District 2: Defund the Police – one year after a lot of promises: where are we at?

This week we have an exciting meeting with special guest Peter Condit. Peter is a resident of Seattle. Since seeing rampant police violence last summer, he has collaborated with a number of formal and ad-hoc organizations working to defund SPD including Seattle Abolition Support, Defend the Defund, and Seattle DSA’s Anti-Racist Caucus, ARC. He’ll be joining us on Thursday to educate us more on the topic and to give an overview of where the movement stands currently.

A note from Peter:

I can’t wait to talk to you all about keeping ourselves and our neighbors safe by defunding the Seattle Police Department. If you have a minute ahead of Thursday evening, these two articles set the context for why defund SPD is anti-racist policy.

1. So you’re thinking about becoming an abolitionist Mariame Kaba, October 2020.
2. Yes, we literally mean abolish the police Mariame Kaba, June 2020. (If the NYT gives you a paywall, here is a pdf version I made: Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police – The New York Times.pdf)

Draft agenda:

1. Welcome, Introductions – 10 min
2. Peter Presentation – 15-20 min
3. Q/A- 10 min
4. Discussion/Wrap Up – 45 min
5. Announcements – 5 min