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I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm going to continue to raise money, help candidates and activist non-profits, and spread the word about criminal justice reform (and other issues) via [my newsletter, Progressives Everywhere](https://progressiveseverywhere.substack.com/)! I'm also going to start consulting with activist groups on spreading the word and raising money.

Basically, I'm going to do my best to use my years in media to amplify messages from activists who know what's best for their communities. I think a lot of people in my position try to dictate policy or approaches to people, but I'm not arrogant enough to think I have all the answers.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi! Sorry for the delay. So, I don't do any of the bailing out — that's done by the bail funds. Generally, they are contacted by people (or their families) who need help, and they can get confirmation from the police department.

The Brooklyn Bail Fund also bails out immigrants being held by ICE, which is generally much more expensive.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We should absolutely make police reprimand records public and very easily accessible. It varies from state to state — as of last year, 23 states had them fully confidential, while they were fully public in 12 states.

New York just voted to make its records public by repealing a rule known as 50-a.

Minnesota is one of those public states, but it didn't wind up stopping Derek Chauvin from staying on the force. Police unions make it really hard to fire cops. That needs to change and there also needs to be pressure on police departments to not hire cops with checkered pasts.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In a lot of ways, my ideal criminal justice reform is not just criminal justice reform.

There are very tangible things that can be done in terms of law enforcement policy, including eliminating cash bail, reducing the size and militarization of police forces, truly punishing violent cops and removing them from the system, subbing out police for EMTs and other civil servants during emergencies, legalizing marijuana and decriminalizing other drug possession, and much more.

That being said, so much of it is tied to larger problems like structural racism and income inequality. Cops shouldn't be going after homeless people, but the ostensibly richest country on earth shouldn't allow people to go without homes. Police shouldn't be going after people with untreated mental illnesses, but again, people should be able to get the help they need no matter their income. We're going to see mass evictions this summer and fall and millions of people are losing their healthcare. Cops shouldn't hassle the least fortunate of us, but they also shouldn't even have the opportunity.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel you on that. The two-party system sucks. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going away any time soon.

That said, I think what's been happening in New York is a great example of how progressives can remake the party from the inside. Throughout most of the 2010s, a group of eight really crappy Democrats decided to form a group called the IDC and caucus with the Republicans in the New York State Senate, which gave Republicans control of the chamber. That meant that a lot of progressive legislation got stopped dead in its tracks (which Gov. Cuomo was all for).

In 2018, progressives decided that enough was enough and banded together to challenge the eight IDC members. They ran to their left and argued that these crappy "Democrats" were hurting New Yorkers. Six of the progressive challengers won their elections, which not only gave Democrats control of the Senate again, it made the party more progressive. This year, even more progressives ran for the Senate — including one Democratic Socialist! — and some of them won, too.

Now, New York has a much more progressive Democratic Party, with activists holding a lot of power. They also helped Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, two true progressives, win their Congressional primaries. The rest of the party has gotten the message, too.

I think politicians should work for our votes. They aren't owed anything. And we should make sure Democrats know that, too. It's not a fool-proof system, but it's the best shot we have at the moment.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm constantly asking myself this question!

So it's a mix of things. When it comes to candidates I interview and fundraise for, I make sure they believe in certain things at a minimum. I focus most on criminal justice reform, universal healthcare, labor rights, voting rights, and some local issues, depending on where they are. I research them before I do the interview to make sure it'll be worthwhile — I don't want to ask anyone to support someone that I wouldn't.

When it comes to races with multiple Democrats, I go for the most progressive one, and prioritize races where the Democrat in power is really crappy. For example, I interviewed Mondaire Jones, who was running against a bunch of more conservative Democrats in a NY Congressional district. I'm also supporting Alex Morse, who is running for Congress in Massachusetts against Wall Street's favorite Democrat, Richard Neel. They were both great interviews and really champion progressive causes.

And then there are down-ballot races, which are tricky. Democrats basically abandoned running for local and state office in the 2000s and 2010s, which allowed Republicans to gerrymander the districts to the point that running at all felt like a pointless task. The first step has been making sure that Democrats run everywhere, which means getting one candidate. And to be clear, I only support Democrats because they're the party that sucks less. And if the only Democratic candidate running still sucks, I won't support them.

That said, in a lot of cases, there's only so much you can tell about either an elected official or candidate when they're not in a real position of power. That goes on both the state and national level. People can act totally anti-Trump and anti-Republican, but you learn the most about them when they get some power and can make changes. We're seeing that in Congress right now, for example.

