WHAT IS THE BREATHE ACT?

IMAGINE : Schools free of police and full of trained counselors and restorative-justice programs, where all our children are kept safe and their needs are met. 

IMAGINE : Easy access to trained, trauma-informed interventionists who can be called on in domestic-violence situations and who are equipped to facilitate long-term safety, healing, and prevention. 

IMAGINE : 911 operators dispatching unarmed mental-health experts instead of police in situations involving behavioral health crises, and callers being allowed to request responders that connect to the gender identity of the person in crisis.

The BREATHE Act offers a radical reimagining of public safety, community care, and how we spend money as a society. We bring 4 simple ideas to the table:

  • Divest federal resources from incarceration and policing.
  • Invest in new, non-punitive, non-carceral approaches to community safety that lead states to shrink their criminal-legal systems and center the protection of Black lives—including Black mothers, Black trans people, and Black women.
  • Allocate new money to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities.
  • Hold political leaders to their promises and enhance the self-determination of all Black communities.

Uprisings around the country changed what was possible. What felt impossible two months ago is being accomplished now; what seems impossible today is doable tomorrow, and we will be the ones to make it happen. We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.

EXPLORE THE BREATHE ACT SUMMARIES

SECTION 1—DIVESTING FEDERAL RESOURCES FROM POLICING AND INCARCERATION & ENDING CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM HARMS

SECTION 2—INVESTING IN NEW APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY SAFETY AND UTILIZING FUNDING INCENTIVES

SECTION 3—ALLOCATING NEW MONEY TO BUILD HEALTHY, SUSTAINABLE & EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES FOR ALL PEOPLE

SECTION 4—HOLDING OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE & ENHANCING SELF-DETERMINATION OF BLACK COMMUNITIES

JOIN THE NETWORK TODAY

MEET OUR CHAMPIONS

These are the visionary leaders bringing the movement into the halls of power.

image of Ayanna Pressley

AYANNA PRESSLEY

Democratic Representative of Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. Pressley was the first African American woman elected to the Boston City Council. She is also the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.

image of Rashida Tlaib

RASHIDA TLAIB

Democratic Representative of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. She was the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature, and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, along with Representative Ilhan Omar.