ISSUES WE ADDRESS
Next Generation Action Network is committed to addressing all of the issues that affect the (BIPOC) Black Indigenous People of Color in America. We believe in attacking these problems at the root. By addressing America’s problem with systematic racism we can begin to improve the lives of the community while shrinking the economic wealth gap that has plagued our country since it’s infancy.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Criminal Justice Reform (CJR) is a multi prong approach to address racial inequalities and harmful practices within the American Criminal Justice System such as the Prison Industrial Complex and Cash Bail.
+ PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
The U.S. currently has the largest prison population in the world with nearly 2.3 million individuals currently behind bars. The main practices we wish to reform are incarceration of youth and people living with disabilities, pretrial detention and cash bail, detainment of families and children seeking asylum, and many other malpractices that continue the cycle of locking people in cages as a form of punishment. Next Generation Action Network works to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex by advocating for laws and policies that make it hard for additional prisons to be built and laws and policies that support more efficient community policing to decrease unnecessary arrests.
+ YOUTH INCARCERATION
Youth incarceration within the United States does more harm than good for youth; The Youth Incarceration rate is fueled by the need for bodies in our for-profit prisons. This system profits off of placing our children in the system and providing them with no real second chances in life once youthful indiscretions are made. When youth are detained for a lengthened time, the positive, nurturing influences of education, family unit, and community are substituted with an adversarial, punitory system that can both produce hatred for authority and apprentice youth in crime under the care of more experienced offenders. Therefore, youth incarceration to the juvenile "justice system" can prevent healthy adolescent development and create an adult offender that would otherwise not have become an offender. We work within communities to ensure that youth are receiving proper education and mentorship so their likely hood of encountering crime is low and they do not become victims of the penal system.
+ POLICIES AND SENTENCING
Since the assertion of the significant criminal justice reform legislation in 2007, Texas has yet to pass any landmark propositions to cut the number of people in jail and prison or better the penal conditions. The average sentence period of individuals incarcerated in state prisons in Texas has remained constant at 19 years for over a decade. Since 2007 there have been hundreds of new offenses and created and dozens of intensified sentences. Next Generation Action Network will continue to support and push forth policies that are based on compassion, fairness, and Equity. Second chances and a system of reform are essential to the improvement of our communities.
POLICE BRUTALITY
This organization stands against all acts of violence perpetrated by our untamed and
undertrained police forces. As of 2019, Texas has been recorded to have the second-highest
number of killings by police officers in the nation. Especially focusing on the acts that are
perpetrated on our Black and Brown communities, who are unjustly targeted by state violence. Through creating legislation and performing direct action Next Generation Action Network works to hold law enforcement accountable. We are committed to creating a future of prosperity and equality that moves past #SayTheirNames.
+ #STOP KILLING US
We demand that the state sanctioned killings that have been a part of our daily lives since the days of slave patrols be ended. We also demand that the police who violate the trust of the communities be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The broken relationships between our communities in the police will not be fixed with simple reforms or fired officers. We demand accountability and prosecution. End Qualified immunity.
+ POLICE VIOLENCE DATA
Statistics show that black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by the police than white men. This staggering number haunts the black community and contributes to the distrust and the distaste that it has for law enforcement.
+ POLICE OVERSIGHT
Next Generation Action Network was an integral part of creating the Police Oversight Board in Dallas. We seek to expand the powers of that board, as well as make a model of accountability that we can recreate around the country. Placing the power into the people’s hands for the first time in our history.
RACIAL INJUSTICE
We stand against the systematic racism that was created to uphold the so-called white supremacy in this country. Racial injustice is not only endemic it is a milestone that holds back progress ingrained into our culture and must be eliminated by any means necessary. We are committed to seeing a future where Dr. King’s dream of us all being judged by the content of our character is a daily reality.
+ RACIAL PROFILING
Racial Profiling predates the police who enforce it. It is rooted in biases and assumptions that are based solely on the stereotypes created by the state and who they decided to target. This is perpetuated by society and is back by no unbiased study, empirical evidence, or statistics. Racial Profiling is a vicious cycle that is both the cause and the effect of over policing in our communities.
Studies show that African Americans do not commit more crime, and yet we are over-policed. This is a self fulfilling prophecy of criminalization. If a population is policed at a disproportionate rate then the crime rate will reflect the disparity of oversight. Meaning you can only catch who you watch 24/7.
