Defund the Police

"We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup

And even though you're fed up

ya got to keep your head up "  - Tupac Shakur

Background Information on the "Defund the Police" phrase/slogan:

        According to Time, Defund the Police originates from Minneapolis city. After the heinous killing of George Floyd, the Minneapolis city council made plans to disband their police department. During the George Floyd movement in June 2020, many protestors were using the phrase "Defund the Police". Minneapolis city council decided to not disband its police department. Instead, they cut some of the police department's budget.  

Who are the leaders? What do movement protestors look like?  Defund the Police campaign does not really have one leader. It has multiple leaders, anyone can become a leader of this campaign.  They have training videos on their page to train their members. They also have budgeting tools training videos to help members. Most of the movement protestors are African Americans and people of color.  They also have 737 organizing resources and  165 legislative resources within the US.  In North Carolina, they have 20 resources. They also have some resources in Canada. They are associated with "The Movement For Black Lives" and "#Black Lives Matter".
 

What Does "Defund the Police" Mean?

"Defund the Police" has two meanings. The first meaning is that people want to disband the police department entirely.  The second meaning is that people want the government to relocate the police department's budget to other places.  Most people that are for the "defund the police" slogan use it in terms of the second meaning. On their website, they write that "Abolishing the police does not mean the abolishing of community safety". 

What Do The Suppporters of "Defund the Police" Want?  (Misson) 

• People who support the "Defund the Police" slogan are advocating for the relocation of  police department's budget to other social areas  (police need training on dealing with a person in psychiatric distress and the money can go to new community emergency services) 
• They are also advocating for alternative police services (to stop police brutality against black people)
• repeal outdated laws (they want to decriminalize minor offense to stop police harassment/police brutality , i.e war on drugs laws)
• stop funding invasive tech and military-grade weapons (want to create non violent ways to solve social problems, highlight that body cameras are costly and ineffective

The Form of the Movement?

• This use to be a physical movement but now it is mostly a digital campaign. I do think it has the chance to become a physical movement again.  This campaign has two websites dedicated to the cause. They also have other organizations pushing this campaign along. This campaign bridges a lot of other companies backing the Black Lives Matter Movement.  The Defund the Police hashtag has been around all the social media platforms. 

Repression tactics 

• This campaign is being repressed because the media is no longer talking about this campaign, it lost media coverage 
• Also it has no face to the campaign, just a list of organizations backing the campaign 
• People who are against this campaign try to misinterpret the meaning of the campaign, they claim that the campaign is designed to get rid of police entirely

Outreach of Defund the Police

• Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Lizzo supported H.R. 7120, The George Floyd Justice In Policing Act (police reforms) 
• Meek Mill, Megan Thee Stallion, Alyssa Milano, Billy Porter also supported H.R. 7120 bill 
• Zendaya advocates for Black Lives Matter on her social media platforms 

Sources: 

https://time.com/5936408/defund-the-police-definition-movement/

https://defundthepolice.org/

https://defundpolice.org/

https://communityresourcehub.org/

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/celebrities-including-mariah-carey-rihanna-ariana-grande-lizzo/story?id=71418145#:~:text=Stream%20on-,Celebrities%20including%20Mariah%20Carey%2C%20Rihanna%2C%20Ariana%20Grande%2C%20Lizzo%20endorse,and%20organizations%20signed%20the%20letter