ABOUT STRATEGIES FOR JUSTICE
Mission and goal statement
Strategies for Justice (SFJ) is a speaking and training organization with a focus on issues of gender, disability, and racial equity within law enforcement. Our belief is that by unveiling untold narratives of injustice from those working in policing, we can encourage reform within the law enforcement community. Our mission is to provide the tools necessary to help individuals, social justice organizations, and institutions of higher education work in collaboration with law enforcement, to engage in civil dialogue, and to help create meaningful changes in the communities they serve.
The goals of SFJ include passing equity-minded legislation, uncovering injustice through story-telling, and providing education and advocacy for the communities with whom we interact.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORGANIZATION
In 2014, founder Terry Watson presented the historical narrative of his ancestors Moses P. Cobb and Samuel J. Battle through the spoken word of The Battle with Moses People (BWMP). Both Cobb and Battle were instrumental in breaking down the racial barriers for police officers in the city of New York (in 1892 and 1921, respectively). Their story became the foundation of training, presenting, and engaging in dialogue around the topics of inequities inside and outside of law enforcement. From the initial creation of BWMP, a public benefit corporation, Strategies for Justice was established in 2019 with a focus to create a meaningful and effective push for justice within law enforcement.
Working from the foundation set by BWMP, Strategies for Justice now recruits and collaborates with others who are willing to tell their own narratives intersecting race, ability, and gender with law enforcement. These stories come from those who are currently working in, or are retired from law enforcement, or who have had a positive, progressive impact on identifying, breaking down, and eliminating injustices and inequalities.
Most recently, SFJ was able to work with Cariol Horne, an unjustly fired police officer in Buffalo, New York, to pass Cariol s Law in the city of Buffalo. This law now requires mandatory police bystander intervention with protection from retaliation, external investigation with mandated reprimanding for abuse or misconduct, and create a reportable registry. The goal is to implement this law across the country.
