BYP100 Durham Demands Release of Incarcerated People in Durham County Jail

District Attorney, DPD & Durham County Sheriff's Department

BYP100 Durham Chapter stands in solidarity with people rising up across the country and #InDefenseOfBlackLife. The harm and death of Black people caused by cops, COVID-19, and capitalism during and prior to this pandemic all have the same evil root: anti-Black racist violence. It’s the poison at the root of this country’s foundations. Until we lay it bare and actually repair the harm, there will never be peace and freedom for Black people here. We must transform the entire system to save Black lives and protect Black futures.

We demand the decarceration of all people in the Durham County Jail to protect them from the deadly COVID-19 virus. Many people are in jail for low level offenses and remain incarcerated simply because they cannot afford to pay bail. Being too poor to pay your ransom to the state shouldn’t result in a death sentence during a pandemic. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. No one should face death or long term health issues because of conditions they were subjected to in confinement by the state. Free them all.

Our Full List of Demands:

Decarcerate folx in Durham County Jail

Increase funding to Lincoln Community Center

Durham Public Schools end collaboration with Durham Police Department & Sheriff’s Department

Meet the demands of NC United for Survival & Beyond Platform

Pay all essential workers $15/hr and support their unionization

Listen to and prioritize the most marginalized of Black folx.

Full support from DPS, the County, and City Council for The Community Wellness & Safety Taskforce

Why is this important?

Saving Black lives begins with abolishing police who continue to kill us with impunity, even during a global pandemic when 100,000 people in this country have already died unnecessarily. Police should not get one more community dollar that could instead support and fund healthcare access, PPE, COVID-19 testing, stimulus for struggling families, housing support, mental wellness services, education, and so much more.

Not a single cent more invested in training, body cameras, equipment, lip-service reform, or the other resources for police that have not ended the murder of Black people at the hands of the state.  “The safest communities don’t have the most cops; they have the most resources.”

It's time for Durham to divest from police and fund a world where George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Tony McDade and so many more are alive and thriving.

BYP100 is a National, member-based organization of Black 18-35 year old activists and organizers dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. We do this through building a network focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education using a Black queer feminist lens.

Sponsored by

To: District Attorney, DPD & Durham County Sheriff's Department
From: [Your Name]

I'm writing to urge the Durham District Attorney, Sheriff, and Police Chief to #FreeThemALL - free our family in Durham County Jail to protect them from the deadly COVID-19 virus. Police should not get one more community dollar that could instead support and fund healthcare access, PPE, COVID-19 testing, stimulus for struggling families, housing support, mental wellness services, education, and so much more. I urge you to join the fight for a #DurhamBeyondPolicing