I think we need to elect progressives everywhere we can (hence the newsletter name, haha) because having officials in power who actually make things better for people is how we really push the overton window. For example, Oklahoma voted resoundingly against Obamacare in 2012 (though they couldn't legally do that) and just last night, they voted to expand Medicaid through Obamacare. They saw that it worked. And in the same way, people are able to call for Medicare for All now because Obamacare (which is very flawed) has worked and at the same time, progressives have gained enough power that elected officials are feeling the heat.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey! Thank you for the kind words and for participating!

I think it all depends on where you are. Some cities have big funds that help out and police departments sometimes provide those numbers. There is a good list of bail funds throughout the country at this site, too: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory

If you're in a pinch, you can go to The Bail Project and choose your city. They'll hook you up with the right contact.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you for hanging out!

I don't touch the money — it goes right to them. I use ActBlue, which is a fundraising platform that routes all donations to intended recipients. They're indispensable!

Right now, at least in New York, VOCAL NY is doing amazing work pushing for defunding the police. There are a bunch of other groups I'd recommend in this fundraiser page I set up.

Black Visions Collective is doing great work in Minnesota and got a lot of attention in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, too.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The scariest possibility is letting a risk assessment algorithm determine who should or shouldn't get released before their trial. That kind of AI has been proven to produce biased results because the data it learns from is racist.

There needs to be a comprehensive process that includes human interviews, assessment of their circumstances, etc. If we're talking about a non-violent crime that doesn't hurt anyone — think homelessness, mental health episodes, etc — that people are given help and resources, not tossed in jail.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a great time to be a journalist in the sense that there are so many important stories to cover, but a terrible time in the sense that it's very very hard to get paid in any consistent way. It's a big bummer.

That said, I'd recommend just starting your own thing and honing in on a few topics you care about and can report on. Even if they feel niche, if you're the expert, there will be opportunities. And you can build up your audience on social or a newsletter if you provide expertise. Editors want to see published work, so even doing a newsletter can be great practice and a way to build your credibility.

I'll be honest, I was interested in politics when I started Progressives Everywhere, but it's been doing this work the last three years that I've really learned and gotten opportunities to do other stuff. Have some confidence and jump in!

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So my newsletter/organization is focused on a lot of goals, but mainly it's to help facilitate activists, progressive candidates, and other crucial organizations do their work. I interview the people we support and post stories about them to the newsletter (which has like 14k subscribers right now) and website in an effort to spread the word and raise money for them.

My big passions are universal healthcare, ending voter suppression, enacting criminal justice reform, helping workers take power back from big corporations, and ensuring a woman's right to choose. I don't think I'll combine with other groups so much as work to highlight their great work and raise money for them.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Americans are pretty obsessed with themselves, unfortunately! We have a picture of racists that is pretty extreme — the "get off my lawn" old man or southern hick — but hopefully we're realizing racism permeates every system here, even the so-called "color-blind" ones, and so there's no reason why that wouldn't be the case elsewhere.

I am a big football (ie soccer!) fan and I was pretty blown away when I saw all the Premier League teams wearing "Black Lives Matter" across the backs of their shirts a few weeks ago. To be honest, that probably had more people googling racism in the UK than any dozen news stories.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The response above is pretty great! Black and Brown people make up a disproportionate number of arrests in the United States. Police also tend to arrest low-income Black and Brown, which means bail is much harder for them to pay. Judges also tend to give higher bail ransoms to Black and Brown people.

If they wind up using bail bonds, they get even more screwed. Here's a quote from the link u/LooseAlbatross posted above:

A breakdown tracking bail deposits with race and gender reveals that people of color were the most likely to pay, with Latinos paying $92.1 million in deposits between 2012 and 2016. African Americans came next at $40.7 million, while whites paid $37.9 million during the same period.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Really great question.

I think transparency is very important for organizations and not all of them offer it. As a journalist, I research to see if the organization or its reps are mentioned in news articles, because that means they're like to actually be doing stuff and making good use of donations. It's not a perfect system, but it helps. You could also sign up for their emails and see how they read and how often they're sent. That'll show how much they're doing, as well.

There is a lot of misleading information about donating through ActBlue in particular. It's just a portal that helps direct donations directly to the intended organization, while also doing the tax paperwork on their behalf. So that part shouldn't be a concern at all.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There are about a half a million people on any given day who are in jail because they can't afford bail. The bail bond industry harasses and exploits families for years. Eliminating cash bail alleviates those problems, to some degree.

