Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is a network organizing

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

for racial and

economic justice Economic justice is a component of social justice and welfare economics. It is a set of moral and ethical principles for building economic institutions, where the ultimate goal is to create an opportunity for each person to establish a sufficie ...

. SURJ was founded in 2009 amidst the backlash to election of Barack Obama as the first black

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. SURJ seeks to bring more

into racial justice work and to find mutual interest with movements led by black people and

people of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

History

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

had asked white people to consider what they can do about racism. Carla F. Wallace, SURJ co-founder, said the aim of SURJ is to engage

in a larger

racial justice Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

movement led by

. She asks "what is our mutual interest in working for a different society? ... We must move from it being something that we do when we have time on a Saturday to something that we do because our lives depend on it."

Tactics

One SURJ tactic is deep canvassing, using the power of personal narrative in lengthy non-judgmental conversations to build white support for racial justice. SURJ focuses on “calling in” white people to support racial justice grounded in the vision of Black leaders. SURJ says it’s white people’s responsibility to do

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

work and not rely on persons of color to teach white people about racism.

Criminal justice reform

Following the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as Reactions to the mu ...

against

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

, SURJ developed a toolkit for discussing protests and police violence with one's family. The

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

chapter encouraged people to speak up about the

criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

and challenge assumption of agreement. Other actions include electoral work, where

sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

can address reforms in the criminal legal system and

mass incarceration Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated ...

. SURJ also works to end cash

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

Police accountability

SURJ called for

police accountability Police accountability involves holding both individual police officers and law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic crime control services and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bound ...

and strengthened oversight in the San Diego County jail. SURJ was part of the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland coalition, whose police accountability initiative created a new Community Policing Commission composed of 13 civilians with final decision-making power regarding discipline in police misconduct cases. In the debate over license plate readers, Melissa Cherry from Nashville chapter of SURJ said she was suspicious of private funding for law enforcement with discussion of defunding the police.{{Cite web, last=Wadhwani, first=Anita, date=2021-04-20, title=Debate over license plate readers returns to Metro Council Tuesday, url=https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/04/20/debate-over-license-plate-readers-returns-to-metro-council-tuesday/, access-date=2022-02-12, website=Tennessee Lookout, language=en-US

References

External links