Black Community Survey Project
A part of our campaign to pass a New York State Breathe Act and build the capacity of Black organizing across New York State, the Black Freedom Project is developing and deploying a community survey in partnership with Black Love Resists in the Rust (BLRR), Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP), NNLB, All of Us. The survey seeks to understand what we as Black New Yorkers believe keeps us safe and what impacts (changes to material and experiential conditions) NYS Breathe Act policies would have on our communities.
Information from the survey will be used to develop legislative priorities, inform a campaign and develop public engagement materials, inform strategy and legislative priorities, and provide opportunities for local organizations to increase their membership and bases.
Community Survey Objectives:
- Practice collective governance and decision-making by understanding community members’ views on safety and using this information to direct our campaign. (i.e. by determining framing, language, communications etc)
- Strengthen the Black organizing infrastructure in NYS by funneling resources directly into Black base-building organizations and providing opportunities throughout the survey process for organizations to bring community members into their bases.
- Encourage survey participants to reimagine public safety in their communities by developing survey questions that urge deep reflection on what does and does not keep them safe.
- Obtain information that will be useful for pushing a BREATHE legislative package (a set of bills that seeks to invest in true safety and divest from policing and cages) and for countering harmful narratives (i.e. that “police=safety” or that Black communities are the strongest proponents of “tough on crime” legislation)
- Obtain data from select cities that may be useful to pressure and move elected officials on our priorities and demands.
