Issue 7: Justice for Daunte Wright
Our mission is to support each other and collaborate towards the abolition of policing and incarceration in our community. Read the rest of our organizing principles here.
We publish every two weeks, on Tuesday mornings.
*Justice for Daunte Wright*
As we cope with yet another murder of a Black person -- Daunte Wright -- at the hands of police and follow the trial of George Floyd’s killer, it is worth considering what we may hope for and expect. True justice must include the immediate cessation of the actions that caused harm and a guarantee of non-repetition. In July 2020, Miriam Kaba and Andrea Ritchie wrote an article that addresses the need to consider a reparations framework when addressing police violence titled, We Want More Justice For Breonna Taylor than the System That Killed Her Can Deliver. An excerpt:
Beyond strategic assessments of what is most likely to bring justice, ultimately, we must choose to support collective responses that align with our values. Demands for arrests and prosecutions of killer cops are inconsistent with demands to #DefundPolice because they have proven to be sources of violence not safety. We can’t claim the system must be dismantled because it is a danger to Black lives and at the same time legitimize it by turning to it for justice. As Angela Y. Davis points out, “we have to be consistent” in our analysis, and not respond to violence in a way that compounds it. We need to use our radical imaginations to come up with new structures of accountability beyond the system we are working to dismantle.
This is neither a popular nor easy position to take. It’s really, really hard. People who have been or who see their loved ones arrested, prosecuted, incarcerated, and killed for the slightest infraction – or none at all – want the system to act fairly by arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating those who harm and kill us. People who have consistently been denied protection under the law desperately want the law to live up to its promises. There are ways to support families calling for arrests without legitimizing the system, including by meeting material needs, providing safety for families and communities, and working to disempower police.
Turning away from systems of policing and punishment doesn’t mean turning away from accountability. It just means we stop setting the value of a life by how much time another person does in a cage for violating or taking it – particularly when the criminal punishment system has consistently made clear whose lives it will value, and whose lives it will cage.
We want to invite a broader and deeper conception of justice for Breonna Taylor and other survivors and family members harmed by police violence – one rooted in reparations, modeled on Chicago’s recent successful struggle for reparations for survivors and families of people tortured by former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. The reparations framework outlines 5 elements – repair, restoration, acknowledgment, cessation and non-repetition.
*Free PB Now!*
We are helping to carry-out a week of action at bit.ly/FreePBNow to pressure the Mayor and City Council to release the funding for participatory budgeting.
One of the hard-won victories that came from the uprising for Black lives and the movement to defund SPD was securing $28 million for participatory budgeting (PB), a democratic process in which we the people get to decide how to resource true public health and safety. The Black Brilliance Research project report laid out a road map to create a process that is truly community-led and centers Black lives. As stated in the BBR report, “It is imperative that those who are most likely to be harmed or killed by systemic racism and violence are represented.” However, the Mayor is stalling the process and trying to house PB within the city. We need to demand the Mayor release her grip on participatory budgeting and fund true public safety by letting community lead Seattle PB.
Writing Postcards Together
The Seattle PB Creators group has been busy creating postcards to send to Mayor Durkan asking her to follow community’s lead and release the funding for PB.
Join us on Thursday evening (4/22) from 5 to 5:45 pm at one of the following locations:
Wallingford Playfield, southwest corner
16th and Pine, across from Central Co-op
Capitol Hill Light Rail Station @ Broadway and John
Columbia Park, behind Columbia City library and PCC
Beacon Hill, outside of The Station
There, you can pick up and write a postcard. You can find more information, including downloadable postcard images if you want to print one at home at bit.ly/FreePBNow.
*The State of the Defund*
The State of the Defund was held on April 10th with great community turnout. If you missed it, you can watch the first 50 minutes on the Decriminalize Seattle facebook page HERE. The video has had over 2,000 views!
What has stuck with you from the event?
The teach-in helped me understand the enormity of the progress that has been made as well as the reality that - without sustained engagement and action from each of us - it can all be rolled back. The event also helped connect Seattle's fight to the national struggle to end police violence and other systems of oppression. The murder of Daunte Wright in Minnesota the day after the teach-in serves as a brutal reminder of the stakes of this effort.
-Brock
I was delighted to see how skillfully Pennie facilitated the "Talking to your neighbors about abolition" breakout group. (I was just along for the ride it seemed.) The voices and ideas that were expressed in that group provided me with a calm sense of hope that I carried with me the rest of the day.
-Peter
We have to keep working to implement and defend our wins! Systemic change is hard work. It isn’t neat and tidy. Building relationships is important. Changing minds is important. Changing policy is important. Many hands can move mountains. Many hands have moved mountains. If you want to take action, there is work to do!
-Pennie
*Building Solidarity*
Black Action Coalition holds a march, rally, or caravan nearly every Friday in support of protestors’ rights, defunding the police, and investing in community. Support Black Action Coalition’s work (bac-2020 on Venmo) and follow them on instagram and facebook.
BAC is holiding a car caravan on Friday, April 23 at 6:00 PM at Kerry Park. TELL CITY COUNCIL INVEST NOW IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. Masks Required. Bring drums, horns, and anything else loud.
Join Black Action Coalition for the Black Health and Wealth Festival on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at Jefferson Park. This event is to empower, educate, amplify and invest in black people, black businesses and black communities. 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM.
Daily Outreach in Teams (D.O.I.T) is a low barrier, high impact daily action where you can connect and fight for abolition without dealing with police or large crowds. Follow them on twitter or stop by their table in Capitol Hill this week!
*Education*
Live Online Course
Jonathan W. Kanter, Ph.D. and Michaela Ayers are offering a live online course titled, “From Ally to Antiracist: Cultivating and Committing to Action in the Face of Life’s Obstacles.” A handful of S.A.S. folks took the course during its first offering and recommend it highly. Registration for a second iteration, starting May 4 is open now HERE.
Seattle Peace and Safety Initiative community discussion
Converge Media hosted a community discussion about participatory budgeting on Friday, April 16. Watch it HERE.
*Collaborator highlights*
Big thank you to Peter, Alice, and Alessandra who planned and hosted an orientation event for people interested in collaborating with Defend the Defund.
Alice coordinated the ASL interpreters and closed captioning for the State of the Defund, increasing the accessibility of the event.
Sharon has put a huge amount of effort into the campaign to #FreePB. Follow her on instagram and see her creations here.
Matt, Britta, and Brock led the creation and printing of the #FreePB postcards. Thank you!
BJ and QoQo conducted a tremendous amount of research into SPD’s proposed spending plan for the $5.4 million that Council is considering granting them through CB 119981. They wrote the key evidence sections for the revised policy memo that Defend the Defund will transmit to Council President González this week.
There’s more: Pennie, Renee, Caleb, Raymond and newer members too -- your work does not go unnoticed.
*Join us*
We intend to provide:
Space for collective action among people who are already involved or want to be involved in abolition work.
Structure to share useful information, educate ourselves, and hold ourselves accountable.
A jumping-off point to support the work of BIPOC researchers and creators through (among other initiatives) BBR, PB, and Defend the Defund.
You can contribute to this newsletter or take part in efforts similar to those highlighted here by reaching out to any of us. Or read our organizing principles and join us here.