City Council adopts resolution in support of The Breathe Act

During this week’s Council meeting, the Council adopted a resolution in support of the Electoral Justice Project of Movement for Black Lives’ Breathe Act, championed by Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.

Black people and allies nationwide are demanding a new approach to community safety that divests from policing and invests in healthy, sustainable communities. The Movement for Black Lives has articulated a vision to achieve this goal, including policies that would ensure safety, equality, and justice for all people who have been denied human rights for far too long.

The Electoral Justice Project of Movement for Black Lives has presented a federal BREATHE Act that would begin to realize this vision, allowing all people — including Black, Brown, cisgender and transgender, disabled, undocumented, LGBT, and Indigenous communities — to be represented, free, and thriving.

The BREATHE Act is centered around four main ideas: divesting federal funds from the carceral system, investing in non-carceral, non-punitive systems that center community safety and Black lives, as well as prioritizing funding to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities, and empowering Black communities to guide their own decision-making.

For more information, visit the BREATHE Act website.