For the next 30 days, I'm going to be posting about small steps that I'm taking to try and support the Black Lives Matter movement. I am a D.C. resident and not an expert in criminal justice but as an American, I believe I have both the right and obligation to set the intent for local and national institutions to deliver on a fair and equitable justice system for all. As the movement works to capitalize on the outpouring of support and mass protests, hopefully the small steps I identify will help others identify similar actions they can take in their communities.
Today, I emailed my local council member, and the office of the Mayor to express my support for BLM calls to defund and demilitarize the police. I view it as a way to re-evaluate the scope of policing and to consider whether some interventions that currently rely on police (mental health, domestic violence) are better suited through different means. I don't see this as a radical call; in fact, I see this as necessary across institutions to avoid "mission creep" and allow institutions to focus solely on what they are best suited to do. Hopefully my voice can help sway these local representatives, who despite their symbolic support for the black lives matter movement, have remained undecided on reducing or reevaluating police budgets.
