IAsked | On the questions of defunding or disbanding police | My class community responds

Ahmaud Arbery

Breonna Taylor

George Floyd

Every other Black person whose names don't roll off of our tongue in this moment.

sigh

In light of historical State violence against Black bodies throughout the country, and especially in 2020, I've heard more than a few calls to action. The ones gaining momentum include either the defunding or the disbanding of police departments. I was honestly curious about what this would look like. I've since been reading and listening, but before this I took my curiosity, as I sometimes do, to my English & Drama class community on our social media page. My class community consists of current and former students along with their parents and my family and friends who want to keep updated with what I'm doing in class.

Sunday afternoon, I posed 3 simple questions to my class community on the gram.

1 - What would the defunding or the abolition of police departments look like?

2 - Abolish Philly police dept? Yes/No (n = 12)

3 - Reduce funding for Philly police? Yes/No (n = 14)

The results can hardly be generalizable, but they're still worth contemplation.

When asked what a possible abolition of the Philly police department would look like, here is a sample of the responses:

Parent - "They are asking for/demanding things we aren't ready to stand in the gap on...I definitely don't want to see an America devoid of Law Enforcement...We aren't ready to take up that slack."

Community member - "Omg, when I heard them saying that, I didn't chant with that. I disagree."

Responding to the yes/no question on defunding the police:

Community member - "Don't defund it..." Further she wants to see, "Cops being removed and charged for abuse. Bias training held regularly. Community programming (cultural, recreational, & educational) increased and facilitated by police dept, etc."

Student - 

Community member - 

These written responses were all offered by Black women, all of whom are mothers with the exception of the student. The yes/no question respondents were students and adults, men and women.