RACE & JUSTICE

Through unjust policing practices, systemic institutional discrimination in prosecution, sentencing and incarceration, communities of color are disproportionately affected by the justice system. Our work to reform these systems never ends.

WHY WE FIGHT

Our conversation on Race & Justice is centered around the ways that the Black community and other communities of color experience discrimination and are disproportionately affected by the justice system as it functions in Missouri. Our understanding of the justice system incorporates policing, prosecution, incarceration, probation and parole.


The data provides a damning glimpse into the overrepresentation of people of color in interactions with the criminal justice system. Despite comprising only 11% of the population of Missouri:

  • Black people represent one-third of the incarcerated population in both prisons and jails statewide.
  • Black motorists in Missouri are stopped almost twice as often as white motorists and are issued citations at a higher rate.
  • Black people represent 40% of defendants who are sentenced to death in the state.


Our charge is to demand reforms, advocate for community safety through policy and accountability that works for the benefit of all, and eliminate systems and structures that perpetuate racial disparity and place undue financial, mental, physical, and emotional burdens on Black people and communities of color in Missouri.

WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR

ELIMINATING RACIAL AND ECONOMIC BIAS


In order to see true change within our justice system in Missouri, we must enact reforms that address the structural, systemic inequalities that plague the Black community and communities of color. That means shifting away from over-policing and mass incarceration and toward a community-minded system that provides access to healthcare, education, and economic stability.

REFORMING INCARCERATION


Missouri has a mass incarceration problem. Our incarceration rates are higher than the averages for the entire United States as well as any other wealthy nation in the world. Incarceration should not be used as the primary solution to societal issues. We deserve system oversight and accountability, community development, and an end to the death penalty.

LOCAL CONTROL OF LAW ENFORCEMENT


Kansas City, Missouri is the only city in the nation that does not have control of its own police department. The State legislature is attempting to make St. Louis the second. Missourians deserve not only to make their own decisions regarding law enforcement and locally elected officials, but also to have those decisions trusted and respect by the State.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

FACT SHEET

The criminal justice system in America is in desperate need of an overhaul. To determine where we want to go and how we want to reform it, we must understand how we got here and what influential factors are at play in the way the system works today. This fact sheet, developed by the National arm of the NAACP, provides a history of criminal justice as well as a deep dive into facts and figures related to policing, prosecution, incarceration, and more.

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