Hi comrade,

“Instead of asking whether anyone should be locked up or go free, why don’t we think about why we solve problems by repeating the kind of behavior that brought us the problem in the first place?” [...] why, as a society, we would choose to model cruelty and vengeance.” — Ruth Wilson Gilmore

A movement to defund, demilitarize, and abolish the police is gaining momentum across the nation! Activists, organizers, and people from all walks of life have taken to the streets to protest police brutality against Black Americans. As a result of these protests, a veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council announced on Sunday their plan to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department, promising to create a new system of public safety. But we cannot stop there.

Black people have been disproportionately targeted, prosecuted, and murdered by the police for centuries under an intrinsically racist, capitalistic system. In Oakland, the police budget eats up 44% of the general fund, more than any other city in the nation. For context, housing, transportation, and human services receive less than 5% combined. 

The Oakland City Council will vote this month on a budget for the next two years. We must demand that they defund the police and refund services that enhance Black lives, instead of taking them away. We must louden our collective voice by bringing our neighbors into this movement.

We are holding a Defund OPD phone bank this Saturday, June 13 at noon. Register to help us get as many Oakland residents as possible to flood their councilperson with messages to #DefundOPD.

You can also start right now by emailing or calling your City Councilperson to tell them they must #DefundOPD. You can use this email script and this call script for inspiration.

This month East Bay DSA will participate in many different actions in support of the campaign to defund the Oakland Police Department. Watch your inbox and our events page for event info!

In Solidarity,

The chairs of the EBDSA Defund OPD Campaign