the Chattanooga Police Department had not executed him outside of his home on December 12th, 2015. There has yet to be justice for JaVario’s family, no trial for the officers that murdered him, and not even so much as an apology to his mother.

What we gone do to make Chatt-Town Rise?

Educate, Agitate, Organize!

Join us for CCJ’s Monthly General Membership Meeting on

Monday, February 8th at 6:00 pm

Register today at tiny.cc/CCJMembership2021

*Due to the pandemic all general meetings will be held virtually on the 8th of each month

White supremacy, fascism, patriarchy, and capitalism will not simply go away with the passing of 45's term in office. Yesterday, the 46th president was sworn into the United States office, and while it is true that Kamala Harris' vice presidency is historic, the neoliberal politics of the Biden administration are all too familiar. We must connect, plan, and organize during these crucial first 100 days of the presidential term. There is no unifying with those who would have us killed, locked-up or deported. There is, however, a united front of revolutionary movements, grassroots organizations and community members fighting for liberation in our lifetime. The Red, Black and Green New Deal, The 2020 BREATHE Act, and the Southern People's First 100 Days are just a few examples of transformative efforts at the regional and national level. Let's keep moving.

For more information check out

@southernpeoplespower

@gcclp

@mvmnt4blklives

“Of the 1596 signatures that the Commission rejected, the Coalition found more than 300 to be wrongfully rejected, their rejection of a questionable nature, and not in compliance with Tennessee code of elections section 2-1-107. The Community Control Now ballot initiative only needs 226 additional signatures to be certified to meet the required amount of petition signatures.”

#CommunityControlNow #BestTownForWho?

🗣From COVID in the Spring to the uprisings in the Summer, and the #CommunityControlNow petition drive in the Fall; 2020 has been a wild ride with many ups and downs.

Join CCJ for our FINAL General Membership call of the year on Tuesday, December 8th @ 6:30 pm EST.

Register at tiny.cc/CCJMEMBERSHIP