What Does Safety Mean to You?

Every year on the first Tuesday of August, the National Association of Neighborhood Watch sponsors a “National Night Out.” The tenor of these events usually reinforce the idea that neighborhood watch and police-community partnerships are the pathway to public safety.

But public safety, at its best, isn’t about watching your neighbors. It’s not about expanding police departments. So far in 2016, nearly 600 people have been killed by police and almost half are people of color. With that level of tragedy, can we really say the status quo is working?

Tonight ACLU of Northern California members across California will participate in a different conversation – a conversation about dignity, opportunity, and power in our communities. As an alternative to National Night Out, we’ll be attending events in Sacramento, Oakland, and Stockton for the Night Out for Safety and Liberation, where community members will redefine what public safety means to them.

More than 20 different cities across the country are hosting these events tonight. At block parties, film screenings, teach-ins, and vigils, community members will build relationships with each other and identify what they need to feel safe. Because safety is expansive. For some, safety is about access to clean water, healthy food, affordable healthcare and housing, and accessible public transportation. Safety is also about investing in economic opportunity, education, and jobs. What does safety mean to you?

If you can’t make an event tonight, you can also follow the conversation online with the hashtags #NOSL16 and #SafetyIs. Check out the #SafetyIs TweetChat today at 11 AM PST, and visit NOSL.me for more information about today’s events and the fantastic community organizations hosting them.

Night Out for Safety and Liberation is hosted by a coalition of organizations across the country, including the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Fathers & Families of San Joaquin.