Dependent Liberation
As part of our jobs, we think a lot about liberation — what it means and what it looks like for us as individuals, our loved ones, and society at large.
Sit for a moment and dream up what liberation looks like for you and yours. Here’s ours.
Now, understand that none of us can be truly free while there is an entire career dedicated to detaining people. A career that is allowed to murder Black folks without consequence.
The U.S. policing system was created to capture escaped enslaved people. It was created to ensure the systematic oppression of Black people. Today, it is still doing what it was created to do. Daunte Wright didn’t deserve to die and it is unclear whether police reform could have saved him. There are compelling arguments to be made that reform will never happen because policing’s very existence depends on the oppression of Black folks. This is why abolitionists are anti-reform and seek to defund, and ultimately abolish, the police.
There is no service that the police provide that couldn't be done through other, less deadly, means. But—if the thought of no police makes you nervous, get curious and explore why. There are loads of articles out there on alternatives to policing that better meet community needs, but below are a few to get you started:
We occasionally update our blog post “Dismantling White Supremacy is White People’s Work” with new resources
These articles are just a small sampling and we highly encourage you to do more of your own research.
Our liberation is dependent on one another. Even with whatever privilege you may possess, you will never know liberation until we ALL know liberation. Use your dreams of liberation to fuel you in this fight and keep the hope alive that one day, we can all be free.