Why Defund the Police?
An explanation and resources from: DNO
Defund the Police T-Shirt – Black
Black Lives Matter. In the face of widespread police brutality and the failure to reform a broken and militarized system that perpetuates racism, we call for the defunding of police departments across America and the reinvestment of funds into black and poor communities, necessary social services, and other programs to uplift and ensure the health of our human family. Now more than ever, humanity needs compassion.
The reallocation of our cities' budgets is of utmost priority to ensure that our cities become safer and fairer places to live — defunding the police doesn't mean letting crime escape justice. It means justice should be served equitably to all citizens, and that protecting our communities should be diversified among mental health professionals, community-led safety policies and procedures, and other law-enforcement agencies. Reducing police budgets means “no longer asking officers to do many jobs that they often don’t even want to do: resolving family and school disputes, moving homeless people into shelters and so on.” We call for less militarization and more compassion.
Our Defund the Police design is an evolution of the Classic, our original design from 2003. Equality, freedom, justice, progress, solidarity, unity, liberty – our values were in the logo from the beginning. The skull and spikes are in the lineage of punk, anti-fascist, and anti-racist symbolism.
Article: What does 'defunding the police' mean?, the Guardian
Free ebook: The End of Policing, by Alex Vitale
Article: The Pandemic Is the Right Time to Defund the Police, TNR
A podcast discussion: Would Defunding the Police Make Us Safer?, the Atlantic
Article: No More Money for the Police, NYT
Zine: Building a Police Free Future, from MPD150
DEFUND INITIATIVES ↓
Defund12.org: Drafted template emails to send to your elected officials
Sign Black Lives Matter's defund petition
CivilRights.org's toolkit for a New Era of Public Safety
Reclaim the Block's digital toolkit
ANTI-RACISM INITIATIVES ↓
A document of bail-funds across the country
Support the National Police Accountability Project
Get involved with Black Lives Matter
Some inspirational and information accounts referenced on our Instagram
Shop our Anti-Racism collection, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the cause
Color of Change: Sign petitions and join campaigns for justice
Tips for socially transitioning into a longterm movement
Comprehensive list of anti-racism resources from Good Good Good
