Why we stand with Young, Gifted and Black
The Young, Gifted and Black (YGB) Coalition formed in Madison, Wisconsin, after the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in an effort to highlight racism in the criminal justice system in Dane County and to fight for racial justice. YGB is a network of organizations and activists based in Madison's Black and working-class South Side neighborhoods, and represents the leadership of the BlackLivesMatter movement in the city.
On February 18, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching Assistants' Association (AFT Local 3220) passed the following resolution in support of the demands of YGB, which can be found on the group's Facebook page and in an open letter that YGB sent to Madison Police Chief Michael Koval in January. The YGB and TAA, among other groups, are beginning to collaborate in efforts to continue pushing forward the BlackLivesMatter movement locally--and to connect that movement to opposing an austerity budget being proposed in Wisconsin.
Whereas the TAA opposes racism and police brutality, and
Whereas the TAA has supported efforts to provide solidarity, material and symbolic, to the anti-racist struggle in Ferguson, Missouri, and
Whereas TAA activists and the TAA's Political Education Committee have already supported Black Lives Matter actions organized by UW undergraduates as well as Madison's Young Gifted and Black Coalition (YGB Coalition), the organization leading the local manifestation of the national Black Lives Matter movement, and
Whereas the YGB Coalition has made the following public demands in their mission statement and open letter to Madison Police Department Chief Koval:
-- 1. No money for new jail or jail expansion.
-- 2. Free 350 Black prisoners incarcerated for crimes of poverty.
-- 3. Immediately end solitary confinement.
-- 4. Invest in Black-led solutions--provide resources to the Black community to be controlled and allocated by the Black community for the satisfaction of needs determined by the Black community.
-- 5. Dramatically reduce the number of police contacts with Black people and poor people.
-- 6. Significantly increase voluntary referrals to community-led resources and programs when police do contact Black people and poor people.
-- 7. Cut in half the number of Black people and poor people arrested to address racial disparities.
-- 8. Of those arrested, refer as many people as possible to community-led alternatives to incarceration, and
Whereas the YGB Coalition played a central role in the February 14 rally to oppose the impending $300 million cut to the UW System, and
Whereas the YGB Coalition has demonstrated willingness to participate in actions to oppose the proposed 2015-17 Biennial Budget and defend public higher education in Wisconsin, and
Whereas forming a broad and diverse coalition is the best hope in successfully opposing the proposed 2015-17 Biennial Budget, therefore be it
Resolved that the TAA endorses the demands of the YGB Coalition and urges swift compliance to these demands by the Madison Police Department and other relevant parties, and be it further
Resolved that the TAA recognizes the YGB Coalition as a coalition partner in the struggle to defend the University of Wisconsin's funding and its public character, and be it finally
Resolved that the TAA will keep the membership informed of the YGB Coalition-organized activities and encourage participation in events and demonstrations called by the YGB Coalition.
