06/18/2020
People’s Budget LA is a coalition led by made up of over 70 organizations, calling for the divestment of the LAPD and the investment of community care services and reimagined public safety. Here is an “abridged” version of the People’s Budget presentation on June 15.
The “divest to invest” model doesn’t just apply to LA, but ALL city budgets and police departments. Go to defund12.org to send a letter to your city council to defund your PD.
💥However, defunding the cops is merely a start to police and prison abolition, not the end. I repeat, this is a START to police and prison ABOLITION.
To learn more about abolition, here are the resources I have found helpful, but these are just skimming the surface of abolition theory and works.
1. : PDF of the 8 steps to Abolition in my bio
2. “anti-racism reading list” — ALSO READ more Angela Davis, Mariame Kaba, and Ruth Wilson Gilmore
3. Justice in America, podcast (P.I.C., school-to-prison pipeline, restorative justice, etc)
4. “Literally Abolish the Police” post on
5. “Prison Abolition: A Breakdown” post on
☀️Presenters:
Dr. Melina Abdullah | co-founder of & organizer with BLM L.A.
Kendrick Samson | actor and founder of Build Power
Dr. David Turner | lead researcher on the People’s Budget LA and Coalition Manager of Brothers, Sons, Selves
Baba Akili | organizer with BLM L.A.
(Not shown) Rev. Rae Huang | organizer with LA voice, pastor, and Healthy LA coalition member
🌟timecodes
00:12 - background on Black demands LA/ppl’s budget LA
02:15 - Analysis of ppl’s budget
07:33 - reimagining public safety
11:16 - Dr. Abdullah’s closing statement!!!
Others actionables:
-Donate to Black and Indigenous MUTUAL AID funds has a lot of Navajo and Hopi mutual aid resources
-continue to share info after the trend
-engage in conversation
-INTERSECTIONALITY: read Black feminist theory, support Black q***r in your Pride, especially Black trans womxn
-attend protests, sign petitions
-support Black-owned businesses, don’t support conservative businesses and those that exploit BIPOC. AND demand action from performative businesses