This is not only wholly insulting, unfair, unconstitutional, and violent. It also serves as a mental health nightmare for people of color in this country, who continue to live life in fear of being subjected to state violence.
+ #BLACK LIVES MATTER
Black Lives Matter is more than a slogan hashtag or even an organization. It is a point of fact. We are here for a future that black people do not have to declare their humanity in hashtags or social movements. A future where to exist in a “black” body means just to exist. We will continue to seek a future where violence by the state against black people is not only not sanctioned but is punished.
#SayTheirNames
We Say their names because they deserve justice and to be remembered. We say their names so we will never forget to hold their killers accountable. We seek a day when hashtags are not a daily ritual and reality.
#BreonnaTaylor
#GeorgeFloyd
+ WHITE SUPREMACY & HATE
It is important that we recognize that the system of So-Called White Supremacy is the continuation of systematic oppression and hate. This system replenishes its lifeforce by infiltrating and corrupting all aspects of society and culture. So-Called White Supremacy is not new. It did not flourish into existence in 2016. Like any social movement and mindset it is cultivated in the homes and in the every interaction that we make consciously and unconsciously. It was in our nation’s “founding”, as they built this country on stolen land and human capital(Slave labor). These are the things white supremacy presumed it was entitled to.
While this system of hate was not created under the previous Trump Administration, it was given room to grow. Now accepted it seems to be categorized as an ideology rather than an illness. These “ideals” are not victimless. It creates terrorists who are determined to mold this country into their vision of Utopia.
Since 2016 Right Wing White Supremacist Terrorism has been on the rise. The statistics show a far different picture than the media narrative of problems on “both sides”
HUMAN RIGHTS
Human Rights are natural rights we are given upon birth. Some of these rights include, but are not limited to: (1) Access to Clean Water, (2) Free Migration, (3) Access to Fresh Food, (4) Sustainable Shelter, (5) Free Thought, etc.
+ UN DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
UN Declaration of Rights
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.”
+ QUALITY OF LIVING
At Next Generation Action Network we believe that every human, no matter gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, or citizenship deserves a baseline quality of life that is free from fear, hunger, and oppression. We use our resources to develop good public health in both the physical and mental, improving the quality of life, providing sustainable growth in the education system, developing access to essential services and employment opportunities.
+ HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
While the focus may frequently be on foreign nations violating human rights, we suffer from considerable violations of human rights at home. Mistreatment of prisoners, refusal of baseline healthcare, deprivation, and more happen right in our backyard. Next Generation Action Network is dedicated to fighting for all people to have access to healthcare, education, livable wages, and sustainable housing.
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
The LGBTQ+ Rights Initiative is a collaborative effort between NGAN and our partners to stop violence and discrimination against individuals who identify as queer, trans, gender non-conforming, etc. This organization believes in the liberation of all people. That includes our LGBTQ siblings. We believe in the natural birth right of all people to define themselves. We are committed to creating a reality that our people are not discriminated against or attacked because of their identity or orientation.
+ TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
The right to self identify is a natural fact of existence. We seek a world where individuals are unquestionably given the right to identify and classify themselves as the gender that they identify. This right should not be hindered by society’s hang ups of social norms. Nor should it be dictated by regressive laws imposed by the government, or individuals who seek to impose their beliefs on others.
+ MARRIAGE LEGALIZATION
The belief in Marriage equality is a belief that the institution of marriage is based on two individuals creating one union and not the orientation of those individuals. Marriage, while it is not the only way to create a family, is a basic structure of the way some wish to build their life in love. We believe that right belongs to all.
+ RESOURCES AND PARTNERS
Next Generation Action Network believes the right to marry is a basic human right. The simple application of universal protections against unequal treatment dictates that gay and lesbian couples, no less than heterosexual couples, should possess the right. We partner with local and national groups to work for equality in LGBTQ+ issues.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Women’s Rights (and Womxn’s Rights) are a network of necessary initatives that protect women of all backgrounds regardless of reproductive capabilities, age, or race. Women’s Rights also includes Girl’s Education, Reproductive Freedom of Choice, Anti-Mutilation, and Domestic Violence (DV) Prevention.
+ VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Next Generation Action Network understands that there will always be those who believe there might give them the right to abuse women, we do stand against this thinking. We support the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which enhances and extends victim services; grows to fund for prevention programs, ends exemption for non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse co-occurring with domestic violence, stalking sex trafficking, and assaults on tribal law enforcement officers on tribal lands; protects victims of dating violence from firearm homicide (this closes the boyfriend loophole of the VAWA Act of 1994); assures agreement with VAWA non-discrimination provisions and secure equal access to VAWA protections for all victims regardless of gender; provides economic justice responses that help survivors access unemployment insurance and support to simplify what constitutes economic abuse; preserves existing protections for all survivors; and advances the healthcare system’s acknowledgment to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.
+ REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM
Next Generation Action Network believes women have the fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about their personal body and reproductive functions. This fundamental right includes access to affordable and quality contraception, including emergency contraception, without discrimination. Women also have the fundamental right to continue or terminate a pregnancy, and if she chooses to terminate the pregnancy they should have access to affordable medical care.
+ EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION
Next Generation Action Network believes, imprisoning women for minor offenses does not lead them to change their patterns, it simply leads to a cycle of violence and further incarceration. Education is the key to improving lives, not imprisonment.
IMMIGRANT’S RIGHTS
Immigrant’s Rights uphold and protects migration and asylum as a universal human right. Under the 14th Amendment, migrants may seek asylum at United States of America borders if they are fleeing violence, war, religious persecution, trafficking, etc. NGAN stands for the protection of Immigrant Rights for African, South and Central American, Asian, Middle Eastern, and other multicultural migrant groups.
+ FAMILY SEPARATION CRISIS
The Family Separation Crisis started in 2017 under the Trump Administration. It started as ideation but quickly turned to a reality; forcing grassroots and national advocacy organizations to file lawsuits against the Administration. Through a Zero-Tolerance Policy, there were thousands of children who were seperated from their parents. To this day, most of those children have not properly been reunified with their parents.
+ ICE & LAW ENFORCEMENT
The United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was founded March 1, 2003 by the George W. Bush administration. The office is housed in the Department of Homeland Security which states it was created to protect public safety and national security against illegal immigration, transnational crime, domestic and international terrorism, and other threats to the nation. However, the lines between ICE and traditional Law Enforcement have become blurred; especially during the execution of the Trump Administration’s Zero-Tolerance Policy.
+ POLICIES & SENTENCING
Draconian policies and illegitimate sentencing have caused untold harm to innocent people simply looking for a baseline standard of living. We seek to guarantee fair treatment of immigrants regardless of their legal status, and to help everyone who truly wishes to live in our country find a path to legal residency.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Environmental Justice (EJ) is essential to the sustainability of humanity and our world. EJ encompasses protecting fresh water and ocean life, advocating against oil and gas monopolies, demanding clean air and removing toxic waste from residential areas such as Shingle Mountain and Sandbranch just outside Dallas, TX. NGAN supports the Global Climate Strike movement as well as other national and local initiatives to save the planet from environmental destruction.
+ #CLEANWATERNOW
Next Generation Action Network understands that clean water is a basic human right and needs to be accessible to every community. People care strongly about clean water. Our waterways are essential to a healthy environment and a growing economy and contribute to endless opportunities and other recreation.
+ CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES
Climate change threatens the future of all people.
+ AIR QUALITY AND HEALTH
Poor air quality is responsible for a wide range of health issues that negatively affect the quality of life for millions of people.
VOTING RIGHTS
Voting Rights derive from the Civil Rights and Women’s Suffrage Movement.
+ STOP GERRYMANDERING!
Gerrymandering, or dividing sections of the population to gain political control in spite of democratic process, is directly in opposition to the principles of free democracy.
+ VOTING RIGHTS 101
Every citizen deserves to have their voice heard. We support the right of the people to have a say in their governance, and seek to defy voter oppression and disenfranchisement.
+ COALITION & PARTNERS
We work with national and local partners to ensure the right to vote for every eligible person.
FREE SPEECH
Free Speech is the foundation of American society and culture. The first amendment of the United States constitution protects citizens Freedom of Speech along with the right to assemble in public and protest. NGAN supports our right to Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, Protest and Assembly.
+ SURVEILLANCE OF ACTIVISTS
Often, the voices that are most outspoken against oppressive policies are singled out in attempts to discredit and terrorize those who would oppose the violence and systemic oppression of democratic principles. We refuse to be intimidated and seek an surveillance of non-violent activists.
+ CENSORSHIP OF BLACK MEDIA
We insist on equal representation in all forms of media.
+ FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS
Education is an opportunity for an equal exchange of ideas, and we seek to ensure that every student has the right to be heard.