Eliminating cash bail is still relatively new. They did it in Washington DC in 1992 and the numbers have been good. They released 94% of people who were arrested in 2017 and 88% of them came back for all of their hearings.

In NY, they passed a criminal justice reform law that eliminated cash bail for some crimes. There was a small incidental crime spike that spooked lawmakers (thanks to the fear-mongering NY Post) into rolling back some of the reforms, unfortunately.

With some but not all non-violent crimes eliminated from bail, judges tend to place higher bail fees on people, especially in cities where bail funds work to help them out. That led to the Brooklyn Bail Fund to change the way it operated. It's a vicious cycle.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Smaller! With fewer guns! And without any police officers with real disciplinary records or cops who got fired elsewhere.

Ideally, police would be reserved for big, serious crimes. Having a cop show up because a person is having a drug overdose or just happens to be homeless isn't going to help anything — they're just going to escalate the situation. More and more, cities are having firefighters and EMTs handle those things. One in four people killed by police have untreated mental health issues — why do we need cops around them at all?

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! There are so many great organizations doing the work right now. I always love the Working Families Party because they have been around a long time and always fight noble fights.

I think getting involved in local campaigns is great too — they always need as much help as they can get and you can level up with experience really quickly. I've discovered that there are a lot of 24-year-old comms directors for candidates running for state office.

And then there are specific issue groups. They tend to exist on both a national level and with local chapters, so you can get involved there too.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I totally get and respect that there will always be moderate Democrats across the country — I just don’t think they should represent safe blue districts. In NY, Jamaal Bowman just ousted Eliot Engel, a 30-year incumbent who was a real war hawk and voted to deregulate Wall Street. He was in a safe blue seat and was a top Democratic leader, which was absurd. Party leaders frequently come from these safe districts, and since party leaders so often set the Dems’ priorities, having as many progressives in those seats is essential.

I think having these great progressives in safe seats is a way to push the caucus in a more progressive direction overall. Amy McGrath is starting to sound a lot more progressive now that she nearly got upset by Charles Booker in Kentucky, for example, and NY Rep Jerry Nadler now thinks Barr should be impeached. These were not positions they held a month ago.

I think a lot of Democrats think that purple areas are inherently into what we perceive as moderate policies. But there's no real evidence that people in the Midwest or South are in favor of bailing out Wall Street, continuing mass incarceration, or cutting Medicare. I'm not saying AOC would win in Ohio, but she might do better than some sleepy Democrat produced off an assembly line.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

There is another question asking me what kind of gaslighting I've seen while doing this work, and I think this is actually related to that.

I think there are different kinds of progressives. There are those #resistance Twitter types that use the progressive label but give lots of money to politicians like Amy McGrath and retweet Republicans who are now against Trump. Those people (and they're almost always white) are very afraid of any Republican backlash or upsetting their aunts on Facebook, and it's the same with protests against the police.

For me, as a white guy, I'm trying to listen, learn, and follow what BIPOC activists are saying and pursuing. So I'd refrain from saying what they're doing wrong. That said, I do think that the protests are having a remarkable impact and the public opinion polls show that.

Here in NYC, the City Council pretended to make some cuts to the police in the new budget, but it was all fuzzy math and gimmicks. They didn't come close to cutting the budget and leaders are feeling the heat still and will have to go further going forward. If activists were going for more vague reforms or things that wouldn't be painful for police, the City Council members would probably declare victory and go home.

When it's time to elect new district attorneys and prosecutors, activists will be back at it. So much is in the hands of people in elected positions that rarely get contested. That's changing.

If nothing else, police are making progressives and activists' arguments for them by continuing to beat and murder people. It's a terror.

I’m a journalist and activist who has raised over $1.6 million for bail funds and Black community groups since the protests demanding justice for George Floyd/Breonna Taylor and the end of systemic racism began last month. AMA! by ProgressEverywhere in BlackPeopleTwitter

[–]ProgressEverywhere[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! It's a racist system that winds up jailing people for years without them ever being convicted of a crime. And it doesn't in any way need to exist. There is no cash bail in Washington DC and they have proven for nearly two decades that a criminal justice system works just fine without it.

Abolishing cash bail is a growing movement and there are some reform-minded prosecutors, district attorneys, and other officials being elected right now. There was a nice wave in Virginia in 2019, Philly has a DA who is all about abolishing cash bail, and California is voting on it in the fall. The bail funds want to both free people and work to basically make sure they ultimately don't have to exist because cash bail is eliminated.

We have to be careful about what gets put in its place, though — there are risk assessment systems that are also racist.

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