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What Does "Defund the Police" Mean? Here's the Meaning Behind the Rallying Cry
It's a growing call from protestors and activists — but what does it actually mean?

Jul 22, 2020

As the United States grapples with the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and countless other Black Americans at the hands of racism and police brutality, one rallying cry gained momentum across the country: "Defund the police." You might have seen the phrase written on protest signs, on social media, or even on painted street murals — which probably has led you to wonder, what does "defund the police" mean, exactly, and what would it really look like?

Black Lives Matter, Movement for Black Lives, and other activists have used the phrase to call for police budget reductions and to delegate certain police responsibilities to other organizations.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In Black Reconstruction, first published in 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about "abolition-democracy", which advocated for the removal of institutions that were rooted in racist and repressive practices, including prisons, convict leasing, and white police forces. In the 1960s, activists such as Angela Davis advocated for the defunding or abolition of police departments.[17] The 2017 book The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale has been called "... a manual of sorts for the defund movement."