thisisallison

This week’s WCW highlights Jackie Carter, the CEO of Not Reaching!

Philando Castille. Alton Sterling. Michael Brown. Tamir Rice. Eric Garner.

What do these men have in common?

They’re notable victims of police brutality.

Unfortunately, the trend hasn’t changed much. Young, black men are being killed by cops. And little to no justice is being served.

A Terrifying Reality

According to the Mapping Police Violence database, police have killed over 2,200 people in 2017 and 2018. 

The database reveals that black people represented 25% of the victims despite being on 13% of the overall national population (2017). Also, 30% of black victims were UNARMED during those moments.(mappingpoliceviolence.org)

Taking this information into account, the most common reason for contact with the police is being a driver in a traffic stop. Black drivers experience a higher chance of being pulled over than White or Hispanic drivers. This places black drivers at a higher risk for experiencing police brutality.

Jackie Carter

While some police departments and other bureaucratic agencies aren’t doing enough to end police brutality, or even attempt to address the issue, ordinary citizens are heeding the call to take the initiative to solve this problem into their own hands.

In steps Jackie Carter, a black woman currently living in Alexandria, Virginia. She often feared for her own life. She feared for her husband’s life and her son’s. They experienced traffic stops on several occasions.

In an effort to address this fear, she started thinking about solutions. She came up with an idea aimed at reducing police brutality during routine traffic stops. She acted on the idea after Philando Castile died during a traffic stop in July 2016.

Creative Solution

Her idea was simple and effective. With help from her son, they invented the Not Reaching ID pouch. It’s a clear pouch that drivers can attach to their car vents or dashboards so that officers have clear and easy access to a driver’s license, registration card, and insurance policy.

The invention’s usefulness lies in the fact that both drivers and officers won’t have to feel threatened during a traffic stop. Drivers won’t have to fear making a wrong move, and officers won’t have to feel threatened that drivers are reaching for items that would put their lives in danger.

Positive word about the Not Reaching pouch has spread across the nation through national tv shows and news stations. Valerie Castile, the mother of Philando Castile, endorsed the product. She mentioned that the pouch could have saved her son’s life.

The ID pouch also drew the attention of a concerned mother who reached out to Carter to customize pouches for drivers with disabilities. or legal firearm carriers. This allowed Carter to expand her product designs and serve more people.

Social Justice Movement

Over the last two years, Not Reaching has become part of a larger grassroots social justice movement.

Not Reaching has partnered up with other organizations to create the Alliance for Safe Traffic Stops. ASTS’s mission is to supply products to people and programs that can help enforce traffic-safety and decrease deaths at the hands of police brutality. 

In conclusion, Jackie Carter sheds light on what can happen when “we the people” take decisions into our own hands.

We celebrate her and her efforts make our country more safe and just.

If you’d like more information about Not Reaching, check out the website! https://www.notreaching.com/

Some parts of this article are paraphrased from CNN.

*If you know a woman we should highlight send a pic and a brief story about this crush worthy woman! Send to info@thisisallison.com*