Advocates of policing abolition have been pushing to defund the police for years, but the recent explosion of public attention on the Movement for Black Lives has more people than ever talking about what an entirely new system of public safety could look like. In this episode, I summarize what I’ve learned over the last few weeks about community-based alternatives to policing, feminist tensions surrounding the abolitionist stance, and what people mean when they say “defund the police.” NOTE: I am not an expert on policing abolition. This episode offers a high-level overview and recommendations for where you can find much more detailed information from people immersed in this work, such as those listed in the show notes. 

Things We Talked About on This Episode

• Yes, We Literally Mean Abolish the Police by Mariame Kaba [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/opinion/sunday/floyd-abolish-defund-police.html]
• Angela Davis on Abolition [https://www.democracynow.org/2020/6/12/angela_davis_on_abolition_calls_to?fbclid=IwAR1pesIQKKAX7FAqkD8YSH3RJoikBTkVVHbE05hKNlp7pDieWUmrmhb5uw4]
• Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition [https://theintercept.com/2020/06/10/ruth-wilson-gilmore-makes-the-case-for-abolition/]
• MPD 150 [https://www.mpd150.com]
• Critical Resistance [http://criticalresistance.org]
• No More Money for Police [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/george-floyd-police-funding.html?fbclid=IwAR1y9pUCluy65-W-6a1UjXb3SoWqlJp2p_7VKOpOR19q_uZXlmY-ANnxvkA]
• The Systems That Protect the Police [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/podcasts/the-daily/george-floyd-protests.html]
• Qualified Immunity Explained [https://theappeal.org/qualified-immunity-explained/]
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander [https://newjimcrow.com]
• Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson [https://justmercy.eji.org]
• 13th directed by Ava DuVernay [https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741]