Listen here to our interview with Brandon on WBAI.
You might also like: Meet New York Citys Newest Neighborhood: Abolition Park.
Abolitionist Mariame Kaba famously stated, Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair. Following her words, I can only comprehend what we have endured in 2020 as a calling to radicalize, to rethink ineffective public safety policy and to revitalize our communities by defunding the police.
2020 was a year that felt like a decade, a time of deep stress and distress, challenges beyond measure, and enormous personal tragedy. I saw my home, New York City, fall into a series of crises, I lost friends and relatives to the pandemic, and I, along with millions of Americans, watched black men murdered on video.
West says it would be pretty easy for City Council to cut the NYPDs annual budget by $2 billion per year.
Beginning in June, after months of lockdown, I was in the streets fighting for Black lives and for the end of the carceral state. I organized with the Free Black Radicals and members of VOCAL-NY at the Occupy City Hall encampment to defund the NYPD. Months later, and only days after a white supremacist insurrection in the capitol, the NYPD brutalized peaceful protestors on MLK Day in that exact same location.
But when I feel despair, as I did during almost the entirety of 2020 and already many times since the start of 2021, I know it is time to turn to action. Whenever asked why Im running for City Council, I speak about my experiences fighting against over-policing and the carceral state. I tell voters that Im running to defund, and to abolish, the NYPD. Having the experiences of an organizer on the streets and as an analyst in the NYC Office of Management and Budget and City Council Finance means that I know it is possible to do these things and to radically re-envision public safety.
So how do we do it? Defunding the NYPD requires being bold and standing up in the budget process and also, critically, to articulate a vision of community safety that is not carceral. We have to do both, and the latter is harder than most people think. We are so used to treating the police and policing as the solutions that they most clearly are not. Even conversations with progressives and leftists, its hard to shake the language and framework around incarceration. But I know we can do it if we are intentional and clear about how we want to do this work.
First, there is a lot we can cut in the next budget. Its pretty easy to make reasonable cuts and hit $2 billion. There is no reason we couldnt hit at least $1 billion last year. Its a shame the outgoing council didnt. Communities United for Police Reform put out a well-researched report last summer showing just how easy it is to slash NYPDs budget by over $1 billion. This includes over $200 million in a hiring freeze and cutting the cadet class, $100 million in removing NYPD from schools and social service-related roles, almost $300 million in for police misconduct settlements/judgments and not firing abusive officers, at least $219 million by reducing the NYPD uniform headcount to FY2014 level, and almost $400 million in cutting bloat like surveillance technology and overtime. Not to mention that if you include all the fringe benefits associated with these positions, it adds up considerably. Critically, it doesnt mean we abandon workers like school safety officers or traffic officers, who are often BIPOC folks. We can and will engage in a just transition as we decarcerate jobs that should never have fallen under NYPDs purview. Police do not keep people safe, but community services and economic stability does.
The other part of this work is creating the vision for the alternative. Many people I talk to cite victims of violence as a rationale for the brutal incarceration of those who engage in forms of violence. But deterrence is just punishment, our basest instinct, and it doesnt work. Incarcerating peopledestroying peoples livesresults in only devastated communities, not safe communities.
No single person can design a perfect system to eliminate violence in all aspects of life in New York tomorrow. But many have done this work for years and we must empower them to begin to build this alternative. In December 2020, Brownsville engaged in a pilot program where the community removed beat cops and instead had community members present in the streets, including non-profits and city agencies setting up booths to offer city resources for folks. There wasnt a single 911 call during that stretch of time. This pilot was just that: a pilot; it was a bubble within the world of a carceral state, with the normal over-policed stretch of the city a few blocks away. But it was a start, and seemingly a success, and we need to engage and fund programs like these and see to it that they are successful.
If we are not laser-focused on Defund and making it the goal of the next class of councilmembers and the next budget, we will not get there. We absolutely can to build on the work that was already done to get to this vision. I have often remarked that if 2020 didnt radicalize you, then you cannot be radicalized. It is for my fellow radicals that I run for City Council in District 39 and why I run to defund the police.
Brandon West is running for City Council in District 39 which encompasses Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and parts of Sunset Park. He is a member of the 6-candidate DSA for the City slate.
Please support independent media today! Nowcelebrating its 20th anniversary,theIndypendentis still standing but its not easy. Make arecurring or one-time donationtoday orsubscribeto our monthly print edition and get every copy sent straight to your home.
