George Floyd should be alive today. His life was irreplaceable and it was stolen by a police officer pressing a knee into his neck for over eight minutes. Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Sean Reed should all be alive today -- recent victims of police violence on a list already too long.

What happened in all these cases is clear: police officers, acting with impunity, treating Black people as the enemy. This is not an accident, this is how policing was meant to work. Policing in the United States started with groups of armed white men who were given license to track, capture, and return Black people to enslavement when they dared to pursue their freedom.

One way we can act today to stop killing Black people is to stop calling the police, and to make sure our loved ones stop too.

It’s not a coincidence that the protests shaking the United States are happening now. The government’s failure to contain the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the lives of 100,000 people, disproportionately Black people. 40 million people lost their jobs due to the pandemic, disproportionately lower-income Black people. [1] Public health experts are calling this genocide. [2]

It’s no wonder that across the country, Black people are exhausted by and angry at what has been going on even before the United States was founded. They have carried the burden of leading us on the path of justice. We affirm that following this path is also our burden and our duty because we want to see a world where people can thrive.

As Asian Americans, we know that our race and citizenship status do not protect us. We know - from our history to our struggles today - how racism and xenophobia destroys our communities. The work of dismantling racism is our collective work. We must demand real reform and justice. And we must challenge anti-Black racism at every turn. This includes holding one another accountable when we are complicit, and when we are perpetrators.

Tou Thao is one of the police officers who literally turned his back on George Floyd as he struggled to breathe. Tou Thao is Asian American, specifically Hmong American. The fact that he was complicit means he contributed to George Floyd’s death. Some Hmong women leaders, calling for accountability for all four police officers, have received violent threats, primarily from their own community. This is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable that other Asian Americans who are not Hmong are saying they do not “claim” Tou Thao.

We have a responsibility to not just name such complicity, but to examine how it shows up in our own lives and with our family. As Asian Americans, many of us already know the police will not protect us by the way our immigrant families are ripped apart by ICE or how mosques are surveilled by the FBI. We know we make our neighborhoods safer, not the police. So, it’s time to stop calling the cops.

This is work we can do together, today. It honors the memory of those whose lives have been meaninglessly cut short. It means fewer people will lose their lives.

Let us unite in this moment, take a strong stance, and say enough is enough. We refuse to be a part of another state-sanctioned murder. We will no longer call the police.

We know that some of our family members and loved ones may not understand why we must stop calling the police. They are shaped by their own experiences of fear and uncertainty, and have been told the police are supposed to protect them. It can be hard to talk about and we want to support you through that conversation. So, we wrote a letter to help you have these conversations with your own family members.  

Sign the pledge and we will send you a copy of the letter you can share with your own family.

Dear family,

I need to talk to you. I want us to talk as a family about what is happening right now in the U.S.

Across the country, police are killing Black people. Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed and George Floyd were all murdered by police officers. The fact that we can name four Black people who have been murdered by the police in the past three months shows us that this is more than an issue of a “few bad cops.”

Calling the police means someone could get hurt or lose their life. Whether we are home or at work, we can stop police violence against Black people by not calling the police. In Minneapolis, a convenience store employee called the police on George Floyd for allegedly using a fake $20 bill. What was the police’s response? They used their knee to choke him for over 8 minutes and killed him. A person’s life cannot be replaced.

I know you might think that calling the police is the right thing. But it’s not. The police do not protect us.

What we decide to do means life or death for Black people. We’re taught that the police are the people we should call when we’re scared or need help. But policing does not protect Black people, and it doesn’t protect us. We see how the police in our homelands are deeply corrupt and violent, and the law does not apply to them. If police can be corrupt there, they can be corrupt here too. Calling the police means someone could be beaten or killed.

We want the world to be safer, and that means changing what we do. Knowing what you know now about police violence, we need to lean on each other and our communities when we feel unsafe -- not police. If you’re scared or need help, call me, a friend, or a neighbor instead. Calling someone else instead of the police is a safer option for you and everyone involved. I want you to know I love and care for you and we can make a safety plan together that doesn’t involve the police.

While we know that all people have the capacity to be life-affirming and humane, all policing is harmful. Unfortunately, when you call the police you are not calling someone who can do proper conflict resolution or social work. Police officers do policing.

People are fighting for a better future all around us. I’m writing to you because I believe you know that lives are more important than property. Maybe you’ve asked, “What do I do if someone steals from us? What if my building is burned in the face of these protests?” I promise you, property can be replaced. Black lives cannot. When we call the police, we are willing to have someone die because of that call. Black lives should not be the cost of our fear.

If we have strong communities, we will not need police. Even if property is stolen or damaged, our communities are strong and resourceful. Imagine a moment in your life where you have felt safest. Did it involve the police? For me, the safest I feel is when I am surrounded by a close family member or community who loves and cares for me. The police do not protect nor provide resources for our communities, we do.

We all deserve to feel safe in our homes and communities. Many Asian businesses are in Black neighborhoods. Everyone who walks through our doors are our neighbors and customers. Between you and me, we can work out a solution to anything. We must commit to not calling the police. This is how we save people’s lives.

When it comes to police violence, we cannot afford to ‘agree to disagree.’ We have to remember this country was built on land stolen from indigenous people and by the labor of enslaved Black people. We often know the ways racism harms us as Asian Americans, but ignore how it harms Black people.

Will you take the pledge with me to not call the police? You can sign it below.

I know this is hard to talk about, so thank you for listening. I love you.

[1] Black Workers, Already Lagging, Face Big Economic Risks

[2] Twitter