Dear <<First Name>>,

In the last few days, The Marshall Project has received an outpouring of support from people around the world demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all victims of police violence.

We will honor these commitments by doing what we do best: delivering journalism that shines a light where it’s needed most and amplifying the voices of those who are disproportionately affected by this country’s systems around crime and punishment.

Journalism, done honestly and well, has tremendous power to drive change. In the past, the media has contributed to troubling narratives, particularly around racial inequality and criminal justice, and betrayed the trust of many communities. It is our responsibility to do better. It is difficult for any major social movement to succeed without the support of fair and honest reporting drawing abuses and injustice into the light.

We were founded in 2014, amid protests across the country after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. We have been working toward a fairer, more transparent, more effective and humane criminal justice system ever since. We have covered the militarization of police forces, highlighted and tracked many of the proposed solutions to America’s policing problem, and contributed to the immense body of work on racial disparities in the wider criminal justice system. Our goal has always been to educate and enlarge the audience of people who care about the state of criminal justice.

Many powerful and disturbing images have emerged from the recent demonstrations. I am certain that we will continue to see more examples of abuse come to light as protests continue. What is being captured on camera is important. Now, it is our responsibility to dig deep and uncover what is happening where others cannot see, so that justice may be served and we can move toward a better criminal justice system.

We've published two timely stories analyzing and explaining the issues at the heart of the ongoing protests. Jamiles Lartey and Simone Weichselbaum bring us a thorough examination of police reform efforts in Minneapolis and throughout Minnesota to understand why change has been so slow across the predominantly white state. Lartey also partnered with FiveThirtyEight to explain why so many police officers are handling the protests wrong. We also recently published a compilation of stories from The Marshall Project’s archives that shine a light on police, violence and racial inequality in America.

Thank you for supporting The Marshall Project. We will continue working hard to make you proud.

With thanks,

Neil Barsky
Founder
The Marshall Project