Good Afternoon Members, Friends, Activists and Freedom Fighters,
As you know, since George Floyd very public lynching on May 25, 2020, we have been harder at work coordinating with our National Office on CALL TO ACTION/DEMANDS and Police Reform.
In addition to numerous meetings and action items from our National Office, here are some of the things we have been doing:
- On June 4th, we held Social Justice Solidarity Marches/Rallies in Santa Maria and Lompoc simultaneously with our sister branches in San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara and Ventura County.
- Wednesday, June 10, 2020, we appeared on KUHL Information Now radio hosted by Ben Hayes where we publicly disclosed our Demands and Call To Action.
- Thursday, June 11, 2020, we spoke before Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at their Racial Equity and Criminal Justice Reform Conference. There we publicly made our Demands/Call To Action known to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown and all Supervisors. This speech and Demands were emailed to all Supervisors and Sheriff Brown (attached letter and Demands).
- Since that time, we have emailed letters along with our Demands to Santa Barbara City Police Chief Lori Luhnow, Mayor Cathy Murillo and all members of Santa Barbara City Council, and Mayor Paula Perotte and all Council members of the Goleta City Council on behalf of our sister branch Santa Barbara; Santa Maria Police Department Chief Phil Hansen, Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino and all Santa Maria Council members; Lompoc Police Department Chief Joseph Mariana, Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne and all Lompoc Council members; and Guadalupe Police Chief Michael Cash and all Guadalupe Council members.
- Published these Demands and Call to Action with KEYT/KCOY TV (interview will air Wednesday at 6 and 11 p.m.).
While in recent years, we have not had incidents that have risen to the level of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray and many others, we understand that our communities are not immune from police brutality, systemic racism and oppression and we must look at Reforming/”Re-imagining” police services, if we are ever to dismantle systems and achieve equity, true equality and racial justice.
OUR ASK
- In that regard, we are calling on each of you to stand in solidarity with us by contacting your Mayor and every Council Member in your City of residence and your Supervisor on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, from the attached Contact List. I am attaching language that you can possibly use when emailing each of them. I ask that you have your family and friends to do likewise.
NAACP Letter-Email Template Call To Action 2020 - Additionally, I am asking that you POST our Demands/Call To Action on your Social Media page (Face Book, Twitter, etc) and have your family and friends to do likewise.
NAACP Demand/Call To Action to Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
Please feel free to call, text, and/or email if you have any suggestions, comments and/or questions.
Thank you for your support and standing in solidarity with us.
Yours In The Fight,
Lawanda Lyons-Pruitt
President
Santa Maria-Lompoc NAACP
Phone: (805)-448-7869
Email: lyonspruitt@msn.com
