On June 26, 2020, Black Lives Matter Manchester and Black Lives Matter Nashua released a set of seven racial justice demands, aimed at gubernatorial candidates. 

We received substantive responses from Executive Councillor Andru Volinsky, Mr. Darryl W. Perry, and State Senator Dan Feltes. Governor Chris Sununu responded via letter and statement during a COVID-19 press conference on the afternoon of June 30th. 

While we appreciate Governor Sununu’s willingness to acknowledge our demands, we have asked for substantive responses to each of them and neither his letter nor his statement adequately met that criteria.

Black and Brown Americans deserve better than lip service and empty gestures of solidarity from our elected officials.

We deserve justice. We need action now.

Sign our petition to send a message to Governor Chris Sununu: this is not just a moment, this is a movement. We won’t back down until we have achieved racial justice in New Hampshire. 

The demands are as follows:

1. We demand that you commit to mandating ongoing and retroactive implicit bias training for all state and local government employees and personally undergo the same training within your first 100 days as Governor.

2. We demand that you commit to appointing a Civilian Oversight Board to oversee law enforcement and build public trust through accountability and transparency within your first 200 days as Governor.

3. We demand that you commit to appointing a new Racial Equity Task Force of paid staffers, focused on acknowledging racial disparities and seeking solutions to systemic racism in New Hampshire, within your first 250 days as Governor.

4. We demand that you release a plan of action and take specific steps to reverse the disproportionate incarceration of Black and brown people in New Hampshire within your first 300 days as Governor.

5. We demand that you publicly support the prohibition of the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on unarmed demonstrators by New Hampshire law enforcement.

6. We demand that you publicly support legislation to legalize the use of recreational cannabis. We demand that you commit to pardoning those who are currently serving time due to non-violent cannabis-related sentences, and expunging the records of all those charged with non-violent cannabis-related offenses.

7. We demand that you publicly support the efforts of the NH Education Reform Initiative (also known as NH for Anti-Racist Education); an initiative that seeks to provide resources and accountability structures to teachers, reform whitewashed curriculum, encourage community partnerships and promote policies that actively uproot systemic racism in New Hampshire’s education system.

We are asking for detailed, substantive responses to these demands and also request that they be made accessible to all members of the public.
​