SCAR
Why not try real solutions?
Spokane could just decide to love its community more. Everyone wants less crime, but leaning on police to do all the work just creates more prisoners. We need to actually invest in our community; in each other.
Fighting
Racism in
Spokane, WA
In the News
Public Trust Issues for C.O.P.S.
The Spokane City Council’s indefinite delay on renewing the C.O.P.S. contract highlights critical flaws in Spokane’s approach to community policing. The current system lacks transparency and raises serious concerns about accountability and the effectiveness of victim advocacy programs.
As a community, we must demand a policing model that prioritizes trust, accountability, and equity over the status quo. Spokane deserves a system that works for all its residents, not one that perpetuates harm or shields misconduct. It’s time to advocate for meaningful change and community-led solutions in public safety.
Our
Mission
Our Mission is to identify and address racial disparities through a variety of community efforts which include education, advocacy, research, community engagement, policy impact, and challenges to the existing organizations and structures.
News and
Commentary
Range Media
Faith leaders call on Woodward to formally support separation of church and state
The letter comes after the mayor appeared at a Christian nationalist event in Spokane.
Range Media
Racist statue removal stalled: ‘Who is this wait worth it for?’
The Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander community has asked for the removal of a monument they call ‘racist and misleading.’ A mayoral veto and an empty city council seat stand in the way.
SCAR
Why not try real solutions?
Spokane could just decide to love its community more. Everyone wants less crime, but leaning on police to do all the work just creates more prisoners. We need to actually invest in our community; in each other.
Jerry Leclaire
Prosecutorial Discretion and Racial Prejudice (Part 1)
This is a reposting, originally published via Substack by Jerry Leclaire on May 22nd, 2023. In criminal legal cases (as opposed to civil cases) it is the County Prosecutor’s decision to “bring charges” on behalf of the state against a potential criminal defendant—or not. Either way, a County Prosecutor’s decision to level charges sets a course for the accused that is a punishment in itself. Prosecutorial decisions have the potential to ruin lives.
Jerry Leclaire
Haskell Backs Off — The role of systemic racism (Part 2)
This is a reposting, originally published via Substack by Jerry Leclaire on May 24th, 2023. On Monday, May 22nd, Kip Hill’s article in the Spokesman reported “Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office won’t retry Black man whose convictions prompted charge of racism by appellate judge.” This development needs extended context. Darnai Vaile, the “Black man” of the headline, was convicted of two counts of resisting arrest in a Spokane County Superior Court jury trial and sentenced to six months probation.
Spokesman
As Larry Stone stonewalls, Spokane City Council grudgingly invests in shelter he owns
Members of the Spokane City Council say it has become increasingly clear that developer Larry Stone, of the Stone Group of Companies, has no intention of selling the Trent Avenue property that has become Spokane’s largest homeless shelter.
Interested in Volunteering?
Breakfast Program
Feeding people for free is a radical act because it centers the human being and meets a basic need without expectations or transactions. We’re here because we believe everyone deserves a more just, equitable, thoughtful, and human-centered world. We are here to experience—and share—a taste of what that world could feel like. We hope you enjoy your breakfast.
UPDATE: The Burritos for the People program ended in it’s initial form on August 27th, 2023 after not missing a single Sunday in over two years and serving nearly 30,000 burritos, due to downtown political pressure applied against CAT, blaming the program for bringing homeless to the area. We’re saddened by this and figuring out our next steps. When there is a need, ending services is not an answer, bringing more services to bear is the mark of a compassionate society.
