In June 2020, many people are asking for resources related to racism and policing, including what it means to defund the police, so I have a new ongoing resource list below. This is a supplement to my series of blog posts called, “For those who say, how can we defund the police.” -Karen Gaffney
Challenges to addressing police violence: systemic racism
Police: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (June 7, 2020) (video)
10 things we know about race and policing in the U.S. (PEW Research Center)
Two-thirds of black Americans don’t trust the police to treat them equally. Most white Americans do.
How The Police See Issues Of Race And Policing
‘Blue lives’ do matter — that’s the problem
The Police Report To Me, But I Knew I Couldn’t Protect My Son
Minneapolis Police Use Force Against Black People at 7 Times the Rate of Whites
How Police Unions Became Such Powerful Opponents to Reform Efforts
A Major Obstacle to Police Reform: The Whiteness of Their Union Bosses
My Family Saw a Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween. Then I Learned How NYPD Impunity Works.
Thousands of Complaints Do Little to Change Police Ways
Lawyers: Breonna Taylor Shooting Linked to Louisville Gentrification
5 Years After Ferguson, We’re Losing the Fight Against Police Violence
Over the past 60 years, more spending on police hasn’t necessarily meant less crime
The Police Are Rioting. We Need to Talk About It.
Police Attacks on Protestors Are Rooted in a Violent Ideology of Reactionary Grievance
In America, Protest Is Patriotic: The police are supposed to protect free speech, not suppress it.
History
Throughline podcast (NPR): American Police
The History Of Police In Creating Social Order In The U.S.
Not just George Floyd: Police departments have 400-year history of racism
Michelle Alexander: “A System of Racial and Social Control” (PBS interview transcript)
How Much Do We Need The Police?
Ida B. Wells offered the solution to police violence more than 100 years ago
Slave Patrols: An Early Form of American Policing
Defunding the Police
We Should Still Defund the Police
Reformist reforms vs. abolitionist steps in policing
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: What Does It Mean to Defund Or Abolish the Police?
Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police: Because reform won’t happen.
Abolition Can’t Wait: A Teach-In with #8toAbolition (video sponsored by Haymarket Books)
How to Make Defunding the Police a Reality
The Only Solution Is to Defund the Police
Why #DefundthePolice is Genius Strategy
Defunding Police: What It Takes to End Police Violence
How Defund and Disband Became the Demands
Movement to defund police gains ‘unprecedented’ support across US
Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition (Intercepted podcast)
Is Prison Necessary? Ruth Wilson Gilmore Might Change Your Mind
Political Possibilities: Black Feminism Offers a Path to Abolition
If You’re New to Abolition: Study Group Guide
Twitter threads on defunding the police
Organizations and initiatives for change
The BREATHE Act (note the link on this website to Download the Bill Summary)
The Black National Convention (organized by The Movement for Black Lives, Aug. 28)
“10 ways to reduce our reliance on policing and make our communities safer for everyone”
What are we talking about when we talk about “a police-free future?”
Western States Center: Take the Pledge. 21 Days for Inclusive Democracy.
Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Alternatives to Policing Flyers available here on Google Drive (see the explainer)
New Jersey
How should N.J. reform when police can use force? AG wants to hear from you. and related SURJ-NJ Action Alert
NJ Institute for Social Justice Action Center
Black community leaders: Make Black lives really matter in New Jersey
Asbury Park Transformative Justice Project
Latinos stand with #BlackLivesMatter because we both fight for justice and equality
Changes in Policing Take Hold in One of the Nation’s Most Dangerous Cities (Camden, NJ) (2017)
The Camden Police Department Is Not a Model for Policing in the Post-George Floyd Era
9 Departments and Multiple Infractions for One New Jersey Police Officer
Compiled by Karen Gaffney, author of Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox (Routledge) and creator of the website Divided No Longer, which includes a new series of blog posts “For those who say, how can we defund the police.” If you have any feedback or suggestions, please contact Karen at dividednolonger@gmail.com
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