Next Steps

We are salt and light. We can make a difference in a lost world.

Use your voice to call for change. Be the change.

Take Action

Contact your elected officials (your mayor, Senators and Representatives) to let them know that you feel strongly that they work to fight against systemic racism in our criminal justice system. Here are some addresses for officials in NJ.

• Contact Governor Murphy
• Contact Senator Cory Booker
• Contact Senator Bob Menendez

Contact your mayor, sheriff or police commissioner and let them know that you would like them to implement ways to reduce police killings.

• This Report suggests specific proven methods
• Here is a sample letter
• NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police email: njsacop@njsacop.org

Sign petitions, such as this one, to continue the momentum in support of justice for George Floyd

Sign a petition to call for complete investigation of all suspects involved in the Ahmaud Arbery case

Sign a petition to call for the police who killed Breonna Taylor (an EMT) – while sleeping in her home – to be brought to justice. They had the wrong address.

Contact the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice directly to urge them to take action to continue to restore victims of racism, and to unravel the effects of racism on the black community.

Sign a petition to call for Congress to make the KKK to be made illegal

Educate Yourself and Your Children

Learning about others helps to dismantle prejudices. Learning about racism helps to prevent it from continuing. Use your God-given ethnicity to be a source of healing for others.

For adults –

• Join/Follow this facebook group called “Be the Bridge” that helps people of all colors learn about race and how they can make a difference
• Watch this video explaining the history of systemic racism, presented by Phil Vischer (creator of Veggie Tales)
• View this Interview with Christine Caine and Dr. Anita Phillips on understanding the black community
• Or this one with TD Jakes
• Read the book Beyond ColorBlind to understand how to use your God-given ethnicity to reach others for Christ
• Check out this page highlighting the trauma black people have lived throughout our nation’s history (this is jarring and potentially political but meant as a learning tool focused on chronicling racism against blacks)
• National Museum of African American History and Culture has resources on talking about race and being antiracist

For parents and children –

• CNN and Sesame Street partnered to teach kids about racism on their level. Watch with your children
• Common Sense Media’s conversation with child development experts on how to support teens, and each other, through challenging times.
• Nationwide Children’s Hospitals gathered some really helpful resources to help parents discuss race with their children.
• Kahn Academy, an online educational tool well known for its excellence, compiled information about black history for children.
• Watch Kahn Academy Founder Sal Kahn and Bill Lewis with your kids as they explain systemic racism and discussing ways to dismantle it
• This article explains that even young children are not colorblind and can be taught about empathy at a young age.
• This article explains how to raise anti-racist babies