Link:
We Can Defund The PoliceHere's How - The Indypendent
- The Pro-Slavery Lobby: The Abolition of Slavery Project [Last Updated On: December 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 8th, 2016]
- Campaign for the Abolition of Terrier Work - Badger Baiting [Last Updated On: December 10th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 10th, 2016]
- Trump's Big Lie About 3 Million "Alien Voters" Cuts Far Deeper Than You Think - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- High time for states to invest in alternatives to migrant detention - ReliefWeb [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Industry calls for better cooperation from TWU on safety for truckies - ABC Online [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Indian Govt's Abolition of FIPB Will Help Spur Up Foreign Investments - Entrepreneur [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Donald Trump 'taking steps to abolish Environmental Protection Agency' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Indian sex worker groups slam global conference on abolition of ... - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Mayoral candidate calls for abolition of Cleveland Police - Hartlepool Mail [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Exploiting black labor after the abolition of slavery - Baraboo News Republic [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Justice Ginsburg Backs Abolition Of The Electoral College - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Mrs. Clinton Is Not the Future - National Review [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Commissioner hits back at Mayoral candidate's call for abolition of ... - The Northern Echo (registration) [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Judicial review is government at work - The Independent Florida Alligator [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Did Darwin's theories on evolution encourage abolition of slavery? - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Italy sets up fast-track asylum courts for migrants - The Local Italy [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Pope Francis on death penalty - Philippine Star [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Abolition of Man - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Justice Ginsburg Expresses Concern About Anti-Immigrant Sentiment - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Protests as Iowa considers its own 'Scott Walker bill' - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- 'What Is My Future After This?' - Human Rights Watch [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Might mandatory retirement come back with 70 as the new 65? - The Globe and Mail [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- A People's Globalism: Notes Toward a New Left Internationalism - The Nation. [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- County To Apply for Grant for I.V. Community Center | The Daily Nexus - Daily Nexus [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Another Body Blow to the Trump White House as Labor Pick Withdraws - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- The myth of the alpha leader is destroying our relationshipsat work and at home - Quartz [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Equalities Secretary to seek UK assurances over benefits after ... - AOL Money UK [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- My Turn: Make no mistake President Trump is the enemy - Concord Monitor [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- The redeeming chaos of a bull in the government china shop - Charleston Post Courier [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Govt mulls abolition of parallel degree programs in public varsities ... - Capital FM Kenya (press release) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Westminster warned against benefits 'claw back' once 'bedroom tax' abolished in Scotland - Scottish Housing News [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Fighting voter ID laws in the courts isn't enough. We need boots on the ground - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Manchester's transformation over the past 25 years: why we need a reset of city region policy - EUROPP - European Politics and Policy (blog) [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- UK's 'lower-ranked' universities take non-EU students hit - Times Higher Education (THE) [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Age Action calls on TDs to back Bill abolishing mandatory retirement ... - BreakingNews.ie [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Labor won't fight any Fair Work Commission decision to cut Sunday penalty rates: Bill Shorten - Great Lakes Advocate [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Molly McGrath: Fight ID laws one voter at a time - Virginian-Pilot [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Jim Goetsch: Abolition of abortions means changing the way we think - The Union of Grass Valley [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- New York dockers' union calls for abolition of crime-busting ... - The Loadstar [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Frederick Douglass Park: We're Fixing Our Typo! - Nashville Scene [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Abolishing provincial championships only way to cure fixture ... - Irish Independent [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- 'Retirement should be an option' - plan to abolish retirement age welcomed - thejournal.ie [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Labor won't fight any Fair Work Commission decision to cut Sunday penalty rates: Bill Shorten - Western Advocate [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- Committee expected to recommend 100m water charges refunds to those who have paid up - Irish Independent [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Sinn Fein attacks schools minister over plan to merge two transfer tests - Belfast Telegraph [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- 'As a lecturer in the 1980s, I kept my sexual orientation to myself' - Times Higher Education (THE) [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Dutch Elections: 'Anti-Racist' Party Will Ban 'Black Pete' Traditional Children's Character - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Molly J. McGrath: Fight ID laws one voter at a time - Herald & Review [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Coveney says he will not legislate for water charges abolition as it would be illegal - thejournal.ie [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Taoiseach refuses to back down on water - Newstalk 106-108 fm [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Crackdown looms for work-related tax deductions - Whitsunday Times [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- We are sick of being told what to do, says Freddie Forsyth - Express.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Corruption: Abolish security votes, peg minimum wage at N50,000 Ekweremadu - Vanguard [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Religious bodies misguided - Trinidad & Tobago Express [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- *M*A*S*H star speaks out against death penalty - Seacoastonline.com [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Immigration under capitalism: Life and death along the US-Mexico border - World Socialist Web Site [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- 'MARCH 4 TRUMP': About 100 demonstrators gather at Kentucky Capitol - Hopkinsville Kentucky New Era [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Abolition Of Work | Prometheism.net - Part 7 [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Marc Lamont Hill's one-sided view of racism in the Middle East - Jerusalem Post Israel News (blog) [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Close-Up: Ava DuVernay - Varsity Online [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- OPINION: Grammar knows best - NW Evening Mail [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Women worldwide skip work to protest pay gap, abortion laws and Donald Trump on International Women's Day - Mirror.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Self-employed hit by national insurance hike in budget - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- How Republicans Might Fudge the Numbers to Make Their Health Care Bill Seem Less Irresponsible - New York Magazine [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Who's who in Dutch politics - SBS [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Pauline Hanson still a work in progress after all these years - The Australian Financial Review [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific - World Socialist Web Site [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Junior Culture Minister calls Phagwah Festival of Lights - Demerara Waves [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Tory backbenchers warn over 'death tax' probate fees hike announced in Budget - AOL UK [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- With govt notification, orderly system finally out - Times of India [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- The tax hike for the self-employed isn't actually going to happen - The Independent [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Globalization Is Just a Contemporary Word for Financial Colonialism - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Gordon Robinson | Taxed up the ass - Jamaica Gleaner [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- President Trump needs to score some legislative wins - The Desert Sun [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- The Quietus | Features | Craft/Work | Colouring Out: Queer British Art ... - The Quietus [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- European Parliament vote doesn't mean abolition of visas yet - Poroshenko - Interfax [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Why The Tories Are Not My Cuppa - HuffPost UK [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Why Is Sex Work Not Seen As Work? Part 1 - Feminism in India (blog) [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- NYC college offers Abolition of Whiteness course - My9NJ [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- New York public college offering course called 'Abolition of Whiteness' - Fox News [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]