By Zach Norris, executive director of the Ella Baker Center
Barack Obama is the latest in a long line of Democrats critiquing the slogan “defund the police.” Instead of listening to the demands of community members across the country to redirect resources away from militarized police and toward mental health and community investment, Democrats are more comfortable giving notes on the effectiveness of a brand.
This is not new.
Only four years ago, Democratic presidential candidates were trying to water down the “Black Lives Matter” rallying cry that emerged from the 2013 Ferguson protests. Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, even Bernie Sanders were slow to embrace the phrase, and used some version of “all lives matter” in misguided attempts to offend the least amount of people.
As Black Lives Matter came into national consciousness, it too was seen by some as a ”snappy” slogan that initially “lost a big audience” when they first heard it. But since 2013, more and more people have been teaching, or have learned, that saying Black lives matter doesn’t mean that other lives don’t; it means that we face disproportionate threats.
Black Lives Matter is more than a slogan: It's the largest globalized protest movement for racial justice since the Civil Rights era. Calls to defund the police took hold in 2020 when people across the country rose up and took to the streets to defend Black lives against police violence.
These protests were an escalation of work that has been done for decades, pushing for officials to not only hold cops accountable, but also to increase funding for community-led alternative initiatives that truly keep our communities safe.
My book Defund Fear is about shifting the conversation about public safety away from police, prisons, and punishment, and toward comprehensive support systems for our families and communities. In one chapter I focus on how DeVone Boggan, the founder and CEO of Advance Peace, was able to dramatically reduce violence in Richmond, California, by investing in relationships and community accountability rather than police intervention.
In 2005, Richmond was overwhelmed by violence, despite trying all the punitive measures that could be tried. Instead of calling for more police, Boggan formed a brand-new city agency (the Richmond Office of Neighborhood Safety), which employed formerly incarcerated people to reach out to the young men directly connected to the violence. He offered the young men an eight-month fellowship program, a monetary stipend, and job training opportunities. And between 2007 and 2014, murder rates in Richmond dropped by 77%.
Elected leaders should be learning from organizations that are providing community-based opportunities and helping families heal from police violence and harm caused by the prison pipeline. Organizations like Advance Peace, Restore Oakland, Community Assessment and Referral Center, and national organizations like Common Justice and Alternative Rehabilitation Communities (ARC).
Groundbreaking progress has always involved ideas that upset the establishment. Rather than allow our elected representatives to avoid truthful dialogue, let's encourage them to do what they're supposed to do: Ensure the well-being and safety of their constituents.
If Democrats really believe that Black life matters, it is time for them to forgo debating the politics of a slogan and join those of us doing the work to reimagine the way community safety is defined and achieved.
Zach Norris is the Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, author of Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment (available 2/2/2021), and co-founder of Restore Oakland, a community advocacy and training center that empowers Bay Area community members to transform local economic and justice systems and make a safe and secure future possible for themselves and for their families.