Black Lives Matter, a nationwide network of radicals, is sending contradictory messages about what it means in its demand to "defund the police."
Some suggest it's about siphoning just a portion of police budgets into social programs for minority communities, but it's clear that many of those protesting on the street mean the elimination of police forces entirely.
The startling demand has spread like wildfire since George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police two weeks ago. "Defund the police" is a cry that has reached a crescendo from coast to coast.
When Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was grilled by protest organizers and told them he didn't support the total defunding of the city police, he was hounded out of the throng with cries of "shame" ringing in his ears.
So there is a disconnect, whether intentional or not, between the less militant rhetoric of those who want to change the balance of resources away from law enforcement to other areas such as including mental health services and affordable housing, and those who are seeking something much more radical, even revolutionary.
The spark behind the latest movement came on Memorial Day, when Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned Floyd's neck to the ground with his knee for nearly nine minutes despite cries about not being able to breathe. Chauvin was fired from the department and has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers who were involved in detaining Floyd, who was suspected of using a fake $20 bill, were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Minnesota, which has seen large protests and an estimated tens of millions of dollars worth of damages due to looting and vandalism, has already sought police restructure.
A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council vowed to dismantle the city's police department on Sunday. Nine of the 12 council members, a veto-proof majority, signed a pledge to disband the department as it currently exists. In its place, they proposed that the city creates a new system for public safety.
Lisa Bender, the City Council president, was asked Monday on CNN about whom she should call if someone broke into her home. "I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors," she explained. "And I know — and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege. Because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done."
Black Lives Matter, a group founded in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman being acquitted in the murder trial of Trayvon Martin, has been central to energizing the debate over policing in the past two weeks. Perhaps the most visceral call for defunding the police came over the weekend when BLM organizers painted "Defund the police" in large yellow letters on the street leading up to the White House. This was after Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser was criticized by the local BLM chapter for a "Black Lives Matter" mural that was painted on 16th Street NW on Friday, calling it a "performative distraction." She also renamed an intersection in front of the White House, making it "Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
Alicia Garza, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has played a prominent role in the Floyd protests, claimed the larger "defund the police" movement demand is not about abolishing police forces, rather it's about reallocating resources.
"When we talk about defunding the police, what we’re saying is invest in the resources that our communities need. So much right now is generated and directly toward quality of life issue, homelessness, drug addiction, domestic violence, and conflict," she explained during Sunday's episode of Meet The Press on NBC. "In order to address those issues, but what we do need is funding for housing. We need increased funding for education. We need increased funding for quality of life for a community that is over-policed and over-surveilled."
Garza has repeatedly talked about how convicted cop killer and wanted domestic terrorist Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, is one of her main inspirations. Garza wrote an article for the Feminist Wire in 2014, claiming that “hetero-patriarchy and anti-Black racism within our movement is real and felt” and explaining that “when I use Assata’s powerful demand in my organizing work, I always begin by sharing where it comes from, sharing about Assata’s significance to the Black Liberation Movement, what it’s political purpose and message is, and why it’s important in our context.”
Garza has also repeatedly tweeted approvingly about Shakur.
Shakur is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list with a $1,000,000 reward for information directly leading to her apprehension. She is believed to be hiding out in Cuba. Shakur, a member of the revolutionary extremist group called the Black Liberation Army, is wanted for escaping from prison in New Jersey in 1979 while serving a life sentence for murdering New Jersey state trooper Werner Foerster during a traffic stop in 1973.
Another Black Lives Matter co-founder, Patrisse Cullors, called for cities and states to "re-prioritize where we put our resources" over the weekend.
Still, there appears to be some mixed messaging among the BLM ranks.
In the wake of Floyd’s death and the subsequent protests, Black Lives Matter posted a petition on its website to #DefundThePolice.
“We call for an end to the systemic racism that allows this culture of corruption to go unchecked and our lives to be taken,” Black Lives Matter said on May 30. “We call for a national defunding of police. We demand investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive.”
“George Floyd’s violent death was a breaking point — an all too familiar reminder that, for Black people, law enforcement doesn’t protect or save our lives. They often threaten and take them," the petition added.
MPD-150, a Minnesota-based grassroots group that describes its mission as one working "towards a police free Minneapolis," has a FAQ section on its website that addresses concerns about how violent and dangerous crime will be handled without law enforcement as society now knows it.
"Most of the time, it happens when someone has been unable to meet their basic needs through other means. By shifting money away from the police and toward services that actually meet those needs, we’ll be able to get to a place where people won’t need to rob banks," the website says. "Sure, in this long transition process, we may need a small specialized class of public servants whose job it is to respond to violent crimes. But part of what we’re talking about here is what role police play in our society."
The debate has also become a partisan issue that could play a pivotal role in the 2020 election.
Many Democrats have been hesitant to embrace the demand, such as Sen. Cory Booker, who said, "It's not a slogan I’ll use." President Trump and his campaign have sought to highlight the movement as evidence the Democratic Party is soft on crime and wants to strip police departments of their resources.
In fact, Trump has pulled for "more money" to be allocated for law enforcement. “We won’t be defunding our police. We won’t be dismantling our police,” Trump said at a roundtable event on Monday.
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has been slow to comment on the debate. But a spokesperson for the former vice president, who met with Floyd's family on Monday, said in a statement that he opposed defunding the police.
"As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded. He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain," said Biden spokesman Andrew Bates. "Biden supports the urgent need for reform — including funding for public schools, summer programs, and mental health and substance abuse treatment separate from funding for policing — so that officers can focus on the job of policing."
Biden's stance on the matter can be viewed as another ideological split between him, a more centrist Democrat, than some of the more progressive parts of the party, many of whom support the idea.
For instance, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the more liberal members of Congress, appears more aligned with MPD-150 rather than Black Lives Matter. She called for the police force to "disband" so that people can "reimagine public safety in Minneapolis."
Neither Black Lives Matter nor the Black Lives Matter D.C., Maryland, and Virginia chapter responded to requests for comment.
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