The Elijah McClain Accountability Act - Jai Hudson
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This is a story about police reform legislation. Forgive me for telling the long version.
It was a little more than a decade ago. He and I met at a protest aimed at overturning the Citizens United legislature put in place by the Obama administration. In a park, after the march, Jai Hudson had a megaphone and told the crowd that, "in our current political norm, it takes money to get to the ears of the decision makers. We aim to have a collective voice."
Since then, he has continued to lead in the community. He regularly attends and speaks at city council meetings and leads protests. You might have seen him as part of the Hoop Bus team featured on CBS or TNT during the NBA playoffs last year. They travelled the country building and improving basketball courts. He's also been punched in the face by a white supremacist after refusing to go back to "his side of the street."
Jai posted a draft of what was then titled The George Floyd Police Accountability Act to Facebook last summer, shortly before a right-leaning friend of mine challenged me to do more than just talk about police reform. He wanted me to do something about it.
I reached out to Jai asking to help him finish his bill. It was all there. It does not defund the police. It does remove qualified immunity, mandates body cameras during all interactions with the public, dedicates time to continued training, compels officers to intervene when they witness excessive force, and prohibits police unions from influencing elections.
It just needed a bit of direction, plus some formatting and editing work. A political science major that I went to high school with put us in touch with a congressional aid in D.C. who gave us the direction.
We got it into the hands of a wonderful teacher/professional editor couple that did the formatting, editing and cross-check work, and then we spent a few months trying to find representatives to workshop it on state and national levels without much luck. Then, a social justice super-hero helped get it ready to submit in CA. Which brings us to the current moment, when grass-roots people pitch in to create change.
With the deadline to do it about a month away, the plan is for Jai Hudson to introduce the legislature as a statewide, citizen-led initiative in California. It is now titled the Elijah McClain Police Accountability Act, it's been more than a year in the making, and it's a little more than $900 from being sent to Sacramento. Everything is ready except the application fee.
If you've read this far, it's probably evident that I believe in Jai, and that I believe in the legislation. I know that times are tough, so I'm asking that you stay within your means if you feel compelled donate, and that you to share the link if you can.
https://gofund.me/94462022
Thank you,
Lee Stone
It was a little more than a decade ago. He and I met at a protest aimed at overturning the Citizens United legislature put in place by the Obama administration. In a park, after the march, Jai Hudson had a megaphone and told the crowd that, "in our current political norm, it takes money to get to the ears of the decision makers. We aim to have a collective voice."
Since then, he has continued to lead in the community. He regularly attends and speaks at city council meetings and leads protests. You might have seen him as part of the Hoop Bus team featured on CBS or TNT during the NBA playoffs last year. They travelled the country building and improving basketball courts. He's also been punched in the face by a white supremacist after refusing to go back to "his side of the street."
Jai posted a draft of what was then titled The George Floyd Police Accountability Act to Facebook last summer, shortly before a right-leaning friend of mine challenged me to do more than just talk about police reform. He wanted me to do something about it.
I reached out to Jai asking to help him finish his bill. It was all there. It does not defund the police. It does remove qualified immunity, mandates body cameras during all interactions with the public, dedicates time to continued training, compels officers to intervene when they witness excessive force, and prohibits police unions from influencing elections.
It just needed a bit of direction, plus some formatting and editing work. A political science major that I went to high school with put us in touch with a congressional aid in D.C. who gave us the direction.
We got it into the hands of a wonderful teacher/professional editor couple that did the formatting, editing and cross-check work, and then we spent a few months trying to find representatives to workshop it on state and national levels without much luck. Then, a social justice super-hero helped get it ready to submit in CA. Which brings us to the current moment, when grass-roots people pitch in to create change.
With the deadline to do it about a month away, the plan is for Jai Hudson to introduce the legislature as a statewide, citizen-led initiative in California. It is now titled the Elijah McClain Police Accountability Act, it's been more than a year in the making, and it's a little more than $900 from being sent to Sacramento. Everything is ready except the application fee.
If you've read this far, it's probably evident that I believe in Jai, and that I believe in the legislation. I know that times are tough, so I'm asking that you stay within your means if you feel compelled donate, and that you to share the link if you can.
https://gofund.me/94462022
Thank you,
Lee Stone
Organizer and beneficiary
Lee Stone
Organizer
Charles City, IA
Jai Hudson
Beneficiary