In a little more than a week of mass protest and social upheaval of historic proportions, we are now moving in directions that were unthinkable a very short time ago. Not toward useless reforms, but toward the actual reduction of the power, size, and scope of the police and in some cases perhaps even its abolition.
– Minneapolis Public schools canceled its contract with the MPD
– Minneapolis City Council considers disbanding the police
– LA City Council considers motion to cut 150 million from the police
– NY state legislators considers proposals for police defunding
Similar proposals are being taken up in cities nationwide.
Every major social reform in US history has required militant agitation and disruption in the streets, from the American Revolution to the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the labor movement, the Black freedom struggle, the fight for LGBTQ rights, and the anti-nuclear movement, among others. The Constitutional framework of the US political system creates enormous obstacles to social change. Outside pressure is often the only avenue.
