Dignity and Power Now Statement on Cherie Townsend

What happened to Cherie Townsend is exactly why Dignity and Power Now exists–to fight for the dignity and power of all incarcerated people, their families, and communities while remaining rooted in community power with the goal of achieving transformative justice and healing justice.

We #StandwithCherie in demanding a public apology from L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell for wrongfully and very publicly accusing this single mother–who was minding her own business–of murder.

The damage caused by the pain and humiliation suffered by Ms. Townsend and her children when Sheriff McDonnell and Sheriff’s Department investigators–who we believe targeted Ms. Townsend simply for the color of her skin and for being in a community where Blacks apparently don’t belong–cannot be understated.

A public apology from Sheriff McDonnell is a necessary first step the restorative justice process and toward making Ms. Townsend and her family whole.

We call on the Civilian Oversight Commission, the FBI and the County Board of Supervisors to investigate whether or not the targeting to Ms. Townsend by the Sheriff’s Department was racially motivated and qualified as a hate crime.

We call on the community at large to #StandWithCherie with the understanding that what happened to her, could happen to any one us simple for being the wrong color and in spaces that considered anti-people of color.