Our collective vision is to build a nationwide united movement of families affected by police violence and build a powerful political movement for police accountability.  It is also a part of our vision to build this toolkit to serve as a resource guide to families affected by police violence, and distribute it nationwide.  

 

“Collective” means everyone, and that means your input matters too.  What do you envision as being a part of our collective vision as Families United 4 Justice?

 

How FU4J Organizes for Collective Power

FU4J utilizes the principles of social democracy to organize for collective power.  This is to ensure that everyone in the collective holds an equal amount of power rather than a few.  Roles and responsibilities are to be rotated periodically to ensure that 1) power is decentralized, 2) members gain the experience of different roles and responsibilities, and 3) members are equipped to fill in for others if a role or responsibility is vacant, 4) the work is sustainable over time.  This way of organizing encourages transparency while cultivating the way of true democracy where everyone involved has a voice and holds an equal amount of power.

 

FU4J does not offer membership to individuals who have not lost a loved one to police violence (the definition of police violence may need to be revisited and redefined, but in the moment it includes cases of police murder, incidents where a loved one has died at the hands of the police or in police custody, and incidents where an investigation is obstructed by police cover-up and corruption).  Due to many experiences of exploitation in the past, FU4J is an exclusive organization for those directly impacted by police murder.  Those outsiders can serve as allies but do not have the ability to vote or make decisions.  Don’t let this discourage you from building with non-family members.  Build with them, and then put them to work.

There is still a lot of work to be done in order to build out FU4J and its leadership.  This Network Gathering is an opportunity for families to envision collectively what will be the future of FU4J.  For example, a list of core values can be conceived.  

 

To support this process of arriving at our collective intention here is a list of Allied Media Project’s Network Principles that they have developed over the years.  These Network Principles are, “embedded into every conference organizing cycle..which Allied Media Projects have distilled from [their] network after years of listening.”  

 

Allied Media Project’s Network Principles

1. 1. We are making an honest attempt to solve the most significant problems of our day.
   2. We are building a network of people and projects that are developing long-term solutions based on the immediate confrontation of our most pressing problems.
   3. Wherever there is a problem, there are already people acting on the problem in some fashion.  Understanding those actions is the starting point for developing effective strategies to resolve the problem, so we focus on the solutions, not the problems.
   4. We emphasize our own power and legitimacy.
   5. We presume our power, not our powerlessness.
   6. We spend more time building than attacking.
   7. We focus on strategies rather than issues.
   8. The strongest solutions happen through the process, not in a moment at the end of the process.
   9. The most effective strategies for us are the ones that work in situations of scarce resources and intersecting systems of oppression because those solutions tend to be the most holistic and sustainable.
   10. The place is important.  For the AMC, Detroit is important as a source of innovative, collaborative, low-resource solutions.  Detroit gives the conference a sense of place, just as each of the conference participants brings their own sense of place with them to the conference.
   11. We encourage people to engage with their whole selves, not just with one part of their identity.

 

• We begin by listening.

 

What Principles or Core Values do you envision for Families United 4 Justice? Please Use comment box for your suggestions

 

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