Our country is having a reckoning as I write these words. And it’s because of the bold and uncompromising visions of Black leaders and visionaries who dared to imagine a world beyond systemic oppression, police brutality and militarism.
It’s clearer than ever that the vision laid out before us is not only possible, but necessary: defunding the police and investing in health, mental health, education and stable housing for Black communities. I encourage everyone reading this to uplift and support the demands of our local Black-led groups.
The deeply violent and militarized response of governments against Black protesters and allies across the country have shown us just how urgently we need to realize visions for a world where Black lives matter.
I call on elected officials here and everywhere to defund the police and invest in Black communities and structures for real safety. I urge them to also go a step further and imagine with me a just world. And so, I offer us all questions: What could we do with the resources filling the overflowing coffers of violence-first institutions like the police and the Pentagon? What additional demands do we have of our politicians? What do safety, justice and emergency response look like when it’s for and by all communities, here and everywhere?
Gene Ulmer, Salt Lake City