Almost daily we hear of the police killing a Black person. A huge movement to stop police murder and other forms of racism is dramatically expanding possibilites for change. What is to be done about the police has become a burning question. How can the police be held to account? Is it possible to diminish, or take away completely, their state sanctioned ability to use violence? What do the calls to defund and abolish the police mean, and what opportunities do those calls open? Can we turn many of the functions now performed by people with a gun and a badge over to mental health professionals, social workers and drug councilors … even to community organizations?
These are some of the alternatives discussed by a panel featuring Cynthia Kaufman, author of a new book Challenging Power: Democracy and Accountability in a Fractured World, and activist Bill Fletcher, executive editor of globalafricanworker.com and author of Solidarity Divided.