We Stand Together with Black Lives Matter
The NEOCH team is a multi-racial group of mixed class backgrounds, working to end homelessness and create transformative change in our community. We believe that the work to end racism is the work to end homelessness.
We are heartbroken and outraged by the systemic killing of black people and we continue to stand with communities of color on the front lines demanding justice. We are reminded by Frederick Douglass that, “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
Racism and white supremacy use state violence to control communities of color in our society. The murders of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY, Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, GA, and George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, demonstrate the complete failure of institutions to protect people and instead work to continue to devalue and commodify black people. In Cleveland, anti-black racism and police brutality have plagued our community for generations. We have yet to see anyone be held accountable for the murders of Tanisha Anderson, Brandon Jones, Tamir Rice, Thomas Yatsko, Malissa Williams, Timothy Russell, and most recently, Desmond Franklin, who was killed by an off-duty officer on April 9th. This absence of accountability evokes the horrifying conditions in the Cuyahoga County Jail that led to 9 deaths in less than a year in 2018-2019. Through the work of local organizers demanding justice, Sheriff’s detectives didn’t probe the deaths until a U.S. marshal investigator raised alarms that the county never performed any investigation of policies and procedures that contributed to the jail deaths.
What happened on Saturday in our community is a result of that vacuum of justice and from the hard work of black organizers and community leaders. Thousands of people came together to say #blacklivesmatter and to demand justice. We are inspired by people claiming their power and demanding freedom. There was an energy among the crowd that was new to the Cleveland community. We are proud to have participated in the rally and commit to continuing to show up for our people.
The racism and white supremacy that results in police officers murdering black people exist at the root of homelessness and it still pervades housing policy today. The State of Ohio imprisons five black people to every one white person, which becomes a never-ending sentence with collateral sanctions that disproportionately impact people of color. Furthermore, a recent study shows that $4 billion dollars was stolen from the black community between 1950-1970 by white real estate agents and investors in Chicago alone. The policies and practices of incarceration, redlining, exclusionary zoning, and land contracts have systematically designed forces to extract wealth, kill, and imprison whole communities of color.
Every day, we are building with the unhoused community of Cleveland and we are hearing from our people living on the street that they are tired of being targeted, tired of fearing a police interaction in a park, or wondering whether a night in jail will cost them their lives. If we ever stand a chance of ending this onslaught of racist violence and the horrific cycles of trauma that come with it, then we must come together and dismantle the systems that perpetuate it. We need to do better and truly believe in radical accountability for public officials, private businesses, and local nonprofits that uphold an unjust system. We believe another world is possible and collective liberation is needed.
Cleveland’s public and nonprofit community must move from racial equity dialogues to actions that dismantle white supremacist social and institutional structures. If our leaders are serious about creating a safer and more just Cleveland, they will channel the community's outrage into the work of divesting from a militarized police force and investing in public goods that actually enable safety and well-being, like affordable housing for all, healthcare, education, transit, community centers, and social services.
We will continue our work of radically loving our people, our Black and Brown neighbors, family, and friends. We recognize that our mission calls us to do more. Risk more. Demand more.
Joining groups that are doing this work and taking direction from POC leadership is paramount and we are thankful for the leadership of Black Lives Matter Cleveland.
There are many white people right now wondering what they can do, and that might include you or your loved ones. We ask that you please continue to do your own anti-racist work. Support BLM Cleveland as they organize actions against murders by police and anti-Black violence. If you can, donate here towards BLM Cleveland’s protester bail fund and share it with your network.
