SURJ NEO believes in the power of everyday people coming together to take action to make change in our communities. Whether Black, White, or Brown, east side or west side, we know that so many of us struggle to put food on the table, afford a doctor’s visit, or get treatment instead of being thrown in jail. We have so much to gain when we work together.
We work on campaigns that change the conditions that people are living in and build our strength to win future fights.
In 2021 we were part of the coalition that passed Issue 24 for police accountability.
In 2022 we are working to win non-police care response: where mental health workers respond to certain crisis calls, instead of police. Because healthcare problems deserve healthcare solutions.
Questions? Write to us at connect@surjneo.org.
We are the Northeast Ohio chapter of SURJ, a national network organizing majority white communities to join the movement for racial and economic justice.
Recent Updates
October 1, 2022
We believe that all people deserve respect and compassion. No one should be hurt or thrown in the back of a police car when all they need is a little help.
Will you sign our petition to show you support non-police care response?
The petition links also includes more information.
March 21, 2022
Cleveland residents: Please take 2 minutes & help us show the community is watching by thanking Mayor Bibb and City Council for funding Issue 24 implementation.
Issue 24 is now law, but we need to make sure it actually becomes practice in the City. This is a chance to show City Council that we are watching, we are organized, and – while we are thanking them now – they can expect to hear from us again if they don’t support police accountability in the future.
Click here to send thank-you emails to City Council & Mayor Bibb.
Nov. 3, 2021
Update about Issue 24, the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland initiative for real police accountability
We did it! Last night Issue 24 passed by popular vote in Cleveland, which means our city will have one of the strongest community-led oversight and accountability mechanisms for policing of any place in the entire country. This is incredible. It is historic.
We won. Despite the odds we faced. Despite a power structure that will pull out all the stops to protect police officers from facing accountability for their misconduct.
Our multi-racial coalition won this.
Hundreds and hundreds of everyday people, all with our own stories but united in our vision that we deserve more, won this.
Brenda, Alicia, Samaria, and LaTonya — family members of Craig Bickerstaff, Angelo Miller, and Tamir Rice — won this.
We had a beautiful celebration last night with SURJ NEO members, the families leading Issue 24, and the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland coalition members. We hugged and cheered and loved on each other. We really won this.
Check out this joyful moment we caught on video last night.
Please toast and send love to Brenda, Alicia, Samaria, and LaTonya who have been working around the clock for the last 2 years to pass this initiative. If you didn’t get a chance to sign the physical cards at the watch party last night, you can sign this virtual card here.
Please toast and send love to your fellow volunteers from SURJ, Citizens for a Safer Cleveland, and the entire coalition who have pounded the pavement to have thousands and thousands of conversations about police accountability.
Just as SURJ NEO, since August we have:
- Knocked 5,428 doors
- Had 1,365 conversations at the door
- Made 3,997 calls to move SURJ members into action
- Had 1,908 phone conversations with SURJ members
To be clear, there is a lot of work left to do. Our role at SURJ NEO is to shift white Clevelanders’ allegiances away from racism and toward an understanding that we only get what we need when we work together.
Our opposition’s fear-mongering tactics were a dog-whistle to white voters. The many mailers Cleveland voters received in our mailboxes were full of misinformation and tried to invoke racist imagery to instill fear. We need to keep organizing to shift political conditions so that using racism to divide our residents from each other is no longer a viable strategy.
And we’ll need you here with us.
RSVP to join other SURJ members at our Nov. 18th celebration to debrief SURJ’s role in the campaign: what we did well and how we can be even more effective next time. Please RSVP here.
Please celebrate. This is really big. And please take time for rest. We did it.
Talk soon —
Emma