M.O.B.B. United for Social Change, Inc.

A VOICE for Moms of Black sons

As of the end of April 2018, more than 400 people had been killed at the hands of law enforcement officials due to excessive force; 21 percent – 82 – were Black men or boys, roughly twice the rate of their percentages in the population..

As MOMS OF Black Boys, United for Social Change, we want our sons to live independent lives and contribute their talent and energy to the future success of our great nation. M.O.B.B. United for Social Change, Inc. (MUSC) focuses on influencing policy that impacts how Black boys and men are treated and perceived by law enforcement and in society. Our focus covers a variety of areas plagued by racial disparities as it relates to their interaction with law enforcement and persons in authority. From the school‐to‐prison pipeline to the broader criminal justice system, we aim to break down these walls and change the trajectory of racial injustice to ensure that our sons survive and thrive.

Black men and boys make remarkable and valuable contributions to our communities. Despite these contributions and despite our numbers, they continue to face discrimination and violence at the hands of law enforcement and educators.

MUSC believes that candidates for public office must address these disparities and set forth a vision to ensure the civil rights of black men and boys and their safety in society.

In an effort to inform Moms of Black Boys or your education and criminal justice policy positions, initiatives, and priorities, MUSC has developed this candidate questionnaire. We believe the issues addressed in this questionnaire are vital to ensuring black boys and men survive and thrive and therefore request your response.

We greatly appreciate your time and attention to our concerns. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]

We look forward to sharing your responses with over 180,000 moms represented in our community!

2018 Candidate Questionnaire

Law Enforcement

Training

MUSC believes that law enforcement officials need to be adequately trained to interact with diverse communities, to develop options and strategies to more effectively deal with members of the public who are in mental and emotional distress; and to discern when to appropriately use lethal versus non-lethal methods to protect themselves. MUSC advocates for the local and state adoption of nationwide minimum standards and requirements for de‐escalation training for all law enforcement officers.

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support any attempts to increase training requirements and develop uniform and national standards for law enforcement officials.
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to ensure law enforcement officials are adequately trained?

Oversight

MUSC believes in strong oversight measures to hold LEOs accountable, build trust, and foster transparency.

MUSC is advocating for uniform policies to access body camera footage for those police departments that have body worn cameras. In order to execute this policy, it would require an independent entity to oversee either a national law or each of the state laws.

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support any attempts to develop oversight mechanisms and requirements for oversight mechanisms such as body cameras?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to ensure the development of uniform requirements for body camera usage and footage?

Accountability

MUSC believes that LEOs should be accountable for their actions; MUSC is advocating for independent investigations and that police officers be held to the same standards when they have violated the law or someone’s civil rights.

Questions ‐

1. Do you support strong police accountability measures – such as independent oversight of investigations, leave without pay, vigorous and unbiased prosecution?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to ensure the development of strong police accountability measures?

Juvenile Justice

Teen Life Sentencing

MUSC advocates to end the life sentences for teens and to prohibit any life sentence for anyone under the age of 18 no matter what the offense was. That would require all 50 states plus the District of Columbia to ban teen life sentencing and modify sentencing for those who are currently serving a life sentence.

Questions ‐

1. Do you oppose or support ending life sentences for teens?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to ensure sentencing is fair and unbiased?

Schools – School Discipline and the School-to-Prison Pipeline

MUSC advocates to end zero tolerance policies in schools and to limit the presence and role of law enforcement officials in schools. The school-to-prison pipeline is a system of policies and practices that pushes children out of school and into the criminal justice system. This system prioritizes incarceration and punishment over education and rehabilitation in schools and significantly contributes to devastating system of mass incarceration in America. Harsh punishments disproportionately affect students of color, particularly black boys, and those arrested, suspended, or expelled for a discretionary violation are nearly three times more likely to be in contact with the criminal justice system in the future. Involving law enforcement in the everyday workings of schools leads to the placement of students in the criminal justice system for infractions that would have otherwise been dealt with by a trip to the principal’s office and a phone call to their family.

Presence of LEO in schools

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support increasing the presence of law enforcement officers in schools?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to support schools and school districts to refocus their resources and energy away from harsh discipline and toward restorative practices to address conflicts?

Arming school resource officers

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support arming school resources officers in schools?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to ensure schools / school districts use the utmost diligence and consult with parents before implementing policies to arm school resource officers?

Suspensions and expulsions

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support zero tolerance policies that exclude children from the classroom?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to support schools and school districts to refocus their resources and energy away from harsh discipline and toward restorative practices to address conflicts?

Training for educators – de-escalation

Questions ‐ 

1. Do you oppose or support mandatory and continuing implicit bias training and de-escalation training for educators and school resource officers?
2. If elected, what specific actions will you take to support schools and school districts to provide the trainings necessary to equip teachers to support a diverse student body?

M.O.B.B. United for Social Change, Inc. is the sister organization and advocacy arm of Moms of Black Boys United, Inc. It is a nationwide coalition of moms who are dedicated to making the world a safer place for Black boys and men by eradicating harassment, brutality, and unjustified use of deadly force by law enforcement against our sons.

For more information or to become an advocate, visit www.mobbunited.org or email [email protected]