BLACK LIVES MATTER. This is a petition to demand the removal of the "thin blue line"  representing "Blue Lives Matter" on Main Street in Manasquan, NJ. Please add a "reason for signing." This blue line is only a symptom—there are deeper problems at hand in our policing systems. This is just the first step to creating a better community.

Many of us have seen this line, but few know what it represents. In late 2016—right before Trump's election, right after the horrific police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, and right after Colin Kaepernick took a knee against police brutality—a bright blue line was quietly painted over the road divider that runs through the heart of Manasquan. 

It is clear that this line and "Blue Lives Matter" arose specifically in opposition to Black Lives Matter. Leaving it on our street implicitly excuses—even endorses—police brutality against Black communities. "Blue Lives Matter" laws and symbols have been condemned as racist and anti-Black by organizations such as the NAACP​, ACLU​, Color of Change, and more. It's time to remove this offensive symbol from our streets.

Manasquan has a police budget of over 3 Million Dollars and 46 full or part time police officers (command f “police officers”). 21 members of the police force would have been flagged for review if held to the same “use of force” standards as Chicago or New York (New Jersey has no “use of force” review standards). Manasquan is 96.1 % white and .03% Black. Despite this Black people were subject to 6.3% of police use of force. Additionally the Manasquan Police uses force at a higher rate than all but 36 municipalities in New Jersey.

We are not alone in this effort: In Flemington, NJ, Mayor Betsy Driver had their town's insensitive blue line removed from its Main Street on Saturday, June 6th before their community's first Black Lives Matter rally, but someone has already vandalized the street, unlawfully trying to paint the blue line again in response and opposition to Black Lives Matter. Residents of Woodbridge, NJ​, Holmdel, NJ, and Middletown, NJ are also trying to remove their town's "thin blue line."

Let's also hope that once Manasquan also does the right thing and removes the divisive blue line, our community comes together to finally commit itself to diversity, inclusion, equity, and antiracism, and that concrete policies are put in place to ensure this vital commitment.

***Aside from signing the petition, go to https://tinyurl.com/manasquanblm to find email templates and phone scripts to send to local Manasquan officials. 

Other resources explaining why "Blue Lives Matter" is harmful, innately anti-Black, and problematic:

“This is a Racist Symbol”
“The Blue Lives Matter movement is more than just an attempt to undermine Black Lives Matter”
“The Short, Fraught History of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ American Flag”
“Confessions of a Former Bastard Cop”
“POLICE BRUTALITY, RESISTANCE, AND ABOLITION: AN INTRODUCTION”