PHILLY ARTS FOR BLACK LIVES

OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR KENNEY & CITY COUNCIL

POLICE ABOLITION / DEFUNDING POLICE

Resources For Philly Arts, Culture & Education Organizations

For real-time updates to this list, visit this Google Doc.

Police Abolition / Defunding The Police - Research, Worksheets, Study Guides

• Movement for Black Lives: The Time Has Come to Defund the Police
• MPD 150: What Are We Talking About When We Talk About “A Police Free Future?""
  • Building a Police Free Future: Frequently Asked Questions PDF (MPD150)
• #8ToAbolition: Abolitionist response to #8CantWait
• A World Without Police: Study Guide
  • The Problem
  • The Strategy
• Critical Resistance: Abolish Policing
  • Police Are A Public Health Issue (PDF)
  • Decoupling Police from Emergency Preparedness
• Transform Harm: Thinking Through a Future Without Police
  • Abolition Curriculum
• The Marshall Project: Police Abolition - Curated Collection of Links
• Mother Jones: Police Abolition 101

Defund The Police - National Analysis + Actions

• Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police (Miriame Kaba for NYTimes)
• Ruth Wilson Gilmore Makes the Case for Abolition (The Intercept [podcast])
• The Message is Clear: Policing in America is Broken and Must Change. But How? (NYTimes)
• Thousands of Complaints Do Little to Change Police Ways (NYTimes)
• How Do The Police Actually Spend Their Time? (NYTimes)
• Growing Calls to “Defund The Police,” Explained (Vox)
• “Defund The Police” is a Call to Imagine a Safer America. We Must Answer It. (Washington Post Editorial Board)
• Cities Ask if It’s Time to Defund Police and Reimagine Public Safety (NYTimes)
• Movement to Defund Police Gains ‘Unprecedented’ Support Across US (The Guardian)
• How Much Do We Need The Police (NPR: Code Switch)
• The Pandemic Is the Right Time to Defund the Police (The New Republic)
• Here’s Where the Movement to Defund Police Is Gaining Momentum (Mother Jones)
• What Does “Defund The Police” Mean? The Rallying Cry Sweeping the US, Explained (The Guardian)
• What the US Would Look Like Without Police, As Imagined in 3 Scenarios (CNN)

#DefundPPD - Analysis of Philadelphia’s 2021 Budget

• Defund The Police: What Does It Mean, and What Would It Look Like in Philly? (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philly’s FOP Is Like the Wizard of Oz: Powerful and Mighty Until You Look Behind the Curtain (Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial Board)
• Philly’s Police Union Spent Decades Amassing Power. Reforms Could Cut Its Clout (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philly Budget Restores Some Funds for Affordable Housing and Arts, Cancels $19m Police Increase (WHYY)
• Philly Budget Deal Cancels $19m Increase in Police Funding, Moves Another $14m Elsewhere (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philadelphia City Council Wants to Ban Police Kneeholds and Require New Cops to Live in the City (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Critical Mistakes Doomed the Police Response to Philly’s George Floyd Demonstrations (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Mayor Jim Kenney Approved Tear Gas Use at Philly Protests, Officials Say as City Council Questions Police Response (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philly City Council to Kenney: “We Cannot Accept” Increased Police Budget (WHYY)
• After Days of Protests Against Police Brutality, Mayor Jim Kenney Pledges Police Reforms (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Camden Disbanded its Police Department and Built a New One. Can Others Learn From It? (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Plans for a North Philly Police Station Make Even Less Sense After the George Floyd Protests (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Will Philly Dismantle the Police Department for a New Public Safety System? It’s Unlikely. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• 14 Philly Council Members Call for Reforms, Say No To Police Budget Increase (NBC10)
• Philly Plans to Increase Funding While Cutting City Services. Critics Say That’s a Mistake (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philly to Slash Police Oversight, Anti-Violence Initiatives While Increasing PPD Budgets (WHYY)
• More Police Won’t Quiet the Rage from This Weekend (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Reimagining Policing: Community Leaders, Activists, Law Enforcement and Others Offer 14 Ways to Confront Racist Policing (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Mayor Jim Kenney gave cops raises and shielded them from coronavirus layoffs. Protesters aren’t happy. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Philadelphia Mayor and Police Union President Announce a One-Year Contract Extension (Philadelphia Inquirer [MARCH])
• Philly We Rise - Defund the Police Letters and Scripts
• City Budget Teach-In: What’s In Kenney’s Cuts (Reclaim Philadelphia [SLIDES])
• City Budget Action - Quick Guide to the Philadelphia Budget

City-Specific National News

Minneapolis:

• I Was Mayor of Minneapolis. I Know Why Police Reforms Fail (The Atlantic)
• Minneapolis Organizers Are Already Building the Tools for Safety Without Police (Truthout)
• Minneapolis Lawmakers Vowed Police Reform. They Couldn’t Agree on Any. (NYTimes)
  • Minneapolis Will Dismantle Its Police Force, Council Members Pledge (NYTimes)
• For Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a Stinging Rebuke (NYTimes)

New York City:

• De Blasio Vows for First Time to Cut Funding for the NYPD (NYTimes)

Los Angeles:

• The Movement Behind LA’s Decision to Cut Its Police Budget (City Lab)
  • Growing the LAPD Was Gospel at City Hall. George Floyd Changed That (LATimes)
  • Los Angeles to Defund Police Department by $150m and Instead Invest in Minority Communities (Independent)

Albuquerque:

• Albuquerque Will Begin Sending Unarmed Social Workers In Response to Some 911 Calls (KTNV)

Real Time Actions to Divest from Police Taken by Arts + Education Organizations

• Open Letter from Arts and Culture Workers of NYC Demanding the Defunding of the Police and Investment in BIPOC Communities (Art Workers for Black Lives)
• Public Spreadsheet of Arts Organizations with Police Contracts
• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Agrees to Cut Ties with Police (Hyperallergic)
• Hundreds of Cultural Workers Urge NYC to Defund Police and Invest in BIPOC Communities (Hyperallergic)
• Calls for Art Museums to Divest from Police Intensify as Protests Sweep the United States (ARTNews)
• The Walker Art Center and Minneapolis Institute of Art Have Cut Ties With the City’s Police Department (ArtNet)
• Portland Superintendent Says He’s “Discontinuing” Presence of Armed Police Officers in Schools (OregonLive)

Additional Resources

• Open Letter from Journalists of Color to Philly Inquirer
• End Cash Bail (Philly Bailout Fund)
• No To Zero for the Arts (Budget Proposal to Re-fund the Arts)
• A Just Philadelphia (Alliance for a Just Philadelphia)
• Minneapolis Police Department’s 150 year Performance Review (MPD150)

Petitions

• We Will Not Stop Until We #Defund the Police [for organizations]
• Tell Mayor Kenney: We Won't Stop Until You #DefundThePolice (Action Network [for individuals])
• Demand a Philly City Budget where #BlackLivesMatter
• Increase Our Communities! Defund the Philly Police Budget!
• We Demand to Defund Police (Philly We Rise Petition)
• Penn: Divest from Philly Police, Invest in Philly Schools!
• Petition to End Penn Police State Collusion
• Demand Justice from Temple University! #DefundThePolice
• No Budget Cuts, No Layoffs: Fully Fund City Services