Protesting Is A Hack

Protests get shit done. If you celebrate Independence Day, Pride or Martin Luther King Day, you know that public demonstrations, even riots, have forced change where other means could not. Earlier this week we shared with you five demonstrations that changed history; today let’s talk about what’s happening now.

Protests urging justice have occurred nationwide, and especially in the week and a half since George Floyd was killed in police custody on May 25. Look what cities have suddenly felt motivated to do:

• The officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck was arrested and charged with third-degree murder. Later, his charge was upgraded to second-degree murder and the three other officers involved in the incident were charged with aiding and abetting murder.

• In Louisville, KY, where Breonna Taylor was shot in her home by police in March, protests have led the mayor to suspend no-knock warrants and require cameras on officers who are serving warrants. The FBI has also opened an investigation into her death. (Protests for Breonna Taylor were ongoing before George Floyd’s death.) More recently, the Metro Council demanded the investigation be finished within the week.

• The mayor of Los Angeles announced that between $US100 ($144) and $US150 ($215) million will be cut from the police department’s budget and reallocated to “black communities and communities of colour.”

• New York is planning to cut funds from the city’s police department, reportedly partially in response to the protests.

• In Minneapolis, institutions including schools have cut their ties with the police department, and council members are discussing replacing police entirely with “a community-oriented, nonviolent public safety and outreach capacity.”

• Several Portland, OR schools announced this week they are cutting ties with the police department.

• Somerville, MA declared systemic racism a public health and safety emergency and announced upcoming police reforms.

• The mayor of Washington, D.C. announced the city will no longer pay the Utah National Guard’s hotel bills. (She also ordered a “Black Lives Matter” sign to be painted on 16th Street by the White House.)

• The mayor of Pittsburgh, PA announced the city will implement all of the “8 can’t wait” proposals for reducing police violence. Previously, only four were in place.

• The governor of Richmond, VA announced that the Robert E. Lee statue will be coming down, as will several other Confederate monuments.

I know these are only a sampling of the progress being made nationwide. What has your city done to work toward police reforms or abolition, to reject racism or to seek justice? Let us know in the comments. Protesting, it turns out, is totally a hack. But we knew that.